Crime novelist Agatha Christie is often seen as stodgy, but did you know she became a surfing pioneer in her 30s?

Think about surfing and you’ll likely come up with a mental image of tanned young men and women on California beaches, hair bleached by the sun and sporting ripped abs. But from a historical perspective, you might as well think of crime novelist Agatha Christie hanging 10 in a “skimpy” emerald-green wool bathing suit and leather booties. That’s because Christie was an early—if unlikely—English pioneer of the sport.