Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Agatha Christie , DBE , ( 15 September 1890 â `` 12 January 1976 ) , was a British crime writer of novels , short stories , and plays .
Simplified: Agatha Christie ( 15 September 1890 â `` 12 January ) ) 1976 ) was an English writer of crime stories .