Born Agatha Mary Clarissa Mallowan in Torquay, Devon, England, mystery writer and playwright Dame Agatha Christie (1891–1976) was tutored at home by her mother until age 16, then studied music in Paris.

“Writing is a great consolation to anyone who can't express themselves well any other way,” she said.

While working as a World War I nurse, she created Inspector Hercule Poirot in her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), breathing life into one of the most beloved detectives of the 20th century. The eccentric Belgian with the long moustache appeared in almost half her novels. She plotted murders while washing dishes, often giggling.

In addition to clues, crime-solving, and clever endings, Christie emphasized acceptance, especially within a family. “Truth, however bitter, can be accepted and woven into a design for living,” she observed.

Her 1934 classic Murder on the Orient Express remains a fan favorite, as Poirot solved his toughest case aboard a snowbound train.

“I regard my work as of no importance,” she said modestly. “I simply set out to entertain.”

Named Dame of the British Empire in 1971, Christie was honored for a 50-year career that included over 100 short stories, 17 plays, and 70 novels translated into 104 languages.

“Every murderer,” she wrote in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, “is probably somebody's old friend.” Through mystery, Agatha gave people hope in the face of chaos.