Editing Agatha Christie (section)

==== Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple ====

[[File:American-13-for-Dinner.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Drawing of a gentleman in a dinner suit twirling his large moustache, illustrating the Christie story "13 for Dinner"|An early depiction of detective Hercule Poirot, from ''[[The American Magazine]]'', March 1933]]

Christie's first published book, ''[[The Mysterious Affair at Styles]]'', was released in 1920 and introduced the detective [[Hercule Poirot]], who appeared in 33 of her novels and more than 50 short stories.

Over the years, Christie grew tired of Poirot, much as Doyle did with Sherlock Holmes.<ref name="Morgan1984"/>{{Rp|230}} By the end of the 1930s, Christie wrote in her diary that she was finding Poirot "insufferable", and by the 1960s she felt he was "an egocentric creep".<ref name=":19">{{cite book |last=Gross |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/newoxfordbooklit00gros_551 |title=The New Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0199543410 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newoxfordbooklit00gros_551/page/n281 267] |url-access=limited}}</ref> Thompson believes Christie's occasional antipathy to her creation is overstated, and points out that "in later life she sought to protect him against misrepresentation as powerfully as if he were her own flesh and blood".<ref name="thompson"/>{{Rp|282}} Unlike Doyle, she resisted the temptation to kill her detective off while he was still popular.<ref name="Morgan1984"/>{{Rp|222}} She married off Poirot's "[[Dr. Watson|Watson]]", Captain [[Arthur Hastings]], in an attempt to trim her cast commitments.<ref name="Auto1993"/>{{Rp|268}}

[[Miss Jane Marple]] was introduced in a series of short stories that began publication in December 1927 and were subsequently collected under the title ''[[The Thirteen Problems]]''.<ref name="thompson"/>{{Rp|278}} Marple was a genteel, elderly spinster who solved crimes using analogies to English village life.<ref name=":16"/>{{Rp|47, 74–76}} Christie said, "Miss Marple was not in any way a picture of my grandmother; she was far more fussy and spinsterish than my grandmother ever was", but her autobiography establishes a firm connection between the fictional character and Christie's step-grandmother Margaret Miller ("Auntie-Grannie"){{Refn|Christie's familial relationship to Margaret Miller (née West) was complex. As well as being Christie's maternal great-aunt, Miller was Christie's father's step-mother as well as Christie's mother's foster mother and step-mother-in-law{{snd}}hence the appellation "Auntie-Grannie".|group=lower-alpha}} and her "Ealing cronies".<ref name="Auto1993"/>{{Rp|422–23}}<ref name="BBCdustyClues">{{cite news |last=Mills |first=Selina |date=15 September 2008 |title=Dusty clues to Christie unearthed |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7612000/7612534.stm |access-date=29 April 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328000220/http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7612000/7612534.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> Both Marple and Miller "always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and were, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right".<ref name="Auto1993"/>{{rp|422}} Marple appeared in 12 novels and 20 stories.

During the Second World War, Christie wrote two novels, ''[[Curtain (novel)|Curtain]]'' and ''[[Sleeping Murder]]'', featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, respectively. Both books were sealed in a [[bank vault]], and she made over the copyrights by deed of gift to her daughter and her husband to provide each with a kind of insurance policy.<ref name="thompson"/>{{rp|344}}<ref name=":16"/>{{rp|190}} Christie had a heart attack and a serious fall in 1974, after which she was unable to write.<ref name="Morgan1984"/>{{rp|372}} Her daughter authorised the publication of ''Curtain'' in 1975,<ref name="Morgan1984"/>{{rp|375}} and ''Sleeping Murder'' was published posthumously in 1976.<ref name=":16"/>{{rp|376}} These publications followed the success of the [[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|1974 film version]] of ''Murder on the Orient Express''.<ref name="Auto1993"/>{{Rp|497}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mainecrimewriters.com/2018/01/25/dame-agatha-and-her-orient-express/ |title=Dame Agatha and Her Orient Express |last=Vaughan |first=Susan |date=25 January 2018 |website=Maine Crime Writers |access-date=20 March 2019 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613072515/https://mainecrimewriters.com/2018/01/25/dame-agatha-and-her-orient-express/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Shortly before the publication of ''Curtain'', Poirot became the first fictional character to have an obituary in ''The New York Times'', which was printed on page one on 6 August 1975.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.poirot.us/obituary.php |title=Poirot's Obituary |last=Hobbs |first=JD |date=6 August 1975 |publisher=Poirot |access-date=11 April 2020 |place=US |archive-date=1 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501223503/http://www.poirot.us/obituary.php |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/06/archives/hercule-poirot-is-dead-famed-belgian-detective-hercule-poirot-the.html |title=Hercule Poirot Is Dead; Famed Belgian Detective |last=Lask |first=Thomas |date=6 August 1975 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=16 October 2020 |place=US |archive-date=7 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107112341/http://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/06/archives/hercule-poirot-is-dead-famed-belgian-detective-hercule-poirot-the.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Christie never wrote a novel or short story featuring both Poirot and Miss Marple.<ref name=":16"/>{{Rp|375}} In a recording discovered and released in 2008, Christie revealed the reason for this: "Hercule Poirot, a complete egoist, would not like being taught his business or having suggestions made to him by an elderly spinster lady. Hercule Poirot{{snd}}a professional sleuth{{snd}}would not be at home at all in Miss Marple's world."<ref name="BBCdustyClues"/>

In 2013, the Christie family supported the release of a new Poirot story, ''[[The Monogram Murders]]'', written by British author [[Sophie Hannah]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.agathachristie.com/the-monogram-murders |title=The Monogram Murders |publisher=Agatha Christie.com |access-date=11 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403183934/http://www.agathachristie.com/the-monogram-murders/ |archive-date=3 April 2015}}</ref> Hannah later published several more Poirot mysteries, ''[[Closed Casket (novel)|Closed Casket]]'' in 2016, ''[[The Mystery of Three Quarters]]'' in 2018.<ref name=":7">{{cite web |url=https://www.agathachristie.com/news/2016/an-interview-with-sophie-hannah |title=An interview with Sophie Hannah |website=The Home of Agatha Christie |date=22 August 2016 |language=en-US |access-date=29 April 2020 |archive-date=31 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831125357/https://www.agathachristie.com/news/2016/an-interview-with-sophie-hannah |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2020 |title=The Mystery of Three Quarters |url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062792341/the-mystery-of-three-quarters/ |access-date=29 April 2020 |website=[[HarperCollins]] Publishers |archive-date=13 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813045824/http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062792341/the-mystery-of-three-quarters/ |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Killings at Kingfisher Hill'' in 2020, ''Hercule Poirot's Silent Night'' in 2023 with a sixth instalment being commissioned in 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/agatha-christie-fans-gather-in-golden-age-dress-for-harpercollins-sold-out-a-christie-for-christmas | title=Agatha Christie fans gather in Golden Age dress for HarperCollins' sold-out 'A Christie for Christmas' }}</ref>

In 2021, following the success of Sophie Hannah's outings with Poirot, the Christie family supported the release of a collection of Miss Marple short stories. Called ''Marple'', the collection was released in 2022 and each story was written by a different author. This included  Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Val McDermid, Karen M. McManus, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kate Mosse and Ruth Ware.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.agathachristie.com/en/news/2021/introducing-a-new-collection-starring-jane-marple | title=Introducing a New Collection Starring Jane Marple | date=31 August 2021 }}</ref>