EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN: Agatha Christie

They seemed to have it all – glamour, power, wealth and adoration. Grace Kelly, Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn, Indira Gandhi, Madame Chiang Kai-shek... they were worshiped, loved and sometimes even feared by millions the world over. These were the pioneers who showed that a woman could be the equal of any man. But behind the public success, there was so often private heartache and personal tragedy. Featuring archive, interviews and dramatic re-enactment, this series reveals the price these extraordinary women paid for their achievements. Yet in the end, they overcame all adversities to emerge as triumphant, inspirational icons of the 20th century.

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British mystery writer Agatha Christie (1891 - 1976). (Agency reference - 3245913)

Courtesy of Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive/Getty Images (1926)

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Detective story writer Agatha Christie's car is found abandoned near Newland's Corner, Guildford, Surrey after she had disappeared, December, 1926. (Agency reference - 3062624)

Courtesy of H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images (1926)

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Writer Dame Agatha Christie (right), and her husband Max E. L. Mallowan (left), pose in March 1946 in the ground of their home, Greenway House, in Devonshire. (Agency reference - 51506359)

Courtesy of AFP/Getty Images (1946)

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January 1946: British crime author Agatha Christie (Mrs. Max Mallowan) at work in her Devonshire home, Greenway House. (Agency reference - 79666727)

Courtesy of Popperfoto/Getty Images

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British author Agatha Christie is pictured in the grounds of her home Winterbrook House, Wallingford, Berkshire, England, 1950. (Agency reference - 79032987)

Courtesy of Popperfoto/Getty Images (1950)

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Trying her hand at another type of mystery, famed detective writer Agatha Christie (right) photographs an Assyrian ivory figure at Nimrud, Iraq. Her husband, archaeologist M.E. L. Mallowan, has been excavating the site of the ancient military capital of Assyria, and has uncovered ancient art treasures dating back more than 25 centuries. The member of the party assisting Miss Christie is unidentified. (Agency reference - U1133494)

Courtesy of © Bettmann/CORBIS

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English crime writer Agatha Christie portrait. Agatha Christie (1890-1976), the world's best known mystery writer, famous for her Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple stories, and for her plays including "The Mousetrap." (Agency reference - 80748025)

Courtesy of Bentley Archive/ Popperfoto/Getty Images

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English crime writer Agatha Christie cuts the cake watched by Mary Law (left), to mark the 6th anniversary of her play "The Mousetrap," 1958. (Agency reference - 80748194)

Courtesy of Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images (1958)

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Novelist Agatha Christie meets HM Queen Elizabeth II during the royal premiere of the movie "Murder On The Orient Express," adapted from her book, at the ABC cinema in London. In the center of the photograph is the EMI president, Nat Cohen.

Courtesy of Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images (1974)

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Literature mystery author and writer, Agatha Christie, pictured at her home, Winter-Brook House, sitting behind her desk with books piled high. (Agency reference - 78988961)

Courtesy of Popperfoto/Getty Images

"Agatha Christie" - Agatha Christie was the Queen of Crime Fiction. In a career that spanned more than half a century and two world wars, Agatha wrote 80 novels and short stories, creating such unforgettable characters as Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Revered as the "Master of Suspense," Agatha Christie perfected the art of the "whodunit" – and her mysteries were a masterpiece in misdirection. One of her many plays, "The Mousetrap," is the longest running play in theatrical history.

It was Agatha’s experiences in World War I that first set in motion a career in detective fiction – inspired by medicines, and especially poisons, when volunteering with the British Red Cross dispensing unit. Agatha went on to travel extensively across the Middle East, finding inspiration for many of her most famous books – "Death on the Nile" and "Murder on the Orient Express."

But her dramas and mysteries were not just contained within her books. There were rumors of a nervous breakdown, an unexplained disappearance and an acrimonious divorce, made all the more painful by the death of her beloved mother. Agatha Christie, a shy, clever and complex woman, set this all aside to become the best selling author of all time, alongside Shakespeare – selling over 2 billion books worldwide, translated into over 45 languages.

And yet, despite her fame, the real Agatha Christie remains as mysterious as any of the characters in her novels. Intensely private all her life, Agatha did leave hidden clues – and if you know where to look, these clues reveal a very different woman to that of her accepted public persona.

Agatha Christie is on Facebook.

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