Agatha Christie is considered the best-selling author of all time, second only to the Bible. She created two famous detectives - the eccentric Belgian Hercule Poirot and the inquisitive Miss Jane Marple. Christie wrote over 60 detective novels and short story collections, as well as several romantic novels published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. She received Britain's highest honor when appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1971, and died in 1976 after a short illness.