The Christie Survival Guide

Imagine the scenario where you, as an avid reader, have been selected to play the leading role in a favourite Christie whodunit of your choice. From the dashing Mr. Harley Quin in her short story collections to the beautiful, tragic heroine Vera Claythorne in And Then There Were None, playing the good guy in murder fictions is no easy task. So here is a (fun) compiled list of the Do’s and the Don’ts to be the last one standing in a game of murder- because even those closest to you can sometimes turn out to be homicidal psychopaths.

 

Rule Number One: The most obvious beneficiary is always the culprit.
Almost ninety per cent of the time, I should say, no matter how strong his or her alibi might be. Your overly-devoted, younger by half a century trophy wife secretly takes on a two million dollar insurance policy on your life. Your charismatic bad un’ of a nephew who has always been hard up for money suddenly needs a huge sum to pay off his debts. Your spouse who had seem to be unusually close to his much younger blonde secretary recently hints on getting a divorce. Any of this should ring a warning bell in your mind, that some sinister accident might just take place soon.

 

Rule Number Two: Watch your drinks.
I cannot emphasise enough on this. A slip of cyanide into a pot of afternoon tea, liquid nicotine in a glass of port, coniine in a bottle of beer, and a digitalis-laced cup of cocoa; Christie certainly has her way with poisons in drinks. Food may get poisoned too occasionally (fancy a taxine-laced jar of marmalade or some oysters poisoned with strychnine?) but it is relatively more difficult to target a particular victim. Poisons like cyanide are easy to carry around and quickly dissolved in liquids, making them the ideal substance to be added to a drink.

 

Rule Number Three: Know your symptoms.
While substances like potassium cyanide are deadly in a single dose, many poisoning attempts have been made using much “milder” poisons that are less obvious to detection. These are usually administered in small doses over a period of time, causing chronic poisoning in which certain symptoms will manifest before fatality is achieved. Intoxication by phosphorus, for example, produces general symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, but with a characteristic odour of garlic in breath. Thallium toxicity causes obvious changes in hair shafts and subsequently hair loss. Arsenic, one of the most popular poisons in history can be observed by changes in the skin and fingernails (Mees’ lines). Timely intervention before a fatal amount is ingested might help save your life.

 

Other points to remember:
Be alert at all times.
Murders that take place unexpectedly are hard to avoid- but when you can sense danger in the air it goes without saying that you have to be extra alert to your surroundings. At all times. Trapped in a mansion on a deserted island where your host has announced to annihilate every last one of his guests? Avoid standing at the edge of a cliff where a simple push from behind can be fatal, and avoid standing directly beneath a window where a heavy object might be dropped in an attempt to crush your skull. And be wary of the people you ally with.

 

Do not consume anything sent by an unverified source.
Seems like an obvious point, however this simple and relatively risk-free trick has been used with success on many of Christie’s victims. Cocaine-laced chocolates, arsenic-poisoned wedding cakes, and aconite-containing sleeping pills that arrived in a parcel; these are just few examples to remind you why it isn’t a good idea to eat anything sent by post.

 

Household items can be fatal.
The tin of weed-killer in your garden shed seems to be almost empty today- a puzzling thing, as you remember just buying a new tin last week. You might want to know that weed-killers provide an easy source of arsenic, but then so are domestic paints, pesticides, rat poisons, and fly-papers. Being overly cautious about poisons in your food could sometimes be misleading- as they can also be hidden in other products you use, such as belladonna-tampered cosmetics, or anthrax spores planted on your shaving brush. Poisons aside, heavy blunt objects in the house also provide excellent opportunities for murder; anything from golf clubs to sandbags and fireplace pokers.

 

Keep your own medication safe.
Forget about novel poisons like aconite and thallium; resourceful killers often make the most out of opportunities presented to them. Victims-to-be who take medication or health tonics on a regular basis are especially vulnerable; just a little tampering can turn them into effective and deadly murder weapons. And when it comes to meddling with medicines, Christie is no stranger to this task, having worked as a pharmacy dispenser in the hospital during World War I. Her ideas are ingenious and diverse- such as how an elderly man may die from heart failure when his daily insulin injection is substituted with his eye medication, eserine. An elderly lady dies after ingesting phosphorus deliberately inserted into one of the capsules she takes for her liver problems. Another victim is disposed of by an overdose of digitalis, which she regularly takes for her weak heart. Even Christie’s first ever murder victim dies in this way, when bromide powder is added to her evening tonic (which contains trace amounts of strychnine). This simple trick causes strychnine to precipitate at the bottom of the bottle, hence ensuring the poison to be taken in one large fatal dose.

