Inside Agatha Christie’s Stranger Than Fiction Life, Romantic Heartbreak and Move to Baghdad

Agatha Christie led a fascinating life.

Not only did she become a truly one-of-a-kind author, earning the moniker “the Queen of Crime,” but she also lived a unique and fascinating experience outside of her profession.

Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in 1890 into an upper-middle-class family in Torquay, Devon, the youngest of three children. Because of the age gap between Christie and her older siblings, she often spent time engaged in solo imaginary play and reading, despite her mother’s insistence she didn’t need to learn to read until the age of 8.

Her circumstances changed after her father, Frederick Miller, died in Nov. 1901, an incident which Christie once referred to as the end of her childhood. She struggled through school after having previously being taught at home. She was eventually sent to boarding schools in Paris despite her family’s financial struggles.

Christie would go on to release her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920. Her career would see her write over 80 books, introducing the world to beloved characters including Hercule Poirot and Miss Marples, as well as six additional books under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott.

Christie died on Jan. 12, 1976, at her home in Oxfordshire, England of natural causes at the age of 85. However, her work lives on — not just in print, but in adaptations for TV, theater and film. Here are some of the things you may not have known about one of history’s most unforgettable writers.

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Christie initially believed her calling was music

In her late teens, Christie studied the mandolin and piano, and her teachers believed she had the potential to become a professional musician. Christie did struggle with stage fright and had mixed feelings about performing.

She ultimately stopped performing as her interest in writing deepened, which also coincided with her mom’s health deteriorating. Christie wrote her first short story when she was 18, changing her path moving forward.

She had a literary mentor

Christie went from short stories to novels, finding inspiration in her time in Egypt with her mother, Clarissa “Clara” Margaret Boehmer.

Despite presenting her work under a pseudonym, Christie had several publishers turn it down. Frustrated, the author wasn’t sure if there was a path forward until she took some advice from her mom. Clara suggested that her daughter consult a family friend and neighbor, Eden Phillpotts.

Phillpotts turned to writing after a few career changes, breaking into the field after feeling defeated in his attempts at acting. As he enjoyed success as a writer, he forged a relationship with Christie, bonding over their interest in fiction.

Not only did Phillpotts encourage the young author, but he also introduced her to his own literary agent. While the agent couldn’t get Christie published, he encouraged her not to give up.

She disappeared for 11 days without an explanation

In Dec. 1926, Christie was an established author, though she hadn’t reached the heights she would in the years that follow. At that point, she had released six novels, including The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which had come out earlier that year.

On Dec. 3, 1926, Christie departed her Berkshire, England home after putting her daughter, Rosalind, to be bed. The following day, Christie’s car was discovered abandoned, with some of her belongings still inside the vehicle.

“The novelist’s car was found abandoned near Guildford on the edge of a chalk pit, the front wheels actually overhanging the edge,” the New York Times reported days later, as the search for the author scaled up.

After five days of searching, however, the search was briefly called off when a family member claimed they received a letter from the author saying she’d gone away to a Yorkshire spa. Behind the scenes, the authorities continued to dig, believing Christie had taken her own life.

On Dec. 15, Christie was seen at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Yorkshire, over 200 miles from home. She’d checked in under the name “Teresa Neele,” which used the surname of her husband Colonel Archibald “Archie” Christie’s mistress.

The mysterious disappearance occurred just after the end of her first marriage and her mother’s death

Christie and the Colonel were married in 1914, welcoming Rosalind in 1919. The marriage began with a whirlwind romance, marrying just three months after they met.

The two enjoyed a mostly positive marriage, traveling as Archie served in World War I and later, in promotion of Christie’s titles, before things soured. After moving to Berkshire, Archie was increasingly absent from family life. When Christie was devastated by the loss of her mother in April 1926, she found her husband offered her no support, not even attending Clara’s funeral.

That Aug., Archie revealed to Christie that he was in love with another woman and asked for a divorce. The weekend of her disappearance was the same weekend that Archie was celebrating his engagement to Nancy Neele, which led some to question if she was trying to frame her estranged spouse for her death by disappearing. Ultimately, Christie blamed amnesia for her disappearance but never explained herself in any more substantive capacity. She didn’t even mention the event in her posthumously published autobiography.

She had a secret second wedding

Christie and Archie were officially divorced in Oct. 1928. Archie married his mistress the following week, while Christie forged ahead, focused on recovering and caring for Rosalind.

Mother and daughter traveled the Middle East on the Orient Express, setting in Baghdad. Her interest in the area led to her returning two years later, at which point she met Max Mallowan, an archaeologist who took Christie and other tourists on a tour of the Ur of the Chaldees expedition site. Mallowan was struck by Christie’s knowledge of the area and of archaeology.

Christie and Mallowan hit it off and knew they wanted to wed, but the author was skeptical of the attention around the event after how the media handled her disappearance. The couple decided to travel with a few friends, as well as Rosalind, to the Isle of Skye in Scotland, in Sept. 1930.

Recognizing that the travels didn’t garner too much attention, they moved forward with preparing for their wedding and quietly tied the knot on Sept. 11, 1930, days before Christie’s 40th birthday. Mallowan was 26. The two would enjoy nearly five decades of marriage before Christie’s death in 1976.