Agatha Christie (1890–1976) was an English crime novelist, short-story writer and playwright. Her reputation rests on 66 detective novels and 15 short-story collections that have sold over two billion copies, an amount surpassed only by the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare. She is also the most translated individual author in the world with her books having been translated into more than 100 languages. Her works contain several regular characters with whom the public became familiar, including Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Parker Pyne and Harley Quin. Christie wrote more Poirot stories than any of the others, even though she thought the character to be "rather insufferable". Following the publication of the 1975 novel Curtain, Poirot's obituary appeared on the front page of The New York Times.

She married Archibald Christie in December 1914, but the couple divorced in 1928. After he was sent to the Western Front in the First World War, she worked with the Voluntary Aid Detachment and in the chemist dispensary, giving her a working background knowledge of medicines and poisons. Christie's writing career began during the war, after she was challenged by her sister to write a detective story; she produced The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which was turned down by two publishers before being published in 1920. Following the limited success of the novel, she continued to write and steadily built up a fan base. She went on to write over a hundred works, including further novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and two autobiographies. She also wrote six romantic novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott.

One of Christie's plays, The Mousetrap, opened in West End theatre in 1952, and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic. It then re-opened on 17 May 2021. In 2025, the London run exceeded 30,000 performances.

In September 2015, a public vote identified And Then There Were None as the public's favourite Christie novel; the book was the writer's favourite, and the one she found most difficult to write.

In September 1930, Christie married the archaeologist Max Mallowan. The pair travelled frequently on archaeological expeditions, and she used the experiences she had while on her many adventures as a basis for some plots, including Murder on the Orient Express (1934), Murder in Mesopotamia (1936), Death on the Nile (1937) and Appointment with Death (1938). She also wrote the autobiographical travel book Come, Tell Me How You Live (1946), which described their life in Syria. Her biographer, Janet Morgan, reports that "archaeologists have celebrated ... [Christie's] contribution to Near Eastern exploration". Christie died in 1976, her reputation as a crime novelist high.

Novels

Initially in chronological order by UK publication date, even when the book was published first in the US or serialised in a magazine in advance of publication in book form.

+ Christie's novels UK title Year of UKpublication UK publisher(All London) Year of USpublication US title US publisher(All New York) Series Notes John Lane – Dodd, Mead & Co Tommy and Tuppence – Dodd, Mead & Co – Dodd, Mead & Co – Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – Giant's Bread William Collins & Sons Giant's Bread Doubleday Other As Mary Westmacott Hodder & Stoughton Doubleday Mystery novel With members of The Detection Club. William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – Peril at End House William Collins & Sons Peril at End House Dodd, Mead & Co – Lord Edgware Dies William Collins & Sons Thirteen at Dinner Dodd, Mead & Co – Murder on the Orient Express William Collins & Sons Murder in the Calais Coach Dodd, Mead & Co – Unfinished Portrait William Collins & Sons Unfinished Portrait Doubleday Other As Mary Westmacott Why Didn't They Ask Evans? William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – Three Act Tragedy William Collins & Sons Murder in Three Acts Dodd, Mead & Co – Death in the Clouds William Collins & Sons Death in the Air Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – Murder in Mesopotamia William Collins & Sons Murder in Mesopotamia Dodd, Mead & Co – Cards on the Table William Collins & Sons Cards on the Table Dodd, Mead & Co – Dumb Witness William Collins & Sons Poirot Loses a Client Dodd, Mead & Co – Death on the Nile William Collins & Sons Death on the Nile Dodd, Mead & Co – Appointment with Death William Collins & Sons Appointment with Death Dodd, Mead & Co – Hercule Poirot's Christmas William Collins & Sons Murder for Christmas Dodd, Mead & Co Later US editions also published under the title A Holiday for Murder Murder Is Easy William Collins & Sons Easy to Kill Dodd, Mead & Co – And Then There Were None William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel Also published in the U.S. as Ten Little Indians Sad Cypress William Collins & Sons Sad Cypress Dodd, Mead & Co – One, Two, Buckle My Shoe William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co Published in paperback in the US under the title An Overdose of Death Evil Under the Sun William Collins & Sons Evil Under the Sun Dodd, Mead & Co – N or M? William Collins & Sons N or M? Dodd, Mead & Co Tommy and Tuppence – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – Five Little Pigs William Collins & Sons Murder in Retrospect Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – Towards Zero William Collins & Sons Towards Zero Dodd, Mead & Co – Absent in the Spring William Collins & Sons Absent in the Spring Farrar & Rinehart Other As Mary Westmacott Death Comes as the End William Collins & Sons Death Comes as the End Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – Sparkling Cyanide William Collins & Sons Remembered Death Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – Taken at the Flood William Collins & Sons There is a Tide . . . Dodd, Mead & Co – Heinemann Rinehart & Company Other As Mary Westmacott Crooked House William Collins & Sons Crooked House Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – They Came to Baghdad William Collins & Sons They Came to Baghdad Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – Mrs McGinty's Dead William Collins & Sons Mrs McGinty's Dead Dodd, Mead & Co – They Do It with Mirrors William Collins & Sons Murder with Mirrors Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dell Publishing Other As Mary Westmacott After the Funeral William Collins & Sons Funerals are Fatal Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – Destination Unknown William Collins & Sons So Many Steps to Death Dodd, Mead & Co. Syndicated in US Newspapers as Destination X. Mystery novel – Hickory Dickory Dock William Collins & Sons Hickory Dickory Death Dodd, Mead & Co – Dead Man's Folly William Collins & Sons Dead Man's Folly Dodd, Mead & Co – Heinemann Dell Publishing Other As Mary Westmacott 4:50 from Paddington William Collins & Sons What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! Dodd, Mead & Co – Ordeal by Innocence William Collins & Sons Ordeal by Innocence Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – Cat Among the Pigeons William Collins & Sons Cat Among the Pigeons Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – Third Girl William Collins & Sons Third Girl Dodd, Mead & Co – Endless Night William Collins & Sons Endless Night Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – By the Pricking of My Thumbs William Collins & Sons By the Pricking of My Thumbs Dodd, Mead & Co Tommy and Tuppence – Hallowe'en Party William Collins & Sons Hallowe'en Party Dodd, Mead & Co Also published as A Haunting in Venice, as a tie-in with the movie of the same name Passenger to Frankfurt William Collins & Sons Passenger to Frankfurt Dodd, Mead & Co Mystery novel – Nemesis William Collins & Sons Nemesis Dodd, Mead & Co – Elephants Can Remember William Collins & Sons Elephants Can Remember Dodd, Mead & Co – Postern of Fate William Collins & Sons Postern of Fate Dodd, Mead & Co Tommy and Tuppence – Curtain William Collins & Sons Curtain Dodd, Mead & Co Poirot's last case, written in the 1940s. Sleeping Murder William Collins & Sons Sleeping Murder Dodd, Mead & Co Miss Marple's last case, written in the 1940s. Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly HarperCollins Written in 1954 to raise money for a church. Later reworked into Dead Man's Folly (see above).

