September 2010 sees the 120th anniversary of the birth of Torquay's most famous literary daughter - Dame Agatha Christie. The English Riviera is preparing to welcome murder mystery fans from across the world to help the celebrations go off with a suitable "bang!"
Born in Torquay in 1890, the "Queen of Crime" penned a remarkable 80 novels and short story collections in her lifetime, as well as 19 hit plays. The Guinness Book of Records lists her as being the best-selling fiction author of all time, with an estimated two billion copies of her books in print. To put that in perspective, a mere 270 million copies of Harry Potter Books have been sold.
She is also the most-translated fiction author in the world, with her books translated into more than 70 languages, clearly demonstrating her international appeal. Perhaps most impressively of all, she is only outsold by the Bible and Shakespeare.
The annual Agatha Christie Festival runs from 12th - 19th September 2010 incorporating what would have been the writers 120th birthday on Wednesday 15th September. Organisers promise the most ambitions programme of events yet for this historic anniversary year.
Expect more than 40 events are to take place across the Bay over the week-long celebration including plays, open-air cinema screenings, tea dances, flower festivals, walks, talks, lectures, book signings, murder mystery dinners and train and boat trips.
Several very special anniversary events are also planned, but currently these remain under wraps - well we don't want to give the game away too early now, do we? We can however assure you that a large number of people will be shot, stabbed, strangled, poisoned, drowned, bludgeoned and asphyxiated - and of course that the culprits will eventually be brought to justice.
The festival is also a double birthday celebration. Miss Jane Marple made her first appearance in a full-length novel in The Murder at the Vicarage in 1930. Look out for some special events to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the popular spinster sleuth as part of the excited programme.
The Agatha Christie Mile takes people to some of the places that were inspirational in the life and works of the great author, with brand new interpretation boards to be discovered along the way. These include the Grand Hotel, where she spent her honeymoon, Princess Pier where she enjoyed roller-skating, Beacon Cove where she was a regular swimmer (and once nearly drowned) and the Imperial Hotel, which was featured in two of her books.
Along the way you will also pass Torre Abbey, home to the Agatha Christie's Potent Plant attraction, Torquay Museum with its fascinating Agatha Christie Gallery, and Palk Street Gardens, location of both the Agatha Christie Shop and Agatha Christie bust which was unveiled at the centenary celebrations 20 years ago.
The festival will also provide another fantastic opportunity for fans to visit her former summer home at Greenway, which reopened after a multi-million pound refurbishment by the National Trust. Visitors now have the opportunity to view the many personal collections and mementoes of our best-loved mystery writer and her family and will find a house that portrays the spirit of a holiday home in its 1950s heyday.
Here Agatha Christie gathered with her family and friends for long summer days together, often to celebrate a novel just completed for publication.Greenway also boasts beautiful gardens, woodlands and breathtaking views across the River Dart, as well as a visitor centre, shop and café.
Your first clue to discovering more about both Agatha Christie and the festival, is to visit our micro site at www.englishriviera.co.uk/agathachristie. Go on, it would be a crime not too.
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