There are a number of large properties that fell into the general public area in 2026, together with Agatha Christie’s biggest creation. On January 1, 2026, on the stroke of midnight, a number of properties hit the general public area, and this contains films, books, and music. Among the many books, the primary 4 Nancy Drew novels and The Maltese Falcon hit the general public area.
There was additionally a piece by Agatha Christie, the best-selling novelist of all time, that has entered the general public area, and that is extra necessary than many different works this yr. The primary-ever Agatha Christie novel that includes Miss Marple is now within the public area. This implies anybody can use Miss Marple in their very own tales with out permission.
Agatha Christie’s First Miss Marple Thriller Is Now Public Area
Miss Marple was Agatha Christie’s second main detective, and arguably her biggest. That’s as a result of, in contrast to Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple was a easy older lady residing in a fictional English village and performing as an beginner consulting detective. If it weren’t for Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, exhibits like Homicide, She Wrote would not exist.
Actually, Angela Lansbury from Homicide, She Wrote, truly performed Miss Marple within the film The Mirror Crack’d. Within the Agatha Christie novels, Miss Marple was typically portrayed as an aged spinster, and this made her extra relatable than the extra stoic and decided Hercule Poirot, and the extra in style of the 2.
Whereas later Agatha Christie films have Hercule Poirot within the lead roles, it’s the Miss Marple mysteries that stay a pleasure to learn. In all, there have been 12 novels within the Miss Marple collection, with the primary revealed in 1930, known as The Homicide on the Vicarage. That’s the novel that’s now within the public area.
Nevertheless, it’s also important to know that does not imply every little thing about Miss Marple is within the public area. The character, herself, is now out there for anybody to make use of by title. Nevertheless, solely the traits proven within the first novel are within the public area, and something launched in later novels continues to be protected by copyright.
Regardless of this, filmmakers and authors can write Miss Marple tales and have her in any type they create themselves, so long as they do not infringe on the character traits launched in later novels.
Is Hercule Poirot In The Public Area?
Agatha Christie’s first fundamental detective, Hercule Poirot, is already within the public area. The writer created him in 1920 with The Mysterious Affair at Kinds. That novel is within the public area, which implies the character of Hercule Poirot can be in there. The primary six Hercule Poirot novels are all within the public area as of this yr.
Because of this, for years now, authors have been allowed to create their very own Hercule Poirot books and tales without having permission from the Agatha Christie property. Nevertheless, a few of his most necessary tales, resembling Homicide on the Orient Categorical, are nonetheless copyright-protected, with that novel 4 years away from the general public area.