Visit Agatha Christie's Holiday Home at Greenway

Private House of World's Best-Selling Crime and Mystery Writer Opens

Sep 20, 2009

The holiday home of Agatha Christie, Greenway near Torquay, has been opened to the public by the National Trust to show the private life of the popular crime writer.

Agatha Christie was a writing and publishing phenomenon, and her holiday home, Greenway, was opened to the public in 2009. It gives her many readers and fans a chance to get a glimpse of the private life of this extraordinary woman, who is the best-selling crime and mystery writer of all time. Her sales are exceeded only by the Bible and Shakespeare.

Agatha Christie's Best-Selling Crime Novel

Agatha Christie's most popular title, And Then There Were None, still sells an amazing 4 million copies a year. Her books have been translated into almost 60 languages, and in total her book sales exceed an estimated 4 billion copies. She makes Dan Brown look like a beginner.

Agatha Christie's Holiday Home at Greenway

Agatha Christie was born and grew up in Torquay, although the house she grew up in no longer exists. In 1938 she bought Greenway, a beautiful house overlooking the River Dart about 6 miles south of Torquay, near the village of Galmpton. The author would retreat here in summer and at Christmas to spend time with her family, and owned the house until 1959. She then bequeathed it to her daughter Rosalind Hicks, although Agatha Christie continued to visit regularly.

Touring Agatha Christie's Holiday Home

Although the creator of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot spent a great deal of time at Greenway, and some of her happiest times with her family, it was not a place where she did a great deal of writing. She wrote letters here, and would often bring her latest manuscript to read to her friends and relatives, but a visit to Greenway shows very much the private life of Agatha Christie. Here is her Steinway piano, her collections of ceramics and beautiful wooden boxes, her family photos, and delights like the dinner menu for her 80th birthday, which she celebrated at Greenway on 15th September, 1970.

Agatha Christie's Books at Greenway

Although Agatha Christie didn't write much at Greenway, the area certainly inspired her and the house and surroundings feature in several of her crime novels. A tour of the house also gives visitors an idea of her success and her prolific output. Shelves and shelves are lined with her own books, and this was not out of vanity.

What comes across is that the great author was a very private woman, who steered clear of the media and gave very few interviews. But the shelves of books are her own authors' copies of her books. Having written about 80 detective novels, not to mention her romance novels too, and having seen these published in dozens of countries, and reprinted constantly in new editions every year, Agatha Christie must have accumulated more author copies than any other author who ever lived.

Hearing Agatha Christie Talking at Greenway

In some of the rooms are audio clips of Agatha Christie speaking, and they show that she had a good sense of humour, and was very unpretentious about her success. 'People keep asking me what my method is,' she says in one of the recordings. 'I don't have a method!' She goes on to make a remark that will amuse all writers and would-be writers everywhere – her main problem, she said, after plotting and planning and thinking about her stories, was simply trying to find the time to sit down and write the books. She obviously did find the time, for which her millions of readers throughout the world are all thoroughly grateful.

Visiting Agatha Christie's Holiday Home

Greenway is quite a large house but access is not straightforward and is limited to 20 people at a time, at roughly 10-minute intervals. Visitors are encouraged to arrive by 'green' methods of transport, which reduces the admission price. Options include walking, cycling, local bus, or by using a combination of train and boat. Arriving on the Greenway Ferry up the River Dart is a delightful way to approach the property. Driving to Greenway is discouraged, but can be done if booked in advance through the website or by phone (tel: 01803 842382).

The copyright of the article Visit Agatha Christie's Holiday Home at Greenway in England Travel is owned by Mike Gerrard. Permission to republish Visit Agatha Christie's Holiday Home at Greenway in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.