10 things you didn't know about Agatha Christie

3: Hands-on research

Agatha Christie's first novel was inspired by her stint as a nurse during World War One.

She worked at a Red Cross hospital set up to treat wounded soldiers transported back from the war on the Continent. She was eventually promoted to the dispensary where she was responsible for mixing drugs and handling toxins – and her resulting knowledge of poisons led her to write her debut book The Mysterious Affair at Styles.