Multiple choice

Why is Christie considered the most commercially successful writer in history?

Directions: Read the following passage to answer the given question.

Agatha Christie was probably the most successful writer in history. She wrote seventy-eight crime novels, six other novels, one hundred and fifty short stories, four non-fiction books and nineteen plays. That represents two billion books sold: more than William Shakespeare’s.

Christie became a writer by accident. She was bored when her husband was away in the First World War. Agatha was working in a hospital dispensary (which is where she learned all the information about poisons that she used in her books). She decided to write a novel to pass the time. She chose a detective novel because she loved reading them. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was an instant success. Each book had a new ingenious plot. Readers loved the books, particularly because Christie always gave the readers all the information they needed to find the solution.

Christie loved travelling. When she became rich she could go all over the world. She used the travels in her writing. Agatha Christie died in 1976, but her stories are still immensely popular. Many have been adapted into films or for television.

  1. She gained great fame as a fiction writer during her lifetime.

  2. She was a great novelist as well as story writer.

  3. As a writer she was much better than Shakespeare.

  4. Her books sold more than Shakespeare's.

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Only option 4 shows her success translated into sales.