Letters from crime writer Agatha Christie, to be displayed in a new exhibition at the British Library, reveal her "love-hate" relationship with her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The correspondence, from a collection kept by Christie's agent, will be part of a display marking 50 years since the author's death.
University archivist Annie Price stated that Christie described Poirot as "insufferable" in a 1940 letter, noting she continued writing the novels because he was "her main source of income." However, Price also said that other letters show Christie felt "quite protective over him" and did not want him adapted for film, TV, or radio.
The exhibition, which opens later this month, will explore how Christie's life influenced her characters and stories. It includes approximately 200 items, some of which have not been displayed before, and aims to reveal the "person behind the cultural phenomenon that is Agatha Christie."