Tidbits on the Most Famous Cozy Mystery Author in the World

What a fascinating life this author had! She intrigues me with that, her successes, and most of all the novels she wrote. If you love mysteries--especially cozies--than you'll find these four tidbits as interesting as I do.

Read on to get a tiny glimpse of her life:


1.  Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born  September 15, 1890 in Torquay, Devon, South West England into a comfortably well off middle-class family. 

She was homeschooled largely by her father, an American. Her mother, Clara, who was an excellent storyteller, did not want her to learn to read until she was eight but Agatha, bored and as the only child at home (she was a much loved “afterthought” with two older siblings) taught herself to read by the age of five.







2.  From the age of 15 Agatha took piano and singing lessons. She could have been a professional pianist but for her excruciating shyness in front of those she did not know..








3.  She is the only crime writer to have created two equally famous and much loved characters - Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.  Outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, as well as the world’s longest-running play – The Mousetrap.









4.  She is the only female dramatist ever to have had three plays running simultaneously in London’s West End.

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About Carole:

Besides being an active participant in many writing groups, Carole is an award-winning author and enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense, tough topics, romance, and whimsy into her books and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons? 

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

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History's Mysteries

Like most writers, I am a voracious reader. We have a wonderful independent bookstore in our town called The Country Bookseller that I haunt with regularity. But we also have an annual street fair that includes a tent holding thousands of books. The fair is held the first weekend in August, and people come for miles around to search for hidden treasures they know they will find. I usually end up purchasing twenty to thirty books.

I love history, and my stories are set during World War II. Some of the goodies I have found over the years include memoirs from journalists, combat veterans, nurses, factory workers and other “every day” people. I also love reading books written by pioneers in the mystery genre. This past year I picked up Agatha Christie's So Many Steps to Death. It was a fun read, but what intrigued me the most were the two railway tickets I found inside.

The Municipal Railway of San Francisco tickets were dated May 16, 1955 and stuffed between pages 162 and 163, at the beginning of chapter seventeen. Was the placement random, or had the reader stopped at that point never to finish the book? Had something terrible happened to prevent the reader from finishing or did he or she not like the book? So Many Steps to Death was published in 1954, so it was brand new when these tickets were slipped between its pages. How did a sixty year old book from California end up in New Hampshire, more than three thousand miles from its origins? Did the reader move to New Hampshire? Did he or she simply come for a visit and leave the book behind by mistake? Why had no one found the tickets before now? Was 1954 the last time the book had been read? How did it end up for sale at the fair?

Writers are often asked how they come up with story ideas. For me and other authors I know, it is usually serendipitous – an article in a newspaper, an overheard conversation in a restaurant, a letter found in a book (that happened to me last week) or a pair of sixty year old train tickets. The possibilities are endless. I'm already scribbling down potential plot lines.

What sort of treasures have you found in books?

A freelance writer for over ten years, Linda Matchett also writes historical fiction. She is currently seeking a publisher for her series about war correspondent Ruth Brown. Visit her at www.lindashentonmatchett.com