The most famous mystery writer in the world — who once became a real mystery herself.
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These are the new words for Agatha Christie. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = C (a writer) · 2 = A (a novel) · 3 = D (a detective) · 4 = F (a crime)
5 = E (a clue) · 6 = H (a car) · 7 = B (a hotel) · 8 = G (missing)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
Agatha Christie was born in 1890 in a town called Torquay, on the coast of England. She was a shy, quiet girl. She did not go to a big school. She stayed at home and read books, and she made up stories in her head. Her family was not rich, but they were comfortable.
In the First World War, Agatha worked in a hospital. She helped to give people their medicines. This job taught her a lot about poisons. Later, she used this knowledge in her books.
One day, her sister said, "I don't think you can write a good detective story." So Agatha wrote one. It was her first novel, and it was about a clever Belgian detective called Hercule Poirot. Some publishers said no, but at last one said yes. The book came out in 1920. This was the start of a great writer.
1. What did Agatha do in the First World War, and what did she learn?
2. Why did Agatha write her first detective story?
1. She worked in a hospital and gave people medicines. She learned a lot about poisons, and later she used this in her books.
2. Her sister said she could not write a good detective story, so Agatha wrote one to show she could. It was about the detective Poirot.
The year 1926 was very hard for Agatha. Her mother died. Then her husband, Archie, told her he loved another woman and wanted to end their marriage. Agatha was very sad and very tired.
On the evening of 3 December, she said goodnight to her sleeping daughter. Then she got into her car and drove away into the dark. The next morning, people found her car near a big hole in the ground. The lights of the car were still on. Her coat and a bag were inside. But Agatha was not there. She was missing.
Because she was famous, the newspapers wrote about it every day. More than a thousand police officers looked for her. Thousands of other people helped too. For eleven days, the whole country asked: where is Agatha Christie? Is she dead? Did someone take her? Nobody knew.
1. Why was 1926 a very hard year for Agatha?
2. What did people find the morning after she drove away?
1. Her mother died, and her husband said he loved another woman and wanted to end the marriage. She was very sad and tired.
2. They found her car near a big hole. The car lights were on, and her coat and bag were inside, but Agatha was not there.
At last, they found Agatha. She was alive and well, in a nice hotel far away, in a town called Harrogate. The strange thing was this: she used a false name at the hotel — the same name as the woman her husband loved. The hotel staff did not know who she was. She danced, she read, and she seemed calm.
Agatha never told the world what really happened in those eleven days. Her family said she was ill and lost her memory. Other people said she did it on purpose. We still do not know the truth. The greatest mystery writer left one mystery with no answer — her own.
After this, Agatha's life got better. She married again, and she wrote many more famous books, like Murder on the Orient Express. She made a new detective, an old lady called Miss Marple. She wrote a play called The Mousetrap, and it is still on in London today, after more than seventy years. When she died in 1976, she had sold about two billion books. Many people say she is the best-selling novelist in the world.
1. What was strange about the hotel where they found her?
2. Name two things that made Agatha Christie so famous and successful.
1. She used a false name — the same name as the woman her husband loved — and the staff did not know who she was.
2. Any two: the detectives Poirot and Miss Marple; famous books like Murder on the Orient Express; the play The Mousetrap; about two billion books sold.
This whole story happened in the past. To tell it, we use the past simple — the tense for finished actions in the past.
Write the past simple form of the verb in brackets.
1. Agatha (work) in a hospital in the war.
2. She (write) her first novel about Poirot.
3. One morning, people (find) her car.
4. She (drive) away into the dark.
1. worked (regular: work + ed)
2. wrote (irregular: write → wrote)
3. found (irregular: find → found)
4. drove (irregular: drive → drove)
Use did / did not (didn't) and the base verb.
1. Agatha (not / tell) the world the truth.
2. she (use) a false name at the hotel?
3. The staff (not / know) who she was.
1. did not tell (did not + base verb)
2. Did … use (Did + person + base verb)
3. did not know (did not + base verb)
Put each verb in the past simple. Read it aloud when you finish.
In 1926, Agatha's mother (die). Her husband (want) a divorce. One night she (get) into her car and (go) away. The police (look) for her, and at last they (find) her in a hotel.
died · wanted · got · went · looked · found
Regular verbs take -ed (wanted, looked). Irregular verbs change: die → died, get → got, go → went, find → found.
There is a real podcast about Agatha Christie. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. Play it here, or open it in Spotify.
Listen on Spotify →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Agatha Christie in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a quiet girl in Torquay → she learned about poisons in the war → she wrote a book about Poirot → her hard year in 1926 → she went missing for eleven days → the hotel and the false name → many famous books and two billion copies.
Try to use the past simple — both regular verbs (worked, married, looked) and irregular verbs (wrote, went, found, drove) — and some of the key words (writer, novel, detective, crime, clue, car, hotel, missing).
Do you like mystery or detective stories, in books, on TV or in films? Tell me about one you know. Who was the detective? What was the crime? Did you guess the answer before the end?
Tell a short story about the past. Use the past simple. It can be true or invented.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: