Island That Inspired Agatha Christie’s Crime Novels Goes On Sale

The hotel on Burgh Island was built in the 1930s.

A tiny island that inspired crime novelist Agatha Christie has gone up for sale, according to a report in CNN. The Art Deco hotel and helipad on the Burgh Island are also part of the sale. The island is located on the coast of South Devon in England near the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. Real estate agency Knight Frank, which has listed the Burgh Island on its website, is offering it “in excess of” 15 million pounds ($18.9 million).

CNN said Ms Christie wrote two of her best-known novels – ‘And Then There Were None‘ and ‘Evil Under the Sun‘ – on the island, which is situated 18 miles (29 km) from the port city of Plymouth.

In the first novel, 10 strangers are invited to a mysterious island and are killed off one by one. In the second novel, Hercule Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective created by Ms Christie, investigates a murder on the island.

The tidal island is accessible by a vehicle called a sea tractor at high tides.

Owner Giles Fuchs was quoted as saying by the BBC that the hotel on Burgh Island, which won planning permission for a 7-10 million pounds redevelopment in 2022, was a “demanding mistress”.

The official website of the island says that the hotel was originally built in the 1930s as a retreat for the writer. Nowadays, it has its own outdoor hot tub.

It features a mermaid pool – a naturally enclosed body of sea water – a billiard room, sauna and treatment room and numerous bars and restaurants, as well as staff accommodation.