Meanwhile her love of writing and mysteries still flourished, and she began to think about writing her own novel. In 1916, egged14) on by her sister Madge, she decided to have a go15) at it. In just three weeks she managed to crank out16) her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The novel debuted17) her now famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, the quirky yet logical little Poirot who would eventually appear in 39 novels.
这段时间里，她仍然非常热衷于写作，对悬疑推理小说的热情也是有增无减，而且她还开始考虑自己创作小说。1916年，在她姐姐麦琪的鼓励下，她决定尝试一下。仅用了三周时间，她就完成了自己的处女作——《斯泰尔斯的神秘案件》。在这部小说中，现已家喻户晓的人物形象——比利时侦探赫尔克里·波洛初次亮相。随后，这位古怪却精于逻辑推理的小个子波洛相继出现在阿加莎的39部小说中。
But although finished quickly, the book took nearly four years to find publication. But once the reading public had gotten a taste of Agatha’s work, her success as an author was assured. Her second book The Secret Adversary followed in 1922. And soon she was publishing at least one book per year—with nearly everything she produced selling astonishingly well. But life on the home front meanwhile was not so successful. Despite the birth of daughter Rosalind in 1919 and their mutual economic success, the Christies were drifting apart.
这部小说尽管完成得很快，但却在约四年之后才得以出版。不过，一旦读者领略到阿加莎作品的魅力，她成为一名成功作家的命运也就确定无疑了。1922年，她的第二本书《暗藏杀机》问世。没过多久，她就开始以每年至少一本的速度出版新书—而且她写的每一部作品几乎都十分畅销，令人称奇。然而，在此期间，她的家庭生活却并不那么一帆风顺。尽管克里斯蒂夫妇于1919年生下了女儿罗莎琳德，双方在经济方面也都很有起色，但两人之间的感情却渐行渐远。
The Eleven Missing Days 失踪之谜
Eventually, in 1926, Archie admitted he had a mistress and asked for a divorce. The highly sensitive Agatha was crushed. But what followed immediately after has haunted18) the legend of the great writer ever since. On the evening of Friday, December 3, 1926, Agatha went upstairs to kiss her daughter goodnight. Then, at 9:45 p.m., she got into car and drove away. Later the vehicle was found abandoned several miles from home, with many of Agatha’s personal belongings strewn19) about inside. There was no sign of Agatha herself however. Immediately a huge search was mounted20), and the case attracted tremendous attention from the media as well as various public figures. Agatha’s husband Archie meanwhile, who had been away for the weekend with his girlfriend, became the object of tremendous scorn and suspicion.
1926年，阿奇终于承认自己有了外遇，向阿加莎提出离婚。本来就极其敏感的阿加莎被彻底击垮了。但随即发生的一件事成为这位伟大作家传奇一生中的一个不解之谜。1926年12月3日，星期五的晚上，阿加莎上楼给了女儿一个晚安吻。随后，在晚上9点45分，她钻进汽车，驾车离开了。后来，人们在距离她家几公里的地方发现了这辆被遗弃的汽车，车里散落着许多阿加莎的个人物品，但却没发现阿加莎本人的任何踪迹。一场大规模的搜寻工作随即展开，整个事件引起了媒体以及形形色色公众人物的极大关注。其时，阿加莎的丈夫阿奇正和他的女友在外地度周末，他受到了铺天盖地般的嘲讽和怀疑。
But 11 days later Agatha was found, alive, at the Harrogate Hydropathic Hotel. Most curious of all, she had registered herself under a name patterned after her husband’s mistress. According to a public statement made by police and family, Agatha was allegedly suffering from amnesia21).
但是，11天之后，在约克郡哈罗盖特的温泉宾馆，人们找到了阿加莎，她还活着！最令人匪夷所思的是，她是仿照他丈夫情人的名字登记入住的。据警方和她家人发表的一份公开声明称，阿加莎患有健忘症。
Archaeological Life 考古伉俪
The Christies ultimately divorced in 1928. Several months later Agatha decided to go on a holiday, someplace exotic and foreign. She ended up aboard the Orient Express, headed for the Middle East. But even though the train ride provided fodder22) and inspiration for her later book, Murder on the Orient Express (1934), her final destination proved dreadfully boring. Arriving at last in Baghdad, Christie soon found herself bogged23) down in polite English society, and all usual accouterments24).
克里斯蒂夫妇最终于1928年离婚。几个月后，阿加莎决定去度假，享受一下国外的异域风情。她最后登上了“东方快车”专列，远赴中东。虽然此次火车旅行为她后来的作品——《东方快车谋杀案》——提供了创作素材和灵感，但事实证明，此行的目的地却是一个极其乏味无聊的地方。克里斯蒂终于到达了巴格达，但很快就发现自己每天都得穿戴齐整，在各种英国上流聚会之中疲于应酬，无法抽身。
Christie was aware however that some exciting archaeological work was being done farther south in Iraq. And she realized she could escape her implacable English hosts by arranging a visit to the dig site. As it turned out the wife of the chief archaeologist on site was a big fan of Christie’s and an extended stay was easy to arrange. There at last she immersed herself in the exotic foreign world she had come to explore—strange foods, customs, the bustle of native workers.
不过，克里斯蒂了解到，在伊拉克南部的边远地区正进行着一项激动人心的考古工作。她意识到，如果她去参观考古发掘现场，就可以借机摆脱那些难以相处的英国主人的纠缠。没想到的是，考古队领队的妻子是克里斯蒂的忠实书迷，要安排克里斯蒂在那里多住一段时间对她来说轻而易举。在那里，克里斯蒂终于享受到了真正的异域风情，而这才是她此行来探寻的目标——奇异的食物、不同的风俗，还有当地工人的奔忙喧闹。
But as it turned out, watching the ancient past emerge from the sands had a romance all its own. And the intellectual work of archaeology, figuring out the past from clues left behind, was a great deal like detective work. So, although she had to return to England, she eagerly accepted an invitation to return again the following year. When she did, she was assigned a handsome young archaeologist, Max Mallowan, to show her around and explain what had been learned during the years’ excavation. Agatha enjoyed his company as much as she did the tour itself. But of course she was certain he would never be interested in an “old lady” like herself, 14 years his senior. But when a family emergency called Agatha back to England, Max insisted on accompanying her. Six months later they were married.
然而，她后来意识到，亲眼看着古老的历史从沙土中慢慢浮现，这本身就自有一番情趣。考古时的脑力工作——从遗留的蛛丝马迹中推测过去的真相——就很像侦探工作。因此，虽然她最后不得不返回英国，但是第二年，当考古队再次邀请她时，她毫不犹豫地就接受了。重返考古地点后，一位年轻英俊的考古学家马克斯·马洛温负责带她四处参观，并向她解释这几年的发掘工作有哪些新收获。阿加莎非常享受这次旅行，也非常喜欢马克斯的陪伴。不过，阿加莎心里当然清楚，马克斯绝对不会对一个像她这样比自己大14岁的“老女人”感兴趣的。可是，当阿加莎因家中有急事要赶回英国时，马克斯却坚持要护送她回去。六个月后，他们结婚了。
It proved to be the beginning of a life of mutual respect, support, and adventuring with Agatha accompanying Max into the field for excavations as often as possible. According to Max, she had a meticulous25) manner, a keen eye, and seemingly endless patience. Meanwhile she continued to write her novels, with many of her stories inspired by the settings and characters she had encou