Agatha Christie Bust in Torquay

Photo credit - Jaggery

A bronze bust of Agatha Christie resides outside the Pavilion theatre in her hometown of Torquay, where her first husband, Archie Christie, proposed to her after attending a Wagner concert. Carol Van Den Boom-Cairns created the bust in 1990 as part of the anniversary celebrations of the famous English author. Her daughter, Rosalind Hicks, unveiled it.

The bust is a stop on the Agatha Christie Mile – a self-guided walking tour along Torquay seafront. It features various landmarks significant to Christie’s life and works, such as Princess Pier, where she roller-skated, the strand that appears in many of her books, Torre Abbey Garden, which inspired many of the poisons in her novels, numerous memorial plaques, and the Agatha Christie Gallery at Torquay Museum. Soon to join the Agatha Christie Mile is a full-size statue of Christie made by artist Elisabeth Hadley.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is one of the best-sellers authors of all time and became known as the Queen of Mystery for her many detective novels. She was born in Torquay, England, into a middle-class family. Being homeschooled, she taught herself to read at the age of five, and by the age of ten, she wrote her first poem and has never stopped writing since.

After many years of getting rejected by publishers, she published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920, introducing the world to her most beloved character – Hercule Poirot. She became known as a distinguished author who wrote 74 novels, 14 short story collections, and 19 plays; her books were translated into over 100 languages and adapted into dozens of films, TV series, and stage plays. Inspired by her own experiences, many of her stories occurred in places she visited, including her hometown of Torquay, archeological sites in the Middle East, and a memorable ride on the Orient Express. At the time of her death, 85 years old Christie held the record of the best-selling novelist of all time.

A 30-minute drive south will take you to Greenway house and garden, the summer house of Christie and her family. Nowadays is a museum that provides a glimpse into her life in her home and the surroundings she loved.

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Agatha Christie Gallery at Torquay Museum WWP
Museum

Agatha Christie Gallery at Torquay Museum

Torquay, England, UK

The Agatha Christie Gallery at Torquay Museum, located in the hometown of the prominent novelist, hosts the only permanent exhibition in the UK dedicated solely to the Queen of Mystery. Since 1990, the museum had various changing exhibitions commemorating Christie’s life and work; over time, the collection expanded to contain more than 700 items, and the exhibit became permanent. The exhibit follows her life narrative, from her childhood in Torquay to her later years in Winterbrook. It includes information panels, photographs, and personal artifacts, such as clothes, handwritten notes, and first editions of her novels. The gallery also preserves memorabilia from the TV show Agatha Christie’s Poirot, donated by ITV Studios, Acorn Productions Ltd, HarperCollins Ltd, and David Suchet, who played the mustached detective. This part of the exhibition includes furniture, pictures, books, the fireplace from Poirot’s apartment, and his signature swan cane. As part of the annual International Agatha Christie Festival, the gallery offers various events, such as talks and film screenings. This gallery is one of the stops on the Agatha Christie Mile, a self-guided walking tour of Torquay that explores many of Christie’s landmarks. It includes her statue, the honeymoon site at the Grand Hotel, her roller-skating spot at Princess Pier, the strand from many of her novels, and the Agatha Christie bust on Palk Street. A 30-minute drive south will take you to Greenway house and garden, the summer house of Christie and her family. Nowadays is a museum that provides a glimpse into her life in her home and the surroundings she loved. Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was born in Torquay, England. At five, she self-learned to read, and five years later, she wrote her first poem. As a young female author, her works got rejected by publishers. Only in 1920 did she publish her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. It was the first appearance of her most famous character, Hercule Poirot, who later appeared in 25 more books and numerous short stories. Her experiences and world travel influenced Her writing. During her life, she published 74 novels (66 of them are thrillers), 14 short-stories collections, and 19 plays. Her books were translated into over 100 languages, and many of them got adapted into films, TV series, and stage plays. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Agatha Christie Statue in Wallingford WWP
Memorial & Statue

