From the original review in The Lincoln Star by Mary Somerville, February 1975: Publishers have recently come a long way toward liberating children’s books … in general, there are more titles with strong female characters.
This does not mean that all books now being published are nonsexist. Far from it. As a matter of fact, nonsexist easily readers are practically unobtainable. But a large number of new picture books, nonfiction, and fiction for older children reflect the craving for human liberation.
Agatha Christie (1890 – 1976) drew on her observations of the world and people surrounding her to become the literary world’s “Queen of Crime.” Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles(1920), was written as a dare from her sister. This was the book that introduced the iconic detective character, Hercule Poirot.
Though she earned a place in The Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling novelist in the world with sales of over four billion books, writing didn’t come easily to Dame Agatha. In his post on The Writing Habits of Agatha Christie, Tony Riches explains: Read More→
