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Here is a list of our top 10 things to do on the English Rivera which have links to Agatha Christie, our most famous resident!
Visit Torquay and live like Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie, known throughout the world as the ‘Queen of Crime’, is a literary genius. Her books have sold more than two billion copies and have been translated into over 100 languages. She remains unrivalled and is also the most successful female playwright of all time, as well as a respected authority on travel, archaeology and pharmacology.
The English Riviera is immensely proud to be associated with its best-known resident and to have played a part in Agatha’s formative years when the experiences, places and people that she encountered provided the inspiration for many of the characters and plots she created within her much-loved stories and plays.
Every September, to mark her birthday, the International Agatha Christie Festival takes place across the English Riviera. Details of this year's programme will be published on the festival website.
Whether you are a first time visitor or are returning to the English Riviera, you may be surprised by just how many Torquay landmarks have an Agatha connection.
Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born at Ashfield, a large Victorian mansion in Torquay on 15th September 1890 and she was christened at All Saints Church. She spent an idyllic childhood at the family home with her upper-middle class American father, Frederick, and her English mother, Clara, and older siblings, Monty and Madge. Ashfield was demolished in the 1960’s but today a blue plaque on Barton Road, Torquay marks the spot where the original building once stood.
As a child, Agatha enjoyed writing short stories, accessing her father’s extensive library and taking inspiration from her mother, who was an excellent storyteller. Her father was a member of Torquay Natural History Society, later to become Torquay Museum and he supported William Pengelly’s excavations at Kents Cavern. He was also a regular visitor to Royal Torbay Yacht Club and president of Torquay Cricket Club.
Agatha enjoyed many hobbies including taking dance, piano and singing lessons and took part in amateur theatricals at with the Mallock family, at their home, Cockington Court. She enjoyed roller-skating at her favourite spot at Princess Pier, surfing and swimming at Elberry Cove and Ladies' Bathing Cove, now known as Beacon Cove, and played golf at Churston and Torquay Golf courses. Today, it’s possible to view Beacon Cove from Living Coasts’ terrace.
Agatha attended many social functions at many locations in Torquay: The Imperial Hotel; The Athenaeum Rooms, once located at 43 Fleet Street; The Royal Theatre, now the home of the Central Cinema in Abbey Road and The Pavilion on the harbourside. The Pavilion, once a thriving art nouveau styled concert hall and theatre attracted celebrated artistes such as composer Sir Edward Elgar, pianist Rachmaninoff and ballerina Anna Pavlova. It was whilst attending a Wagner concert at The Pavilion in 1913 that Agatha accepted a proposal of marriage from her first husband, Archie Christie.
During the first world war Agatha worked as a nursing auxiliary at Torquay Town Hall which was used as a Red Cross hospital. Later as a qualified nurse she worked at the Dispensary and this is where she gained her authoritative knowledge of poisons. During quiet moments she began to write her first detective story, ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’, a poisoning mystery solved by the iconic, Hercule Poirot. The novel was completed during a break at Moorlands Hotel, Haytor.
When Archie, a qualified aviator with the Royal Flying Corps came home on leave from France in 1914, the couple married on Christmas Eve and spent their honeymoon night at The Grand Hotel.
After the war, Agatha moved from Devon to set up home with Archie in a flat in London. It was a happy period for the married couple as the birth of their only child, Rosalind occurred that year, and Agatha received news that ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’ was to be published and that she had been given a contract to produce another five books.
Overseas travel was a staple ingredient of Agatha’s life, honing her extensive knowledge of the most exotic and cosmopolitan locations of the day, which were to become central to her storylines. As a young girl, following her father's death, she spent time in France and Egypt, and after the first world war she travelled extensively with Archie throughout the British Empire taking in visits to South Africa, Australia, Honolulu and Canada.
In 1926, following the death of her beloved mother and aware that her marriage to Archie was in trouble, Agatha Christie disappeared, prompting a nationwide search. She was later located at Harrogate Spa Hotel.
When her divorce from Archie was granted in 1928, Agatha undertook an unaccompanied journey on the Orient Express. This was quite an adventurous undertaking for a middle class lady but Agatha was a seasoned traveller after all. During this trip she visited Baghdad and an archaeological site at Ur. This was to be a significant chapter in her life as it was during a return visit to the area that she met Max Mallowan, an archaeologist-in-training, who was to become her second husband. The Middle Eastern experiences and Max’s line of work heavily influenced Agatha’s writing as can be seen in some of her most famous works including 'Death on the Nile', 'Murder on the Orient Express', 'Murder in Mesopotamia', 'They Came to Baghdad' and 'Appointment with Death'.
