In 1921, a publishing phenomenon began with the publication of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a sophisticated murder mystery with a protagonist by the name of Hercule Poirot. It was the first of more than 60 crime novels by Agatha Christie, and heralded the career of an author who went on to outsell even Shakespeare. Agatha Christie's works remain a literary phenomenon and many of her mysteries have been immortalized through sumptuous television and cinema adaptations. Christie herself was a discreet, private and ladylike person. Yet her life was far from dull: she travelled widely and in 1926 she hit the headlines when she disappeared, creating a mystery around her life as intriguing as any plot she had ever written. The World of Agatha Christie looks at this and other factors that have shaped her life, providing a colourful and informative look at the originator of the ingeniously constructed whodunits. Revised and updated for 2012 and highly illustrated, The World of Agatha Christie is the perfect companion to the work of this most popular of mystery writers.