Why Agatha Christie Mysteries Are Timeless Classics For All Ages

Komal ZaheerJune 1, 2019

2 minutes read

if you’ve grown up in the 90’s you know the excitement of getting your library book card made with the race to get the most books stamped on yours. If you were an avid book reader, you know the struggle of not being able to get to the restricted section till you were in grade 11.

We all love what we can’t have right?

Book enthusiast or not, the school library has always been a safe haven for students; whether it was to finish your left over home work, to escape the boiling heat during break time or just to find a quiet place to sit for some time. Looking back, some of us regret not having utilized our daily library period better as kids because let’s face it adults rarely have time to just get lost in a really good book.

Some of the most popular books in those times included the Sweet Valley series, The Babysitters Club, Enid Blyton books and most importantly, Agatha Christie’s chilling mysteries!

For those of you unfortunate souls who have never been acquainted with the Queen of Mystery, she wrote around 60 novels and 14 short story collections from the 1920s through the 1970s and her books usually revolve around British upper and middle class characters who are complex and intriguing.

Having sold over 2 billion copies of her books, Agatha Christie is also known as one of the best selling novelist of all time! Her books are for people of all ages and while they were written more than 150 years ago, her novels still have a way of surprising you at the end. Agatha Christie novels have been made into breathtaking feature films, brilliant plays and mind boggling Television series.

So what is it about these murder mystery novels that has garnered Miss Christie such a huge fan following long after her death? It is the unique understanding she showcased of the human psyche and condition that have kept readers worldwide hooked onto her every word. What makes a murderer and how do they think?What are their possible motives? And who is innocent and who guilty? These are some of the questions Miss Christie has had us thinking with each tantalizing novel.

Her books and short stories are also very straight forward, easy to understand and relatable on a very human level. She takes us on a journey of self discovery as she lets us know for the umpteenth time, anyone is capable of murder but it’s most likely the husband or the wife. (Sorry for the spoiler!) Someone with a real connection and a plausible motive.

Her two most famous characters are the tiny Belgian private detective Monsieur Hercule Poirot and the formidable old Miss Marple who plays the local neighborhood aid to Scotland Yard sometimes. Both of these characters are loved. Mr. Poirot has been portrayed multiple times and even has his own BBC series.