agatha christie

a brief life

Agatha Christie was born on September 15, 1890, in Torquay, England, the third of three children.  Her father, Frederick Miller, was an American, while her mother, said to be shy, was British.  Her mother decided that Agatha would not attend formal schooling; Agatha taught herself to read by the age of five, and the rest of her education was from tutors, part-time schooling, and occasional attendance at French finishing schools.  Her father died when she was eleven, and her mother undertook extensive travel, taking young Agatha with her.  In 1912, Agatha met Archie Christie; they married on Christmas Eve, 1914; two days later, Archie returned to France with the Royal Flying Corps.  Agatha worked as a nurse for the Red Cross Hospital in Torquay during the war.  Her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 19xx, and received favorable reviews. 

Rosalind, her only daughter, was born in 1919.  By 1926, things had changed:  her mother died, and her husband left her for another woman.  Agatha visited Baghdad in 1930, and met Max Mallowan, who took her on a tour of the area; they got stuck in the desert and had to be rescued.  When they returned, she received word that Rosalind was seriously ill, and had to return to England; Christie had sprained her ankle and couldn’t walk, so Max accompanied her back to England.  Once there, he proposed, and they were married.  Christie accompanied Max on his archaeological digs for almost three decades.  They were happily married for 46 years.  She died peacefully on January 12, 1976.

biographical details drawn from http://agathachristie.com/