Agatha Christie and the Mystery Genre
 Never attended school; her mother believed
that a child’s mind ought to be left alone to
receive its own impressions
 Taught herself to read
 First married Archibald Christie in 1914
 Her mother died; when Agatha returned to her
husband from the arrangements, he asked for a divorce
(nice guy, huh?).
 They were divorced in 1928; this brought on a nervous
breakdown and a 9-day disappearance.
 Agatha marries Max Mallowan in 1930, an
archaeologist, and she began to accompany him on his
expeditions—this appeared in her writing
 Sold more books than any author except
Shakespeare
 Translated into more than 100 languages
 Popular because she tells simple stories in plain
English with ample dialogue without adding
feelings of her own
 Uses many devices in her writing
 The house party murder
 The conventional triangle turning around
 The nursery rhyme
 The poisoning
"One of the pleasures of writing detective stories is
that there are so many types to choose from: the
light-hearted thriller, which is particularly
pleasant to do; the intricate detective story with
an involved plot which is technically interesting
and requires a great deal of work, but is always
rewarding; and then what I can only describe as
the detective story that has a kind of passion
behind it -- that passion being to help save
innocence. Because it is innocence that matters,
not guilt."
-- Agatha Christie in her Autobiography.
 A subgenre of narrative fiction; often thought of as a
detective story.
 Usually involves a mysterious death or a crime to be
solved. In a closed circle of suspects, each suspect
must have a credible motive and a reasonable
opportunity for committing the crime. The central
character must be a detective who eventually solves the
mystery by logical deduction from facts fairly
presented to the reader. This classic structure is the
basis for hundreds of variations on the form.
 To engage in and enjoy solving a puzzle. Explore moral
satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) at resolution. Consider
human condition and how to solve or avoid human
problems.
 Main character who is a detective who sets out to solve
a mystery.
 Suspects and their motives; these must be weighed
and evaluated.
 Overt Clues about the crime are presented.
 Hidden Evidence is presented, i.e., essential details are
offered in such a way that they seem unimportant.
 Inference Gaps—mysteries, by their very
nature, do not tell the whole story.
 It is up to readers to notice the gaps in the
story and try to fill these gaps by using and
connecting the information that is
presented.
 Suspense—having to hold various possible
conclusions at bay as you wait to see what
happens; reader is expected to enjoy the
suspense, and to read to find out what will
happen.
 Foreshadowing—clues left by the author as
to possible outcomes.
 Red herring—a kind of foreshadowing clue
that leads the reader to false conclusions.