By: Mr. Whitehead Private Eye It’s a Mystery By: Mr. Whitehead Private Eye

Mystery Genre Mystery - a novel, short story, play, or film whose plot involves a crime or other event that remains puzzlingly unsettled until the very end: a mystery by Agatha Christie. The categories of mystery have vastly grown, including: who-done-its, crime, detective, thrillers and others.

Types of Mystery Locked Room or Puzzle Mystery Is a person killed in a closed room with no apparent escape. Red herrings and illusions to deceive the readers are often used.

Types of Mysteries cont. Cozy Mysteries Popular in Britain in the 20s and 30s. Known as classic crimes. Often involving a close-knit group of suspects in the country of a small town or village. The crime is solved using clues, gossip, and observation of human behavior.

Types of Mystery cont. Hard Boiled Mystery The U.S. is a main contributor of this type of mystery, making its big break in the 20s. Most involve a tough guy, private eye protagonist that follows his own ethics and rules for getting the bad guy. i.e. a vigilante, NCIS (Agent Gibbs)

Types of Mysteries Police Procedurals Portrays a more realistic and accurate account of how police solve crimes. Usually has several cases going on simultaneously. Focuses on procedures and details. i.e. Law and Order

Agatha Christie Biography Agatha Christie’s full name is Agatha May Clarissa Miller. Born in Devon, England in 1890, she is the youngest of three children.

Agatha Christie Biography cont. Christie was taught by a governess and tutors. As a young child, she invented games to pass the time. Christie used music to express herself, later turning to writing. At the age of 24, Agatha married Archie Christie, a WW I fighter pilot. Christie worked as a nurse as her husband fought in the war.

Agatha Christie Biography cont. During her time as nurse in hospital, Christie had the epiphany to write her first detective novel. Even though her first novel was finished by 1915, it was not published until 1920. Her first novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Introduced was the retired Belgium officer, Hercule Poirot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeCxaILKhYo

Agatha Christie Biography Agatha Christie wrote more than 30 novels involving her famous character, Hercule Poirot. Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) Murder on the Orient Express (1934) Death on the Nile (1937)

Agatha Christie Biography cont. Unfortunately, her marriage ended in divorce in 1926, when Archie fell in love with another woman. Also suffering from her mother’s passing, Agatha Christie vanished for three weeks. She was discovered to be staying at a hotel, claiming to have suffered some type of amnesia.

Agatha Christie Biography cont. By 1930, Christie married Max Mallowan, an archeologist she met while visiting Mesopotamia. Also in 1930, Christie published a novel that spurred another successful series, surrounding elderly spinster, Miss Jane Marple, first appearing in Christie’s novel, Murder at the Vicarage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KngUN0S7I5k

Agatha Christie’s Accomplishments Agatha Christie has written over 66 novels, not including her numerous short stories and screenplays. Under the pen name, Mary Westmacott, Christie wrote romantic novels as well. Her novels have be translated into numerous languages to be enjoyed world wide.

Agatha Christie’s Accomplishments cont. She is acknowledged as the “Queen of the Golden Age.” 1971, Christie was awarded the high honor of Dame of the British Empire.

Britain 1930’s Many political parties were growing in power. Labor Party being the largest party in Parliament. Unemployment was rising due to the depression. Between 1930-1939, Britain allowed 50,000 Jews to immigrate to England to escape the Nazis. The Church of England was established as the main religion.

And Then There Were None Synopsis: When 10 people with only one thing in common are gathered, they soon discover that their absent host has trapped them on a private island. Worst, some murderer is picking them off one by one until . . . there are none . . .

Sources Dictionary.com Youtube.com http://www.mysterynet.com/genres/ http://christie.mysterynet.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon