Agatha Christie Timeline

This Saturday - September, 15 - marks 128 years since the birth of English crime fiction writer Agatha Christie. Having produced 66 detective novels, 14 short story collections, 6 romances (under a pen name) and the world’s longest-running play, Ms. Christie was named in 1971 a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for the contribution she brought to literature. Initially met with rejection by the publishing houses to which she submitted her manuscripts, she made her breakthrough in 1920 and is now listed as the best-selling novelist of all time by Guiness World Records.

To bring an homage to the author whose work earned her the title of “Queen of Crime/Queen of Mystery”, we have created the Agatha Christie Timeline, which reviews the highlights of her life and literary career.

Teaching herself to read before she was 8 and writing her first poem when she was only 10, young Christie initially tried her hand at poetry and plays. She then extended her writing to short stories with an interest in the paranormal, but many of them were declined by publishers. It was her first crime novel (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) that, once published, paved her path to becoming one of the most prolific murder mystery writers and introduced the long-running character Hercule Poirot. Appearing in 33 novels and 54 short stories, the Belgian sleuth created by Mrs. Christie became an emblematic figure in the niche literature and is the only fictional character to be given an obituary in the New York Times.

Having been adapted for television, films, radio and comics, her books have sold roughly 2 billion copies and have been translated into more than 100 languages, establishing Mrs. Christie as a master of suspense and plotting.

The Agatha Christie chronology was built using the intuitive add-in for Powerpoint called Office Timeline, which enables you to easily create stylish timelines, Gantt charts and other similar visuals. Available to be copied and shared for free, the image can be easily restyled and updated using the Plus version of the add-in.

Download the Agatha Christie Timeline for PowerPoint here.