All the Poisons of Agatha Christie

Abstract

Agatha Christie was one of the most famous writers of all time. The British-born author is best known for her detective novels and stories that often took place in fictional settings, such as English villages, estates, exotic countries and exclusive hotels. Her two most renowned characters are the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the elderly lady amateur detective Miss Marple. Christie worked for a long time as a pharmacist at the University College Hospital in London, where she encountered numerous drugs, chemicals and poisons on a daily basis. This served as a source of ideas for many of her stories. In her works, she used numerous chemicals, naturally occurring compounds and even bacteria as poisons: phosphorus, barbital, cyanide, arsenic, digoxin, Bacillus anthracis, atropine, physostigmine, coniine, aconitine, nicotine, laudanum, codeine, morphine, ricin, strychnine, thallium and taxine. This paper provides an overview of all the poisons she utilized, including their properties and lethal doses. Agatha Christie employed her pharmaceutical knowledge to add depth and authenticity to her crime stories. Pharmaceutical themes add to the complexity of her plots, helping readers immerse themselves in a world of intrigue and suspense.