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 & heralded the career of an author who went on to outsell even Shakespeare. Agatha Christies works remain a literary phenomenon & many of her mysteries have been immortalized through sumptuous television & cinema adaptations. Christie herself was a discreet private & ladylike person. Yet her life was far from dull: she travelled widely & 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 & other factors that have shaped her life providing a colourful & informative look at the originator of the ingeniously constructed "whodunits". Revised & updated for 2012 & highly illustrated " The World of Agatha Christie" is the perfect companion to the work of this most popular of mystery writers."