Agatha Christie Once Denied Damehood
It has been revealed that Agatha Christie was denied damehood in the 50’s because her work was “too lowbrow” for the prestigious honour. At the time, it was thought that she was “not worth more than the CBE.”
Christie wrote 66 crime fiction novels, is Britain’s best-selling novelist and has sold approximately 4 billion books (often featuring the characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple) worldwide. She would eventually receive the honour in 1971, five years before she died.
Irish novelist Iris Murdoch was also delayed the honour “until she had done something better.”