Whilst the allure of international travel and family life took Agatha away from her beloved Torquay and South Devon, she returned often and in 1938 she purchased Greenway House, Galmpton, an idyllic and secluded spot on the banks of the River Dart. This was to be her and Max's holiday retreat and, during their visits, they often dined with Lord and Lady Churston at Churston Court. Agatha regularly attended the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Churston Ferrers and she donated the royalties from a Miss Marple short story, 'Greenshaw’s Folly' to pay for a new stained-glass window for the church where it can be seen and admired today.
During the Second World War, Agatha volunteered at the dispensary at University College Hospital, London whilst her husband supported the war efforts in a linguistic role in Cairo, Egypt.
In the years after the war ended, Agatha continued to write and worked on theatrical and radio productions including writing a radio play, 'Three Blind Mice' to mark Queen Mary’s 80th birthday celebrations in 1947. The following year, Agatha's own adaptation of the play - retitled 'The Mousetrap' - opened on stage and has become the world’s longest running play.
In 1956, in recognition of her remarkable contribution to the arts, her successful literary career and the far-reaching appeal of her work, Her Majesty the Queen appointed Agatha a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) and named her a Dame in 1971.
Agatha died peacefully at her country home in Wallingford, Oxfordshire on 12th January 1976. She remains the best-selling female crime writer and author of all time.
Agatha lived a long, eventful and successful life with lots of memorable milestones. Here is a chronological list of events during her 85 years of life.
1890 - Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller is born on 15th September
1895 - Agatha teaches herself to read, aged five
1901 - Death of her father, Frederick Alvah Miller
1906 - Attends a finishing school in Paris
1911 - Completes her first and unpublished novel, 'Snow Upon the Desert'
1912 - Meets Archie Christie, her future husband
1914 - Serves as a nurse in the Red Cross Hospital, Torquay Town Hall
1914 - Marries Archie Christie
1916 - Serves as a Dispenser at the Red Cross Hospital, qualifying in 1917
1919 - Agatha’s only child, Rosalind is born
1920 - Agatha’s first novel, 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' featuring Hercule Poirot is published
1926 - Death of her mother, Clara Miller
1926 - Agatha’s disappearance prompts a nationwide search. Later located at Harrogate Spa Hotel having possibly suffered concussion and amnesia
1928 - Divorce granted from Archie Christie
1930 - Marries archaeologist, Max Mallowan
1938 - Greenway House on the banks of the River Dart is bought for the sum of £6,000.
1939 - 'And Then There Were None', the biggest selling crime novel of all time, is published
1941 - Rosalind Christie, Agatha’s daughter marries Hubert Prichard
1943 - Agatha’s grandson, Mathew Prichard is born
1947 - The radio play 'Three Blind Mice' is broadcast marking Queen Mary’s 80th Birthday
1950 - Agatha begins writing her autobiography
1952 - 'The Mousetrap', the world’s longest running play, opens in London
1956 - Agatha appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE)
1957 - Agatha took on the role of president of the Detection Club, a society of British mystery writers until 1976
1968 - Agatha’s husband, Max receives a knighthood for his work in archaeology
1971 - Agatha is named a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE)
1975 - Fictional character Hercule Poirot’s death occurs, having starred in over 30 novels and 50 short stories
1976 - Agatha dies peacefully on 12th January and is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's, Cholsey, near Wallingford
1977 - 'Agatha Christie, An Autobiography' is published
1990 - A bronze statue of Agatha, marking the centenary of her birth is unveiled by her daughter, Rosalind at Cary Gardens, adjacent to The Pavilion, Torquay. See the Agatha Christie bust in Torquay.
Agatha’s fondness for South Devon is evident by the many subtle depictions of places that appear in over 20 of her novels. The most avid Christie fans may have already recognised some of the following locations:
The Laurels at Hollowquay was a representation of her childhood home, Ashfield in 'Postern of Fate' (1973).
Corbyn Head, Torquay appears as Baldy’s Head in 'Postern of Fate' (1973).
Princess Gardens, Torquay appears in 'The ABC Murders' (1936) along with the village of Churston and Elberry Cove.
The Imperial Hotel features in three novels. It is renamed as The Majestic in the fictional town of St Loo in 'Peril at End House' (1932) and again in the town of Danemouth in 'The Body in the Library' (1942). It appears as The Imperial Hotel in 'Sleeping Murder' (1976).
Burgh Island, a 26 acre private island overlooking Bigbury On Sea and Bantham beaches with a 1930s Art Deco hotel appears as Soldier Island in 'And Then There Were None' (1939).
It also appears as Smugglers’ Island in Leathercombe Bay in 'Evil Under The Sun' (1941).
