Mystery novels sell thousands of copies each year. And many【C1】______count Agatha Christie among their favorite authors. Christie was born in September【C2】______1890 in England. When she was【C3】______up, her mother often told her stories. Christie loved these【C4】______that took her into a world of fantasy. Christie s mother also encouraged her to write from a【C5】______age. At 16, Christie went to a school in Paris to study piano and singing. She learned to play the piano very well. But she【C6】______made music a career because of stage fright. At 22, she fell in love with Archie Christie. They【C7】______married in 1914 at the beginning of World War I. During the war, Christie wrote her first detective story: The Mysterious Affair at Styles. She chose the crime, and then【C8】______a detective named Hercule Poirot to solve it. She sent the book to a publisher, 【C9】______it was rejected. After the war ended, Christie sent her book to more publishers and finally in 1920, one【C10】______it. She earned just ￡25 for it. Over the next few years, Christie wrote more books and short stories, gaining experience as a writer. 【C1】