Agatha Christie’s Book of Poisons (Part One)

More than two millennia ago, famous Greek philosopher Socrates was sentenced to death by drinking a cup of the poison hemlock. Cleopatra, pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, committed suicide by an asp’s venomous bite, and Adolf Hitler allegedly bit into a cyanide capsule to avoid capture after his defeat in World War II. Be it in history or in fiction, deaths by poisoning have always fascinated me. From A to Z, here is a compilation of Christie’s deadliest weapon – poisons.

 

Aconite/ Aconitine
Featured in: 4.50 from Paddington, They do it with Mirrors
The aconitum plant, more popularly known as monkshood, the devil’s helmet, or wolf’s bane, is the source from which the toxic compound aconite is synthesised from. The first onset of symptoms may appear anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours after oral ingestion; they include tingling sensations in the face, sweating and nausea, heart palpitations, and paralysis of the skeletal muscles, which eventually lead to death by cardiac arrest. In 4.50 from Paddington, the unfortunate victim of the toxin is Harold Crackenthorpe, who died as a result of taking aconite-containing pills that resembled his prescribed sleeping pills.

 

Arsenic
Featured in: 4.50 from Paddington, Poirot’s Early Cases, The Listerdale Mystery, The Thirteen Problems
Contrary to the many novel poisons used by Christie, arsenic is a very common element found almost everywhere – it is naturally-occurring in many minerals, water, and soil, and can even be traced to food such as fish and rice. Arsenic can be the source of both acute and chronic poisoning – either administered in a large single dose, or in small quantities over a period of time. Once ingested in sufficient amount, symptoms of toxicity may appear as vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and dark-coloured urine. Arsenic works by reacting with proteins in the cell, uncoupling the process of oxidative phosphorylation and thus inhibiting ATP synthesis – a coenzyme vital to many cellular functions. Death occurs from multiple organ failures. The source of arsenic in detective fiction is often household products such as rat poisons, pesticides, and fly papers, making it a popular choice for domestic murders.

 

Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) toxin
Featured in: Cards on the Table
The rod-shaped anthrax bacteria occur naturally in the soil, most commonly in the form of endospores where they get transferred to grazing animals. Infection of humans occurs via direct contact with the animals or their products such as meat and hide. Such is the case with the “shaving brush incident” around 1915 to the early 1920s, where horsehair and pig bristles used to make the brushes were actually contaminated with the bacteria. In Cards on the Table, Mr. Craddock died as a result of anthrax from his shaving brush, although his demise was far from accidental. Anthrax spores were deliberately planted on his brush, so that infection would occur transcutaneously as he nicked himself with the razor – a highly ingenious method of murder, although Christie made no attempt to explain how the culprit had managed to obtain the spores or how he could have transferred them effectively to the victim’s brush without risking himself in the process.

 

Belladonna
Featured in: A Caribbean Mystery, The Big Four
Atropa belladonna, or more commonly known as the deadly nightshade, is a branching herbaceous plant native to central and southern Europe. It grows lushly under the shades of trees and wooded hills. Every part of the plant is poisonous; the roots, berries, leaves, and the flowers contain the poisonous alkaloids scopolamine and hyoscyamine, which cause delirium and hallucinations. Despite all that, belladonna has quite a number of medicinal uses, ranging from treatment of Parkinson’s disease to motion sickness and haemorrhoids. When used as a poison, symptom manifestations include blurred vision, tachycardia, confusion, and acute anticholinergic syndrome leading to death. In A Caribbean Mystery, Molly Kendall was poisoned by her belladonna-tampered cosmetics, driving her to vivid hallucinations and near madness, although no death results from the drug’s use in the story.

