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 to sell off its literary assets on the market. The process included the sale of Chorion's 64% stake in Agatha Christie Limited to Acorn Media U.K. In 2014, RLJ Entertainment Inc. acquired Acorn Media U.K., renamed it Acorn Media Enterprises, and incorporated it as the RLJE UK development arm. RLJ Entertainment Inc. was founded by American entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson. In 2014, media reports stated that the BBC had acquired exclusive TV rights to Christie's works in the UK (previously associated with ITV) and made plans with Acorn's co-operation to air new productions for the 125th anniversary of Christie's birth