Agatha Christie was the Queen of Crime Fiction. In a career that spanned more than half a century and two world wars, Agatha wrote 80 novels and short stories, creating such unforgettable characters as Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Revered as the 'Master of Suspense', Agatha Christie perfected the art of the 'whodunit' - and her mysteries were a masterpiece in misdirection. One of her many plays, 'The Mousetrap', is the longest running play in theatrical history. It was Agatha's experiences in World War One that first set in motion a career in detective fiction - inspired by medicines, and especially poisons, when volunteering with the British Red Cross dispensing unit. Agatha went on to travel extensively across the Middle East, finding inspiration for many of her most famous books - 'Death on the Nile', and 'Murder on the Orient Express'. But her dramas and mysteries were not just contained within her books. There were rumours of a nervous breakdown, an unexplained disappearance and an acrimonious divorce, made all the more painful by the death of her beloved mother. But Agatha Christie, a shy, clever and complex woman, set this all aside to become the best selling author of all time, alongside Shakespeare - selling over 2 billion books worldwide, translated into over 45 languages. And yet, despite her fame, the real Agatha Christie remains as mysterious as any of the characters in her novels. Intensely private all her life, Agatha did leave hidden clues - and if you know where to look, these clues reveal a very different woman to that of her accepted public persona.

Branded a frivolous socialite, a gold digger and even a Nazi-sympathiser, Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, became embroiled in a deep constitutional crisis when she embarked upon one of the most talked-about marriages of the 20th century. To the horror of the British government and the Royal Family, on 10th December, 1936, King Edward VIII gave up the British throne to marry her. As a young lady, Wallis was a die-hard socialite - and lived for the parties, the champagne, the dances, and the men. But she made bad choices. Her first husband, Win Spencer, was a dashing American pilot, whose drunken rages left her beaten and abused. Her second husband, Ernest Simpson, took her to London where she felt bored and isolated - that is, until she broke into the aristocratic social scene. Wallis Simpson soon caught the roving eye of the charismatic playboy and the future King of England, Prince Edward. With Edward's accession to the throne, the British government and the Church of England were adamant the King could not marry a divorcee. And so, in a move that shocked the nation, Edward VIII abdicated - to marry the woman he loved. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as they were then titled, were forced to live in exile and endure relentless snubs from the Royal Family for the rest of their lives. But, they made the best of it. It was not the life they wanted but hey had each other. Throughout the Second World War they worked tirelessly for the war effort; they established charitable institutions during their posting to the Bahamas; they created a happy, social life for themselves in Paris in the years that followed, and Wallis became known as one of the world's best dressed women. But, for all that, Wallis Simpson's reputation remained forever tainted - she was the woman who caused a much-loved King to abdicate.

Martha Gellhorn became a war correspondent almost by accident when her lover, Ernest Hemingway, urged her to file a report from Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. She wrote about the innocent victims of the war: the civilians who lived in daily fear of being killed by bombs. It was the beginning of a remarkable career spanning some sixty years. Until Martha entered the field, war-reporting was dominated by male journalists but, through her fearlessness and dedication, she earned a place at the top. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she was motivated to write - not about tactics and statistics - but about the devastating effects of war on the lives of civilians. It was a theme she carried from Spain throughout World War Two, to Vietnam and, much later, to America's wars in Guatemala and Panama. But Martha's success came at great cost to her personal life. Her relationships were disastrous and shortlived. Her first marriage, to the writer Ernest Hemingway, ended acrimoniously when it became clear that she could not put her husband before her job. She had several affairs with married men and a painful and difficult relationship with her adopted son. Although American, Martha fell out with her government and spent her whole life looking for somewhere else to settle. She had homes in Mexico, Africa and Britain, ending her life in an apartment in London. She carried on reporting well into her eighties when, half-blind, she travelled alone to Brazil to report on the plight of street-children who were being murdered by death-squads. Martha Gellhorn was committed to reporting the truth and she worked hard for her reputation as one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century.

Grace Kelly had a privileged upbringing in Philadelphia, in fact, she was born to be a princess. Even her maternal grandfather was born in a German Castle. But the young Grace was quiet and sensitive and spent her childhood struggling to win her Irish-American father's approval. She was determined to find the success and independence that she hoped would impress him. By her teenage years, Grace had blossomed into a beautiful woman, picking up modelling jobs in order to finance her acting studies. Never short of wealthy male suitors, Grace was at the heart of New York's social scene and even received a marriage proposal from the Shah of Iran. As her acting and movie career flourished, so she began a string of affairs with her co-stars including Gary Cooper, Clarke Gable, Ray Milland and Bing Crosby. She was attracted to older men who were often married. Three successful performances sealed her place as Alfred Hitchcock's favourite actress; the definitive Hitchcock blonde who was the image of virginal beauty yet brimming with sexuality. Her decision to play a dowdy housewife in The Country Girl would reward her with the Best Actress Academy Award in 1955. But Grace's life would take an even greater step up when she caught the eye of the eligible Prince Rainier of Monaco, that same year. In 1956, the couple were married in a spectacular MGM-produced Wedding. Grace Kelly looked every inch the princess... but the marriage wouldn't live up to the fairy-tale. Over the coming years there would be moments of happiness including the birth of two daughters and a son. Grace helped revive the ailing principality as Monaco became a thriving hub for the rich and famous. Princess Grace's charity work was widely respected and she gained the enduring love and adoration of the Monegasques. But there would also be persistent rumours of affairs on both sides, and as the children grew up, they only added more stress to a troubled marriage. Grace's untimely and mysterious death in 1982 brought a tragic end to the life of the Princess of Monaco and a Hollywood icon.