 

Cocaine
Featured in: Poirot’s Early Cases, Peril at End House
A purified extract of the coca plant, cocaine is a powerful, addictive stimulant often used as a recreational drug. Routes of administration are by smoking, inhalation, or direct injection into bloodstream. Symptoms include euphoria, restlessness, tremors, and convulsions – with death resulting from cardiac arrest at high doses. In The Affair at the Victory Ball, actress Coco Courtenay is overdosed with the drug by her own supplier, leading to death that is easily disguised as an accidental overdose due to her habit with the drug. Peril at End House also features the drug, where Nick Buckley was sent a box of chocolates laced with cocaine.

 

Coniine
Featured in: Five Little Pigs
Coniine is a highly volatile, poisonous alkaloid that makes up the primary active ingredient in the infamous hemlock poison. When consumed, coniine produces an initial feeling of euphoria but also causes severe depression on the peripheral nervous system, leading to respiratory paralysis and eventual death from lack of oxygen supply to the body. Sixteen years prior to the main events in the story, artist Amyas Crale died as he was painting the portrait of his mistress, having drunk from a beer glass laced with coniine.

 

Chloral hydrate
Featured in: And Then There Were None
Once a common sleep medication used to treat insomnia, chloral hydrate has both sedative and hypnotic properties, and can be habit-forming over time. Often misused, an acute overdose of the drug may occur, which leads to symptoms such as confusion, seizures, a drop in blood pressure, and respiratory depression. Combined intake with alcohol or other depressants and opiates creates a deadly cocktail that often leads to toxic drug interactions. Chloral hydrate is used to dispose of Mrs Rogers in the novel, where it was mixed into her brandy. Another victim, Emily Brent, is drugged with it in her coffee before finally killed off with an injection of potassium cyanide – which we will discuss next.

 

Cyanide/ Potassium cyanide/ Hydrogen cyanide
Featured in: A Pocketful of Rye, And Then There Were None, Sparkling Cyanide, The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side
Cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano (CN) group in its structure; it can be present in many forms such as the inorganic cyanides (sodium cyanide, NaCN or potassium cyanide, KCN), and most of them are highly toxic. The compound is said to have a very distinctive odour resembling bitter almonds. Cyanide works by inhibiting a vital enzyme in the cells, thus disrupting cellular respiration and causing the cells to be starved of oxygen. Results of poisoning vary depending on the amount and route of administration. The respiratory route produces the most harm, but oral ingestion can be fatal as well; immediate symptoms include rapid breathing, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting – subsequently respiratory failure and death. Sparkling Cyanide is pretty much a self-explanatory title, which sees the use of the compound in a champagne toast at a dinner table. On the anniversary of his wife Rosemary’s death, George Barton dies in the exact same conditions after sipping his cyanide-laced drink. In The Mirror Crack’d, Ella Zielinsky was poisoned by hydrogen cyanide (or prussic acid) deliberately placed into a nebuliser she uses to treat hay fever.

 

Digitalis/Digitoxin/Digoxin
Featured in: Appointment with Death, Crooked House, The Thirteen Problems
Digitalis is a genus of Eurasian herbaceous plants collectively known as the foxgloves. Their characteristic bell-shaped flowers can vary in colour ranging from purple to yellow and white, and all parts of the plant are reportedly poisonous to human. Digitalis as a drug refers to the glycosides synthesised from the plants in this genus; they act to increase the force of myocardial contraction and is often prescribed for patients with heart failure. Toxicity is not uncommon owing to the narrow therapeutic index of the drug; when it occurs, symptoms may range from CNS disturbances (confusion, hallucinations, xanthopsia) to gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea) and cardiac symptoms (bradycardia, tachycardia, convulsions). An overdose of digitalis proves to be a convenient method for murder in Appointment with Death, where the tyrannical Mrs Boynton died from a hypodermic injection of the drug.

 

Dispholidus typhus (boomslang snake) venom
Featured in: Death in the Clouds
The boomslang is a large and venomous snake native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is usually found dwelling on trees and shrubs. Their colours may range from green to brown, depending on sex, and the average length is between 3.5 to over 5 feet. A bite from the boomslang delivers a deadly dose of the hemotoxic venom – often fatal if untreated. Once it enters the circulatory system, the venom works by destroying red blood cells, leading to tissue and organ damage. It also disables blood clotting and causes severe haemorrhaging. The venom is used only once in Christie’s works – Death in the Clouds where the notorious moneylender Madam Gisele is apparently killed from a wasp’s sting during a flight from Paris to Croydon, England. Upon further investigation, a blowpipe is discovered, which would point to deliberate murder by a poisoned dart. However, the actual plot for murder is much more elaborate than that, as Poirot would later realise.

