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 vision and to protect the integrity of her creations" and disapproved of "merchandising" activities. Upon Hicks's death on 28 October 2004, both the Society and the Greenway Estate passed to Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard. After his parents' deaths, Prichard donated Greenway and its contents to the National Trust. The Society is now chaired and managed by Agatha Christie's great-grandson James Prichard. Christie's family and family trusts, including James Prichard, continue to own the remaining 36% stake in Agatha Christie Limited, and remain associated with the company. James Prichard became the company's chairman in October 2015. The development of Christie's work