This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Agatha Christie (1890-1976). The event itself, on January 12, was marked by a flurry of media coverage across the world, and academic experts were sought for comment. The chief question being: why is Christie the bestselling author of all time?
Christie’s success is a conundrum, not a self-evident manifestation of incontrovertible genius – and this is what makes it so fascinating. Christie was a talented writer, but the same could easily be said of many 20th-century authors.