Agatha Christie Statue in Wallingford

Wallingford, England, UK

In 1934, the famous crime novelist Agatha Christie moved with her second husband to Winterbrook House in Winterbrook, on the outskirts of Wallingford, Oxfordshire. Christie lived there a quiet life, got inspiration for her books, and served as president of the local amateur dramatic society. She was buried nearby, at Cholsey’s St. Mary’s Church, after she passed away in 1976. The town of Wallingford has been commemorating her legacy ever since, honoring her at the permanent Agatha Christie exhibition at the Wallingford Museum and at the Agatha Christie trail, which follows places with connections to her. On September 9th, 2023, less than a week before her 133 birthday, Mathew Prichard, Christie’s grandson, unveiled a life-size bronze statue of her in a special ceremony. Sculptor Ben Twiston-Davies, who sculpted the Agatha Christie Memorial in London, received the commission from Wallingford Town Council to create the statue. Twiston-Davies depicted Christie sitting on a bench, holding a book, overlooking the Kinecroft. Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was one of the best-selling novelists in history; she wrote 74 novels (mainly detective stories), 14 short story collections, 19 plays, and an autobiography. Her work was adapted into films, TV series, and stage plays. Her books have been translated into over 100 languages and sold over two billion copies worldwide. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Anne of Cleves House WWP
Museum

Anne of Cleves House

East Sussex, England, UK

Anne of Cleves (1515-1557) was born to a noble family in Düsseldorf, then in the Kingdom of Germany. After the death of his third wife, Jane Seymour, King of England, King Henry VIII wanted to form a political alliance with Anne of Cleves’s brother, a leader of the Protestants in western Germany. He sent an artist to portray Anne and her sister, and by that picture, the 49 years old King Henry destined 24 years old Anne to be his wife. On her way to England, Anne and the king met. During that meeting, she was unaware she was meeting the king and future husband and barely paid attention to him; he, on the other hand, was disappointed with her looks and lack of sophistication. Yet, they got married after five days but never consummated their marriage. Six months later, she was ordered to leave and give her agreement to an annulment. On 12 July 1540, only seven months after their wedding, Anne’s marriage to the king was annulled on the grounds of non-consummation. As part of the annulment settlement, Anne received a generous income, three estates, including the family home of the king’s second wife Anne Boleyn, and a property in East Sussex, which became known as Anne of Cleves House, though she never lived there. In the following years, Anne became close friends with the king; she was a frequent visitor to his court and maintained a good relationship with his two daughters and future queens, Mary and Elizabeth. When Mary succeeded the throne, Anne was accused of plotting with Elizabeth to replace her and make England Protestant again. She was never invited to the court again. Anne died a few years later, at the age of 41. Although Anne of Cleves never lived in the house named after her, the 16th-century timber-framed structure preserves Tudor’s way of life. The architect Walter Godfrey restored the house as a museum, and the Sussex Archaeological Society operates it. On display are authentically furnished rooms, including a Tudor kitchen, parlor, a bedroom with four poster beds, a collection of domestic artifacts, and a selection of royal clothes that visitors may try on. The museum also exhibits Wealden iron-making exhibition, which includes a hammer found in Etchingham, a cannon, and several iron firebacks. Do not miss a visit to the garden, home to shrubs, herbs, and fruit trees, which were planted according to traditional Tudor planting schemes. Also in Lewes are Virginia Woolf’s Monk’s House, Lewes Castle & Barbican House Museum, the 1500’s Grange gardens, and the Glyndebourne Opera house. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Dorothy L Sayers Statue WWP
Memorial & Statue

Dorothy L Sayers Statue

Witham, England, UK

A statue of Dorothy L Sayers, a novelist, poet, playwright, and translator, who created the fictional amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey, stands in front of her home at Newland Street, Witham. Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) was born in Oxford in an academic environment. She attended the Godolphin School and later studied modern languages and medieval literature at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1916, at 23, Sayers published her first book of poetry and continued publishing her poems while working at Blackwell Publishing as a teacher in France and as a copywriter in London advertising. In 1923, Sayers published her first novel, Whose Body, introducing her most famous character, Lord Peter Wimsey, who later appeared in more than ten novels and short stories. Three years later, she married Oswald Atherton Fleming. Following her father’s death, Sayers bought the cottage in Newland Street, Witham, to accommodate her mother. In 1930, a year after her mother died, she and her husband bought the house next door and lived there for the rest of her life, publishing dozens of novels, short stories, poem collections, essays, and plays. In addition, Sayers translated Dante’s Divine Comedy and founded and served as president of the Detection Club. She died at the age of 64. The Dorothy L Sayers Society commissioned the bronze statue and chose the sculptor John Doubleday to create it in 1994. It depicts Sayers mid-walk, with her cat next to her. Her sculpture is one of three commemorations of the renowned author in the town of Witham, including a plaque outside her house and a commemorative center for her life and work in the town’s library. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
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