 

Eserine
Featured in: Crooked House
Eserine (also known as physostigmine) occurs naturally in calabar beans; the chemical synthesised from it has several medicinal uses, which include the treatment of glaucoma. It reduces pressure in the eyes by increasing fluid drainage. Toxicity from the use of eserine alone is not common, but when it occurs several side effects may be observed such as nausea, vomiting, seizures, breathing difficulties, and irregular heartbeats. Crooked House is yet another example of Christie’s works where the victim gets poisoned by his own medication. The 87-year old Aristide Leonides died after eserine was substituted into his daily insulin injections, causing his already weak heart to stop working.

 

Evipan
Featured in: Cards on the Table
Also known as hexobarbital in sodium salt form, this barbiturate derivative was widely used in the 1930s to 1950s as an anaesthetic for short operations. Intravenous injection in a large dose results in immediate unconsciousness; the drug has a rapid onset of effects, and dosage control is often difficult. In the story, Mrs Lorrimer was disposed of by an intravenous injection on her arm; death results from the combined effects of the drug with Veronal (yet another barbiturate derivative) that she had taken on the previous night.

Crimes by Rhymes- Agatha Christie and Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhymes were often used in many of Christie’s works; I have counted at least eight titles associated with them. Some of them were indeed utilised brilliantly (And Then There Were None remains Christie’s biggest commercial success after more than seventy years of publication) while the others just fail to impress. Let us have a look at some of the more popular titles out there- just a reminder that this post may reveal a few key points of the plot, or even the outcome of the stories discussed.

Ten Little Indians

(And Then There Were None– 1939)

Perhaps the best example of the use of nursery rhymes by Christie. It is also my personal favourite, perhaps because I have outgrown my fondness for all the Poirots and Marples out there. The book boasts a highly original plot, with a decent count of bodies for a murder mystery, and a great conclusion. The use of the “Ten Little Soldiers” (or Niggers/ Indians) nursery rhyme here is both ingenious and practical, fitting into the plot beautifully while maintaining the element of suspense throughout the story.

Ten little Soldier boys went out to dine,

one choked his little self and then there were nine.

An exciting but rather chilling start to the story. Ten people were invited to a remote island by a mysterious host, only to find themselves getting stranded there with no way of escape. A gramophone record that plays after their first dinner accuses all ten of them of murder at some earlier point in their lives. The first victim then drops dead literally, having been poisoned by a slip of cyanide into his drink.

Nine little Soldier boys sat up very late,

one overslept himself and then there were eight.

The second murder occurs during their first night on the island; the victim dies by an overdose of sleeping draught. With each death, one of the ten figurines on the dining table is removed, installing further fear in the remaining survivors that the deaths are indeed premeditated and thus, confirming their suspicions that there is a clever murderer at work here.

Eight little Soldier boys travelling in Devon,

One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Soldier boys chopping up sticks,
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Soldier boys playing with a hive,
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

The subsequent murders are executed according to the rhyme. The five remaining survivors find themselves in a state of high nervous tension, each asking himself… Which one of us did it? With no way of knowing the truth, the “Soldier boys” have no other choice than to continue playing the deadly game against the mastermind, hoping to catch him in action and thus ending this nightmare once and for all. But as we know, things are never as simple as they appear to be…..

Five little Soldier boys going in for law,

One got in Chancery and then there were four.

One of the deciding moments in the story, with only four survivors remaining. The air of suspicion is heavy around them, even as each survivor finds himself going over the border of insanity…

Four little Soldier boys going out to sea,
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Soldier boys walking in the zoo,
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Soldier boys sitting in the sun,
One got frizzled up and then there was one.

With each of the two remaining survivors convinced that the other party must be guilty, one of them outwits the other, thus becoming the lone survivor of the game. The tenth “Soldier boy” then returns to the house, only to find a noose hanging in her room, ready to be used.

One little Soldier boy left all alone,
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.

In what the murderer describes as the most interesting psychological moment in the story, will the last remaining “Soldier boy” hang herself out of her guilt? The murderer gambled on that she would, and with that the rhyme is completed.

