In December 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days, setting off a nationwide manhunt. The woman who had made a career of inventing mysteries had become the subject of one herself. Christie’s life was full of adventure. During both World Wars she worked as a pharmacy dispenser, acquiring a knowledge of poisons that would come in handy when plotting her 66 detective novels. She traveled the world, joined her second husband on archaeological digs in Iraq and Syria, and sold more than two billion books along the way. To mark the 50th anniversary of Christie’s death, London’s British Library is opening an exhibition devoted to the woman behind Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Among the objects on display are her 1937 Remington typewriter; her first short story, written as a teenager; her notes for a 1917 pharmacy exam; letters about her journey on the Orient Express; and family photographs from Egypt, Hawaii, and Southern Africa. —Elena Clavarino