Did you know that ...
a. Agatha Christie never went to school or to college
b. Agatha Christie's mother didn't want to teach her to read and Agatha had learnt it herself by the age of 5
c. Agatha Christie began writing crime novels because her elder sister challenged her to do it
Read our post below to learn these and other facts about Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie, the famous English detective novelist, was a very modest person and each time she was asked about the secret of her unprecedented popularity, she said that people liked her books but who could say why… So unconvinced was Agatha Christie of her literary talent that she prophesized: ‘Once I’ve been dead ten years I am sure nobody will ever have heard of me’. She couldn’t have been more wrong. She died in 1976 and now 41 years after her death she is still the world’s most read author outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have been translated into about 100 languages and according to The Index Translationum – UNESCO’s database of book translations – she is the world’s most translated individual author*.
Agatha Christie was born into an ordinary middle-class family in a small seaside town of Torquay in South West England. It seems amazing to many that a pathologically shy girl who never went to school or college became the Queen of Crime Fiction, a household name in many countries all over the world. Why did she start writing? Why do her novels have universal appeal?
"One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is to have a happy childhood. I had a very happy childhood,’ Agatha Christie wrote in her ‘Autobiography’. Her childhood was spent in Ashfield, a family home, which was a large mansion with an orchard, conservatories**, tennis courts and a croquet lawn. It was her mother’s firm belief that the best way to bring up girls is provide them with fresh air, good food and as much freedom as possible. Therefore, Agatha spent most of her time playing outside, inventing games and pretending she had imaginary friends. Her solitary lifestyle – she never went to school and was home-taught- fostered creativity and imagination.
It is a remarkable fact that Agatha’s mother, Clara, didn’t want Agatha to learn to read till she was 8. She thought learning to read early could be ruinous to her daughter’s eyesight and was likely to be a barrier to the development of Agatha’s brain. Clara intended to tell Agatha stories or read to her till she reached the age of 8 but Agatha had learnt to read herself by the age of 5. How did she manage to do it? When her mother finished reading to her, Agatha asked to have a look at the book and studied it till everything fell into place. When they were going shopping, Agatha encouraged her parents to read notices and shop signs for her. In her ‘Autobiography’ the famous novelist writes: "I had learned to read by the look of words and not by their letters".
Having gained access to the delightful world of books, Agatha became a voracious reader and it is little wonder that at the age of 11 she first tried to write something of her own – a poem, which was published in a local newspaper. Her first story was produced when she was ill with a bout of flu and her mother suggested that she occupy herself with creative writing. However, it was her elder sister, Madge, who dared Agatha to write a detective story. Agatha once said to Madge that she should like to have a go at writing a detective story.
‘I don’t think you could do it,’ remarked Madge. ‘They are very difficult to do. I’ve thought about it.’
‘I should like to try,’ Agatha replied.
‘Well, I bet you couldn’t,’ said Madge.
To sum up, Agatha’s innate curiosity, appetite for learning, a favourable environment created by her parents and her desire to rise to the challenge posed by her sister set her on the path towards worldwide fame as a writer. What makes her books appealing is the issue that we will discuss in our next post on Agatha Christie.
*http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsstatexp.aspx…
** a conservatory -a room with glass walls and a glass roof that is built on the side of a house. Conservatories are used for sitting in to enjoy the sun, and to protect plants from cold weather.
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/…/e…/conservatory…
a. Agatha Christie never went to school or to college
b. Agatha Christie's mother didn't want to teach her to read and Agatha had learnt it herself by the age of 5
c. Agatha Christie began writing crime novels because her elder sister challenged her to do it
Read our post below to learn these and other facts about Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie, the famous English detective novelist, was a very modest person and each time she was asked about the secret of her unprecedented popularity, she said that people liked her books but who could say why… So unconvinced was Agatha Christie of her literary talent that she prophesized: ‘Once I’ve been dead ten years I am sure nobody will ever have heard of me’. She couldn’t have been more wrong. She died in 1976 and now 41 years after her death she is still the world’s most read author outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have been translated into about 100 languages and according to The Index Translationum – UNESCO’s database of book translations – she is the world’s most translated individual author*.
Agatha Christie was born into an ordinary middle-class family in a small seaside town of Torquay in South West England. It seems amazing to many that a pathologically shy girl who never went to school or college became the Queen of Crime Fiction, a household name in many countries all over the world. Why did she start writing? Why do her novels have universal appeal?
 |
| Torquay harbour |
"One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is to have a happy childhood. I had a very happy childhood,’ Agatha Christie wrote in her ‘Autobiography’. Her childhood was spent in Ashfield, a family home, which was a large mansion with an orchard, conservatories**, tennis courts and a croquet lawn. It was her mother’s firm belief that the best way to bring up girls is provide them with fresh air, good food and as much freedom as possible. Therefore, Agatha spent most of her time playing outside, inventing games and pretending she had imaginary friends. Her solitary lifestyle – she never went to school and was home-taught- fostered creativity and imagination.
 |
| Agatha Christie as a child |
It is a remarkable fact that Agatha’s mother, Clara, didn’t want Agatha to learn to read till she was 8. She thought learning to read early could be ruinous to her daughter’s eyesight and was likely to be a barrier to the development of Agatha’s brain. Clara intended to tell Agatha stories or read to her till she reached the age of 8 but Agatha had learnt to read herself by the age of 5. How did she manage to do it? When her mother finished reading to her, Agatha asked to have a look at the book and studied it till everything fell into place. When they were going shopping, Agatha encouraged her parents to read notices and shop signs for her. In her ‘Autobiography’ the famous novelist writes: "I had learned to read by the look of words and not by their letters".
Having gained access to the delightful world of books, Agatha became a voracious reader and it is little wonder that at the age of 11 she first tried to write something of her own – a poem, which was published in a local newspaper. Her first story was produced when she was ill with a bout of flu and her mother suggested that she occupy herself with creative writing. However, it was her elder sister, Madge, who dared Agatha to write a detective story. Agatha once said to Madge that she should like to have a go at writing a detective story.
‘I don’t think you could do it,’ remarked Madge. ‘They are very difficult to do. I’ve thought about it.’
‘I should like to try,’ Agatha replied.
‘Well, I bet you couldn’t,’ said Madge.
To sum up, Agatha’s innate curiosity, appetite for learning, a favourable environment created by her parents and her desire to rise to the challenge posed by her sister set her on the path towards worldwide fame as a writer. What makes her books appealing is the issue that we will discuss in our next post on Agatha Christie.
*http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsstatexp.aspx…
** a conservatory -a room with glass walls and a glass roof that is built on the side of a house. Conservatories are used for sitting in to enjoy the sun, and to protect plants from cold weather.
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/…/e…/conservatory…
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