In a shocking and thought-provoking epilogue, the murderer reveals his identity through a letter, sealed in a bottle and thrown into the sea. He also states the fact that the order that the deaths occurred had been significant, with the “least guilty” ones killed off early in the game and were thus spared the psychological torment that would be felt by the remaining members. An intensely good read, with just the right amount of drama, and a thoroughly unpredictable conclusion. A true example of Christie at her very best.

My rating: 5.0/5.0

This Little Piggy

(Five Little Pigs / Murder in Retrospect– 1942)

Unlike And Then There Were None, the plot for this story does not rely much on the use of the nursery rhyme. In fact I do think that Murder in Retrospect is a better title, as it describes just exactly what the plot is about- a murder committed in retrospect, sixteen years prior to the story. Carla Lemarchant, the now grown-up daughter of the late painter Amyas Crale, approaches Poirot to re-open the investigation into her father’s death. Her mother Caroline Crale who was arrested for the case had died in the prison, and it is up to Carla now to find out the truth. But even for Hercule Poirot, investigating a murder committed sixteen years ago, one that has left nothing but cold trails, is no easy task.

This little piggy went to the market,

Readers are introduced to the first of the suspects, Philip Blake, who had supposedly “went to the market” on the day of the murder. Philip had been a stockbroker and a close friend of Amyas, but as innocent as he may seem to be, everyone has a little something to hide.

This little piggy stayed at home,

Represents Meredith Blake, the brother of Philip Blake. He happens to be an herbalist, of whom the poison coniine had been stolen from, apparently by Caroline.

This little piggy had roast beef,

Elsa Greer, a young girl who had posed as a model for Amyas’s paintings and had been his mistress at that time. She is apparently the motive for the crime, a crime of passion where Caroline had poisoned her husband out of her jealousy.

This little piggy had none,

The fourth suspect was Cecilia Williams, a governess for Caroline’s younger half-sister. Although fiercely loyal to Caroline, she seems to have little doubt of the latter’s guilt, for a reason that Poirot will later discover.

And this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home.

The final suspect was Angela Warren, the younger half-sister of Caroline, and who was blinded in one eye when Caroline threw a paperweight at her as a young child. As more evidences are uncovered, Angela becomes a strong suspect for the murder.

I have mixed feelings on this title. While the plot is original, the story lacks suspense and the pace may get a little slow at times.  With the exception of Elsa Greer and Angela Warren, the other characters have nothing much to offer and are easily forgettable. The conclusion is decent though, and overall the story is an above-average read for fans of crime fiction.

My rating: 3.5/5.0

There Was a Crooked Man

(Crooked House– 1949)

One of Christie’s own personal favourites, together with yet another psychological thriller Ordeal by Innocence. The use of nursery rhyme here serves not only as the title; it also demonstrates the state of the Leonides household perfectly- with each of the member being rather twisted psychologically, due to the influence of the domineering family head Aristide Leonides.

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,

He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile.

He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,

And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

Unlike the other more famous works by Christie, this novel does not feature any of the recurring characters as the main investigator. Rather, the task is taken by Charles Hayward, who acts as the narrator for the story. He is introduced to the Leonides family through Sophia Leonides, whom he is supposed to marry.

As the count of bodies in the family rise, it becomes possible to guess correctly the identity of the culprit. For one, the crimes are decidedly simple and yet incredibly clever, successful just because they were executed at the right moments. Everything makes sense only in the end when the real culprit is revealed- and the motives for the murders may send a chill down your spine for the sheer spitefulness behind them. A highly enjoyable title altogether; I would personally recommend this if you have not read it.

My rating: 4.5/ 5.0

Sing a Song of Sixpence

(A Pocket Full of Rye– 1953)

One of my personal favourites from the Miss Marple series. Like And Then There Were None, the use of nursery rhyme here relates to the actual murders as well, and they are rather well-executed.

Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye;

Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing;

Wasn’t that a dainty dish, to set before the king?

The plot for this story revolves around Rex Fortescue, a rich businessman and the various family members of the Fortescue household. Rex, who had some rather shady business dealings in his past, is reminded of one particular incident involving the Blackbird Mine in Africa when someone in his household plays pranks on him by placing dead blackbirds around the house (and hence, the first reference to the rhyme).