Short fiction collections

Many of Christie's stories first appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines. This list consists of the published collections of stories, in chronological order by UK publication date, even when the book was published first in the US or serialised in a magazine in advance of publication in book form.

+ Christie's short-story collections UK title Year of UKpublication UK publisher(All London) US title Year of USpublication US publisher(All New York) Series Poirot Investigates John Lane Poirot Investigates Dodd, Mead & Co Partners in Crime William Collins & Sons Partners in Crime Dodd, Mead & Co Tommy and Tuppence William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co Odhams Press – – – – William Collins & Sons – – – – Parker Pyne Investigates William Collins & Sons Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective Dodd, Mead & Co Murder in the Mews William Collins & Sons Dead Man's Mirror Dodd, Mead & Co – – – Dodd, Mead & Co , Parker Pyne & Miss Marple Vallencey Bantam Books Also called Problem at Sea Bantam Books Bantam Books Poirot and the Regatta Mystery Bantam Books Poirot and the Regatta Mystery Bantam Books Poirot on Holiday Todd – – – Problem at Pollensa Bay and The Christmas Adventure Todd – – – Todd – – – Poirot Knows the Murderer Todd – – – William Collins & Sons Dodd, Mead & Co – – – Dodd, Mead & Co and others – – – Dodd, Mead & Co – – – Dodd, Mead & Co – William Collins & Sons – – – , Miss Marple and others – – – Double Sin and Other Stories Dodd, Mead & Co – 13 for Luck! A Selection of Mystery Stories for Young Readers William Collins & Sons 13 for Luck! A Selection of Mystery Stories for Young Readers Dodd, Mead & Co – – – – Surprise! Surprise! Dodd, Mead & Co – – – – 13 Clues for Miss Marple Dodd, Mead & Co – – – Dodd, Mead & Co – Poirot's Early Cases William Collins & Sons Hercule Poirot's Early Cases Dodd, Mead & Co Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories William Collins & Sons – – – and others Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories HarperCollins – – – , Parker Pyne & Harley Quin and others While the Light Lasts and Other Stories HarperCollins – – – – Miss Marple Complete Short Stories 1997 HarperCollins - - – The Big Four (short-story version) HarperCollins – – –

List of short stories A total of 166 stories have been written and published in 15 collections in the US and the UK. 165 stories were published in the UK, with the omission of "Three Blind Mice." The 12 original short stories that were used for The Big Four were published in the UK in 2017. 154 other stories were published in the US. Some stories were published under different names in the US collections.

Four short stories, including "The Submarine Plans," "Christmas Adventure," "The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest," and "The Second Gong," were expanded into longer stories by Christie (respectively "The Incredible Theft," "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding," "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest," and "Dead Man's Mirror").

UK collections This is a list of 166 stories sorted by the 15 UK collections in chronological order.