Christie DBE Born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller ( 1890-09-15 ) 15 September 1890 Torquay , Devon, England Died 12 January 1976 ( 1976-01-12 ) (aged 85) Wallingford , Oxfordshire, England Pen name Mary Westmacott Occupation Novelist/Short story writer/Playwright/Poet Nationality British Genres Murder mystery , Thriller , Crime fiction , Detective , Romances