Text 28. Agatha Christie

Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie is possibly the world’s most famous detective story writer. She wrote 79 novels and several plays. Her sales outnumber those of William Shakespeare. Howe­ver she was a painfully shy woman whose life was often lonely and unhappy. She was born in 1890 in Devon, the third child of Clarissa and Frederick Miller, and grew into a beautiful and sensitive girl with waist-length golden hair. She didn’t go to school but was educated at home by her mother. Her father died when she was 11 and both she and her mother were grief-stricken. During World War I, while she was working in a hospital dispensary, she learned about chemicals and poisons, which proved very useful to her in her later career. She wrote her first detective novel, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”¹, in 1920. In it she introduced Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective who appeared in many subsequent novels. Her other main detective was an elderly spinster called Miss Marple.

In 1914, at the beginning of the war, she had married Archi­bald Christie but the marriage was unhappy. It didn’t last and they divorced in 1926. That year there was a double tragedy in her life because her much-loved mother died. Agatha suffered a nervous breakdown, and one night she abandoned her car and mysteriously disappeared. She went missing for 11 days and was eventually found in a hotel in Harrogate, in the North of Eng­land. It is interesting to note that it was while she was suffering so much that she wrote one of her masterpieces, “The Murder of Rodger Ackroyd”². Agatha desperately wanted solitude and developed very bitter feelings towards the media because the newspapers had given her a hard time over her breakdown and di­sappearance. She was determined never to let them enter her private life again and she buried herself in her work. On 25 November 1952 her play “The Mousetrap”³ opened in London. Today it is still running. It is the longest running show in the whole world.

She enjoyed a very happy second marriage to Max Mallowan, an archaeologist. She died peacefully in 1976.

Notes:

1. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” – “Загадочное дело в Стайлз”;

2. “The Murder of Rodger Ackroyd” – “Убийство Роджера Экройда”;

3. “The Mousetrap” – “Мышеловка”.

Answer the following questions:

1. When and where was Agatha Christie born?

2. What kind of education did she get?

3. Where did she work during World War I? What did she learn there?

4. What was her first detective novel?

5. Who was her first husband? Was she happy with him?

6. How did Agatha feel about her mother’s death?

7. Why did she develop bitter feelings towards the media?

8. What is the longest running show of Agatha Christie?

9. Was her second marriage a success?

Text 29. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564 - 1616)

England’s greatest poet and dramatist, William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon¹ in 1564; the exact date of his birth is unknown. Shakespeare was earning his own living by the time he was 18. He was not yet 19 when he married Anna Hathaway. They had three children – Susanna, Judith and Hamnet. Judith and Hamnet were twins.

Not much is known about what Shakespeare did in the years just after his marriage. Some accounts say that he taught at school in the country for a while. Some say that he worked for his father, who was a glove maker. A few years later he appeared in London as an actor and writer of plays. His plays were written in poetry.

In 1592 bubonic plague, a terrible disease, swept over London. For about two years all London theatres were closed. During that time Shakespeare began to write poems. Besides, he wrote more than 100 sonnets.

When the plague was over, the playhouses were opened again. New companies of actors were formed and Shakespeare began to spend most of his time writing plays. He became a part-owner in the company for which he wrote. This company often put on a play to entertain the royal household. Shakespeare prospered.

Shakespeare wrote some of his plays about early kings of England. “Henry V” and “Richard III” are two of these plays. They helped the English people to understand the history of their own country. Besides his historical plays Shakespeare wrote both comedies and tragedies. “Romeo and Juliet” is one of his most famous tragedies. Other tragedies are “Hamlet”, “Macbeth” and “Othello”. Among his comedies are “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”², “The Taming of the Shrew”³ and “The Merchant of Venice”⁴.

At the height of his success Shakespeare returned to Strat­ford. There he died in 1616. He was buried in Stratford-upon-Avon. Thousands of people visit his birthplace and grave each year.

Notes:

1. Stratford-upon-Avon – Стратфорд-на-Эйвоне;

2. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – “Сон в летнюю ночь”;

3. “The Taming of the Shrew” – “Укрощение строптивой”;

4. “The Merchant of Venice” – “Венецианский купец”.

Answer the following questions:

1. When and where was Shakespeare born?

2. What family did he have?

3. What did he do in the years just after his marriage?

4. When did Shakespeare start writing poems?

5. What kind of plays did he write?

6. Did you read any of his comedies or tragedies?

7. Where was he buried?