Jules Verne in Eighty Days" (1873). Verne is generally considered a major literary author in France and most of Europe, where he has had a wide influence on the literary avant-garde and on surrealism. His reputation is markedly different in Anglophone regions, where he has often been labeled a writer of genre fiction or children's books, largely because of the highly abridged and altered translations in which his novels are often reprinted. Verne has been the second most-translated author in the world since 1979, ranking between Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare. He has sometimes been called the "Father of Science Fiction", a
Agatha Christie which she describes them. One such site featured in her work is the temple site of Abu Simbel, depicted in "Death on the Nile". Also there is the great detail in which she describes life at the dig site in "Murder in Mesopotamia". Among the characters in her books, Christie has often given prominence to the archaeologists and experts in Middle Eastern cultures and artefacts. Most notable are the characters of Dr. Eric Leidner in "Murder in Mesopotamia" and Signor Richetti in "Death on the Nile", while many minor characters were archaeologists in "They Came to Baghdad". Some of Christie's