Over the last few weeks I re-read Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile”. I think I loved it more this time than the first, which must be decades ago. The movie made in 1977, is as much fun as the book and stars several screen greats including Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, David Niven, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, and Angela Lansbury.

If you have not read death on the Nile, you should, and if you have – read it again you won’t be disappointed. Death on the Nile, was first published in 1937 and is a classic Agatha Christie novel – truly one of her best.

The story of Death on the Nile is set on a Nile River boat and contains everything a reader could wish for – jealousy, glamour, murder and greed.
The plot revolves around the passengers on a luxury Nile River cruise. Among them are: Linnet Ridgeway, a 20-year old heiress rumoured to be the richest girl in all of England. Jacqueline de Bellefort, an old school friend of Linnet’s and now a penniless secretary. Simon Doyle, Jacqueline’s one time fiancé and now Linnet’s new husband. Hercule Poirot, the brilliant Belgian detective, known for his deductive reasoning and his brilliant moustache.

Even before the journey begins, it’s obvious the characters will not have an incident free trip down the Nile! Jacqueline has spent her last shilling to buy passage on the cruise, so as to disrupt the Doyles’ honeymoon. At the first stop — the ruins at Abu Simbel — a large boulder almost crushes Jacqueline. On the second morning, Linnet is found dead in her room. It would seem that the killer’s identity is obvious. A brilliant “J” was written in blood in Linnet’s stateroom and that Jacqueline had a motive for killing Linnet is undeniable. But is it all too convenient? As Poirot investigates, he finds that others on board also have motives for killing the heiress, even Linnets supposedly devoted husband?

About Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is the author of 80 mystery novels and numerous plays and short stories. Her works have sold over two billion copies in 45 languages. In the English language, she is outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible. Ms. Christie married twice. Her second husband, Max Mallowan, whom she married in 1930, was an archaeologist. Their frequent trips to Egypt and the Middle East sparked an interest in Christie, which led to numerous novels with a Middle Eastern theme, including Death of the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia.

Agatha Christie, is the author of 80 mystery novels and numerous plays and short stories. Her works have sold over two billion copies in 45 languages. In the English language, she is outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible. Born in 1890, Torquay, Devonshire England the third child of a British mother and American father. Agatha May Clarissa Miller’s family was “well-off” and the Miller children were schooled at home. From an early age Agatha’s mother encouraged her writing. Agatha married WWI aviator Archibald Christie in 1914 when she was 24 years old. While he was away at war, Agatha worked as a nurse and as a pharmacy assistant. Many of her later mystery novels include deaths by poison, information she most likely gained from her work at the pharmacy. The Christies had one child, Rosalind Hicks, who was born in 1919.
Agatha Christie was briefly the star of her own mystery, when in 1926, she disappeared for several days, causing a frenzy of press speculations. She was eventually found in a hotel in Harrogate and claimed to have no recollection of her departure. At the time, Ms. Christie was suffering from the recent death of her mother as well as her husband’s announcement of his infidelity and intention to divorce her.
Agatha Christie remarried in 1930 to archaeologist, Max Mallowan, who was 14 years her junior. Christie’s novels, such as Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia begin featuring Egyptian themes around this period.
Agatha Christie wrote her first mystery novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, while she was working in the hospital, but it was not published until after the war, in 1920. She continued to write regularly until her death in 1976. Christie is best known for her characters and one of the most popular is Hercule Poirot, a meticulous Belgian former police inspector, notable for his “egg-shaped head” and “glorious moustaches.” Poirot is introduced in Christie’s first novel and is featured in 29 others, including Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and his last case, Curtain.
Miss Jane Marple,is another of Christie’s other main characters. She is an elderly and unassuming woman – who uses her knowledge of human behaviour to solve crimes. Miss Marple is featured in 12 of AC’s novels.
Agatha Christie’s novels have sold over two billion copies in 45 languages. AC’s novels are, for the most part, as current today as they were when they were written. Among her plots are some of the most singular of the mystery genre. Agatha Christie was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1971. She died on the 12th January, 1976
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