Over 2 Billion Books Sold: London Unveils Agatha Christie’s Secrets and Rare Manuscripts

The latest:

More than 200 objects from Agatha Christie’s life and writing desk went on public display at the British Library on 30 October 2026, in an exhibition built around the 50th anniversary of her death. Lead curator Lucy Rowland said it is the biggest exhibition staged in the UK in almost 25 years dedicated to Christie’s writing, with material drawn from the Library’s own collection, the Christie Archive Trust and other lenders.

Details:

• The run: Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery runs from 30 October 2026 to 20 June 2027, with tickets sold through the British Library website. It was developed with Agatha Christie Limited and the Christie Archive Trust, and supported by Great Western Railway, with thanks to Newby Teas.
• The layout: The exhibition is organised into five immersive sections — the country house, the dispensary, the train, the dig and the theatre — tracing Christie’s upbringing, interests, travels and stage adaptations. Clues and Easter eggs are planted throughout, and interviews with writers, broadcasters and notable fans address her influence on crime fiction.
• The objects: Items include the 1937 Remington typewriter used to write And Then There Were None, her Leica camera, the Dictaphone she used in later life, family photographs, notebooks, typescripts and correspondence with other writers. The Library says many personal objects have never been displayed before.
• The poisons: The dispensary section covers Christie’s First World War service as a nurse and pharmacy dispenser, with her study notes for 1917 pharmaceutical exams and her wartime service record. Also shown are handwritten research notes on poisons, including those for The Pale Horse, a novel credited with saving lives.
• The travel: An Orient Express-inspired carriage covers Christie’s rail enthusiasm and her use of the closed circle mystery. On display are photographs of her surfing in Hawaii in 1922 with a replica surfboard, her notes for the Isle of Man treasure hunt, and a letter describing her 1931 Orient Express journey.
• The excavations: The dig section covers her second marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan and her most prolific period, with plot notes for Murder in Mesopotamia and They Came to Baghdad, plus cine film she shot documenting excavations in Iraq and Syria from the 1930s.
• The stage: The final section moves to the West End of the 1950s, where Christie became the most successful female playwright of all time. Exhibits include her notes for Witness for the Prosecution, rare footage of Mousetrap celebrations, the typescript for Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case, and Zoë Wanamaker’s coat from Dead Man’s Folly (2013).
• The family view: James Prichard, chief executive and chairman of Agatha Christie Limited and Christie’s great-grandson, said his father Mathew selected a wide range of items from the Christie Archive, and described the anniversary as both reflection and a celebration of what he called “one of the most remarkable lives of the 20th century”.
• The book: The Library is publishing the first comprehensive volume on Christie’s life, works and influence in 50 years, edited by crime novelist Martin Edwards with Rowland. Contributors include Kenneth Branagh, Kate Mosse, David Suchet, Zoë Wanamaker and Mathew Prichard, alongside previously unpublished photographs and commissioned artworks.
• Beyond London: Living Knowledge Network displays and crime fiction events are running at public libraries across the UK. The learning programme was funded by a grant from the Colwinston Charitable Trust 30th Anniversary Fund, which draws its main income from royalties from The Mousetrap.

Background:

Christie, born in Torquay in 1890, is the best-selling novelist of all time, with over one billion books sold in English and another billion in more than 100 languages. She wrote 80 crime novels and story collections and over 25 plays, was made a Dame in 1971, and died in 1976 aged 85.

Between the lines:

The commercial logic of the partnership is stated openly by the sponsor. Amanda Burns, sales and marketing director at Great Western Railway, said Christie’s journeys between London and the South West inspired her fiction, and framed the deal as a way to drive travel to Torquay, Dartmouth and the Devon coastline. The exhibition also anchors Agatha Christie Limited’s wider 2026 anniversary programme, pairing a national institution’s archive with a rights holder’s commemorative calendar.

What’s next

The exhibition closes on 20 June 2027. Agatha Christie Limited has further anniversary events scheduled through 2026, and library events run across the UK via the Living Knowledge Network for the duration of the show.