Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the author not only of "The Mousetrap", the longest running play in history but also "Witness For The Prosecution" and "And Then There Were None" to name but a few of her greatest stage successes. Her novels have sold more than 2 billion copies around the world, and she is only outsold by the Bible and Shakespeare.
Born in 1890, in Torquay, Devon, England, to an American father and English mother, she wrote her first play "Black Coffee" (the only play in which she chose to feature Poirot) in 1930 having been disappointed by the way "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" had been adapted into "Alibi" in 1928. She adapted her bestselling novel "And Then There Were None" for stage in 1943, giving it a different ending, followed by, in quick succession, "Appointment With Death" (1945), "Murder On The Nile" (1946) and "The Hollow" (1951). With "The Mousetrap" (1952), "Witness For The Prosecution" (1953), and "Spider's Web" (1954), she became the only female playwright to have three plays running in the West End at the same time. Later plays include "Towards Zero" (1956) co-adapted with Gerald Verner, "Verdict" (1958) possibly her most unusual play, "Go Back For Murder" (1960), and "Rule of Three" (1962) a series of three one act plays.
After a hugely successful career and a wonderful life, Ms. Christie died peacefully on 12 January 1976. You can read Agatha Christie's own account of her life in "An Autobiography" which was published after her death in 1977.
Website: www.agathachristie.com
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