Royal Castle Hotel, Dartmouth appears as the Royal George Hotel in the short story, 'The Regatta Mystery' in 'The Problem at Pollensa Bay' (1939).
Kents Cavern is the inspiration for Hampsley Cavern in 'The Man in the Brown Suit' (1924).
Agatha’s holiday retreat, Greenway House and the nearby village of Galmpton feature as Nasse House at Nassecombe in 'Dead Man’s Folly' (1956) whilst the fishing town of Brixham appears as Brixwell. Greenway appears again in 'Five Little Pigs' (1943) as well as 'Towards Zero' (1944) and as Sunny Point House in 'Ordeal by Innocence' (1958).
Torquay is depicted as Cullenquay in 'Mrs McGinty’s Dead' (1952).
Petitor and Torquay Golf Course are the inspiration of the golf course and cliffs in the thriller, 'Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?' (1934) which Agatha dedicated to Christopher Mallock of Cockington Court, Torquay.
Find out more by following The Agatha Christie Literary Trail.
Did you know that Agatha Christie wrote an extensive collection of works? 66 mystery novels, 19 plays and 150 short stories to be precise. But do you know which is the most popular? Many may believe that it is 'Murder on the Orient Express' (1934) but the best-selling mystery novel of all time is …
'And Then There Were None' (1939), the most adapted of her works. Ten strangers are lured to a secluded island (inspired by Burgh Island) off the coast of Devon and when a murder takes place, the tension starts to build as the strangers realise that the killer is among them and further murders follow…...
One of the biggest film adaptations starred Aidan Turner as Phillip Lombard, here he talks about the role.
Best known for her fictional crime stories and much-adored characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Agatha also wrote non-fiction including ‘Come, Tell Me How You Live’ (1946) about her travels with her second husband, Max. She also wrote under a pseudonym - Mary Westmacott - that gave her the freedom to move away from detective stories. As Mary Westmacott, Agatha wrote six romantic novels, described by her daughter, Rosalind as ‘bitter-sweet stories about love’.
Agatha fans will know everything there is to know about Hercule Poirot. But for those who are less familiar, let’s turn a few pages and find out more…
Poirot appeared in Agatha’s first published novel, 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' in 1920.
By the time of his fictional death in 1975, he had appeared in over 30 novels and more than 50 short stories.
He is the only fictional character to have received an obituary on the front page of The New York Times.
Hercule’s nationality may have been inspired by the many Belgian refugees that Agatha observed who were staying in Torquay during the first world war.
Adored worldwide, his easily recognisable style is described in 'Murder on the Orient Express' as ‘a little man with enormous moustaches’. Standing diminutively at 5’4” with an egg-shaped head, he is always impeccably dressed, holding his iconic walking stick.
The self-proclaimed ‘greatest detective in the world’ never met his female counterpart, Miss Jane Marple, who was loosely based on Agatha’s grandmother and appeared as an amateur detective in 12 novels and 20 short stories.
On screen, Poirot has been portrayed by a vast array of exemplary actors including Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, John Malkovich, Albert Finney, Charles Laughton and Kenneth Branagh amongst others.
2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Agatha Christie's first novel and she remains as popular as ever. In London, 'The Mousetrap' is still playing as is an inovative production of 'Witness for the Prosectution' and 2020 will see the release of a new adaptation of 'Death on the Nile', directed and starring Kenneth Branagh with an all-star cast. As well as Branagh, the cast includes Annette Bening, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Adam Garcia, Tome Bateman and Letitia Wright.
New adaptations of Agatha’s stories continue to appear on television around the world, including most recently 'The Pale Horse', adapted for the BBC by Sarah Phelps, delighting Agatha's existing fans and winning her a new generation of avid readers and devoted television and film fans.
The complete list of Agatha’s books and productions can be found on the official Agatha Christie website.
This image of Ordeal by Innocence was supplied by © Agatha Christie Limited. Left to right is Luke Treadaway, Anna Chancellor, Bill Nighy and Morven Christie.
Considering Agatha Christie's history and strong affinity with Torquay and the English Riviera, it is no surprise that there is lots to do in the area. Agatha fans travel from all over the world to visit her birthplace and to learn more about the rich heritage and works of our most celebrated resident.
With plenty of accommodation on offer, to suit all budgets and requirements, why not choose Torquay, Paignton or Brixham as your base and surround yourself with the full Agatha Christie experience.
See our Top 10 Agatha Christie things to do for more!
With thanks to Torquay Museum for granting permission to access their resources to support the development of this blog. If you would like to learn more about Agatha Christie then please visit the official website.
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