09/15/1890 AD born

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family, the youngest of three children born to Frederick Alvah Miller, "a gentleman of substance", and his wife Clarissa Margaret "Clara" Miller, née Boehmer.

Christie's parents had a villa in Torquay named Ashfield funded by an inheritance her mother had received from her foster father. Their first child, Margaret Frary ("Madge"), was born in Torquay in 1879.The second, Louis Montant ("Monty"), was born in Morristown, NJ, in 1880 while the family was on an extended visit to the United States.

She described her childhood as "very happy".  The Millers lived mainly in Devon but often visited her step-grandmother/great-aunt Margaret Miller in Ealing and maternal grandmother Mary Boehmer in Bayswater.

A year was spent abroad with her family, in the French Pyrenees, Paris, Dinard, and Guernsey.

Because her siblings were so much older, and there were few children in their neighbourhood, Christie spent much of her time playing alone with her pets and imaginary companions.

She eventually made friends with other girls in Torquay, noting that "one of the highlights of my existence" was her appearance with them in a youth production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard, in which she played the hero, Colonel Fairfax.

According to Christie, Clara believed she should not learn to read until she was eight; thanks to her curiosity, she was reading by age four. Her sister had been sent to a boarding school, but their mother insisted that Christie receive a home education. As a result, her parents and sister supervised her studies in reading, writing, and basic arithmetic, a subject she particularly enjoyed. They also taught her music, and she learned to play the piano and the mandolin.

Torquay, England

Lattitude: 50.47° N
Longitude: 3.53° W
Region: Europe

Modern Day United Kingdom

Events in 1890 MORE