In the Blackbird Mine incident, Rex had apparently swindled his business partner at that time, a man called MacKenzie. The MacKenzie family was ruined; this is supposedly one of the motives for the later murders- revenge for a past wrongdoing.

The King was in his counting house, counting out his money;

The first murder takes place early in the story- that of Rex Fortescue’s. Taxine, a highly unusual poison which can be extracted from yew trees, is used for the murder. The police find rye placed in the victim’s pocket- which completely baffles them at first. It may be a clever red herring to lead the case to the MacKenzies (again the Blackbird Mine incident) but somehow it works against the murderer instead, by putting Miss Marple on the right track to discovery later in the story.

The Queen was in the parlour, eating bread and honey.

The second victim lies in Adele Fortescue, the young and beautiful wife of Rex (and hence, the Queen). While having her afternoon tea she is poisoned with cyanide, fulfilling the verse in the rhyme.

The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes;

When down come a blackbird, and nipped off her nose.

Gladys, a maid in the household is found dead in the garden. This is where Miss Marple comes in; Gladys was previously employed and trained by her. Outraged by the immodesty that the killer had shown by putting a clothes peg on the victim’s nose, Miss Marple is more determined than ever to uncover the truth behind the series of killings.

Taken as a whole, this is a decent story and one of Marple’s best. The use of nursery rhyme here makes more sense than that in Five Little Pigs, but somehow seems to serve not much purpose other than to please the audience and perhaps to a degree, to show what a childlike mind the murderer has.

The rhyme is also employed in two other short stories by Christie. Sing a Song of Sixpence appears as part of a collection in The Listerdale Mystery and Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories. On the other hand, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, a short story starring Poirot appears in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and also in the Three Blind Mice anthology.

My rating: 4.0/ 5.0

Other titles with nursery rhymes:

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe– 1940

Three Blind Mice (Three Blind Mice and Other Stories– 1950)

Hickory Dickory Dock– 1955

How Does Your Garden Grow? (Poirot’s Early Cases– 1974)

A Little Romance from Christie

Many of us are aware that Agatha Christie actually wrote several romance novels under her pseudonym Mary Westmacott, but I am sure you have noticed that her usual whodunits are not all just about murders, too. For my special Christmas post this year, let’s have a look at some of the notable couples in Christie’s works. The usual warning to readers: Spoilers ahead!

1. Tommy & Tuppence Beresford.

First appearance: The Secret Adversary (1922)

Probably the most famous couple to date in Christie’s works. There are altogether four titles dedicated to this pair, and whenever the story involves them we can expect lots of incoming adventure and comedy! Most (if not all) the time they are involved in espionage attempts instead of cold-blooded murder cases, so I guess this is a way for Christie to infuse variety into her work. The couple appeared last in Postern of Fate (1973), the last novel written by Christie before her demise.

2. Arthur Hastings & Dulcie Duveen

First appearance: Murder on the Links (1923)

This is the first Christie book that I read, and judging from my craze for her whodunits today you can say this title really made an impression on me! Poirot and Captain Hastings are off to the south of France to investigate a case of blackmail and subsequently murder. A fated meeting on a train between Hastings and his wife-to-be (whom he calls Cinderella) sets off a chain of events, and love blossoms in the end. They had four children altogether; Hastings appeared last in Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case.

3. Anne Beddingfield & John Eardsley (alias Harry Rayburn)

Appear in: The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)

Here is another of Christie’s “adventure and romance” titles, albeit being a little too dramatic for my tastes, perhaps. Anne Beddingfield has always yearned for adventure in her life. After the passing of her famous archaeologist father, she decides to pursue a clue left at the scene of a murder and books a passage on Kilmorden Castle to Cape Town, where she meets Harry Rayburn. From there on it is non-stop action and drama; a very refreshing read indeed.

4. Major John Despard & Rhoda Dawes

First appearance: Cards on the Table (1936)

Definitely one of Christie’s best years, three of her famous works were published in 1936: The A.B.C. Murders, Murder in Mesopotamia, and Cards on the Table, which has always been one of my personal favourites. Major Despard is one of the suspects in the murder of the illustrious Mr. Shaitana, a famous collector who also happens to collect “murderers who got away with their crimes”. However, it is interesting to note that the ending in the 2005 movie adaptation is significantly different as Major Despard ended up with Anne Meredith instead. Major Despard & Rhoda appeared last in The Pale Horse (1961), being happily married by that time.

