Which British author used the pseudonym 'Mary Westmacott'?

Which British author used the pseudonym “Mary Westmacott”? The answer is Agatha Christie.

Christie created the name Mary Westmacott for novels that differed sharply from her famous detective stories. Under this pseudonym, she published six mainstream novels, beginning with Giant’s Bread in 1930. These books focused on relationships, family tensions, emotional conflict, and psychological experience rather than murder investigations.

The pseudonym initially concealed Christie’s identity, although publishers hinted that Westmacott was already a successful author. Her identity became publicly known in 1949 after a journalist uncovered it, but Christie continued using the name for two further novels. The final Westmacott novel, The Burden, appeared in 1956.

A common mix-up is assuming Mary Westmacott was another writer or one of Christie’s characters. She was not: the name was a pen name used by Christie to give her serious fiction a separate identity from her crime writing. Christie’s detective fiction includes Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, while her Westmacott novels explore private emotions and family life.