5. Jacqueline de Bellefort & Simon Doyle

Appear in: Death on the Nile (1937)

Yet another of Christie’s popular works, albeit one with a tragic ending. But perhaps it was the best way out for both Jacqueline & Simon, who planned the murder of the beautiful heiress Linnet Ridgeway while on a cruise on the Nile River. Poirot solved the mystery in the end, revealing their near flawless plan to kill Linnet Ridgeway to obtain her money; however he allowed Jacqueline to kill herself and Simon to avoid an unpleasant death should they be taken to the court.

6. Raymond Boynton & Dr. Sarah King

Appear in: Appointment with Death (1938)

While on a holiday to Jurusalem and Petra, Poirot gets involved in an exciting murder case but with no way of proving that it was a murder. The Boyntons are a strange family with seemingly dark secrets behind them, and it appears that the members may have been collaborating to get rid of their tyrannical stepmother by injecting her with a lethal dose of digitoxin. However, there are more facts to the case that Poirot will need to solve first before he can decide who the real culprit was. The story ends satisfactorily with two other couples tying the knot; Carol Boynton with Jefferson Cope, and Ginevra Boynton with Dr. Gerard. However, the 2008 movie adaptation is a little awkward to watch, as Ginevra is revealed to be Dr. Gerard’s daughter in the end (but not in the novel though!)

7. Philip Lombard & Vera Elizabeth Claythorne

Appear in: And Then There Were None (1939)

Officially not a couple in the original plot for the book, since both of them died as predicted by the mastermind killer, Justice Wargrave. Philip, the ninth (actually eighth) surviving member of the group, was shot to death by Vera, who then proceeded to hang herself out of her feeling of guilt. However, this ending was deemed too tragic thus it was altered by Christie herself for the stage, where Philip and Vera became the only surviving members and lived happily ever after.

8. Elinor Katherine Carlisle & Dr. Peter Lord

Appear in: Sad Cypress (1940)

I must confess that this is my favourite couple up to today. Poirot takes the centre stage again here, where he successfully defended Elinor Carlisle on the charge of murdering her elderly aunt, Mrs Welshman and Elinor’s love rival, Mary Gerrard. Elinor was sentenced to death for her apparent role in the crimes, but Dr. Lord was in love with her and brought in Hercule Poirot to have her acquitted at all costs. The 2003 movie adaptation ends just as great; altogether a greatly recommended title.

9. Victoria Jones & Richard Baker

Appear in: They Came to Baghdad (1951)

This story is often compared to The Man in the Brown Suit due to their similar settings and themes; most action takes place in the Middle East with the main themes being adventure and romance. Not to forget espionage and British secret agents too, of course. The heroine here is a young lady with the name of Victoria Jones; recently out of her job, she decides to follow a man whom she falls in love with to Baghdad. Nothing much is known about this mysterious stranger other than his first name, Edward. Once there, things start going out of hand when another mystery man drops dead in Victoria’s room. Her exciting adventure concludes when Victoria finds love in the unlikely hero of the story; the archaeologist Richard Baker.

10. Dr. Arthur Calgary & Hester Argyle

Appear in: Ordeal by Innocence (1958)

One of Christie’s personal favourites, Ordeal has one of the best psychological plots she has ever written, rivalled only by the likes of And Then There Were None and Crooked House. Arthur Calgary plays the hero of the story, unmasking the real culprit in a murder committed two years ago. In the process he saves Hester Argyle, whom others believed to be guilty of the crime.

And that concludes my Christie reviews for 2011. I would like to thank all readers for your time to read my posts, and have a very Merry Christmas among your loved ones!

And Then There Were None: From the novel to the films, to the game

“Ladies and gentlemen! Silence, please!

You are charged with the following indictments:
Edward George Armstrong, that you did upon the 14th day of March, 1925, cause the death of Louisa Mary Clees.
Emily Caroline Brent, that upon the 5th November, 1931, you were responsible for the death of Beatrice Taylor.
William Henry Blore, that you brought about the death of James Stephen Landor on October 10th, 1928.
Vera Elizabeth Claythorne, that on the 11th day of August, 1935, you killed Cyril Ogilvie Hamilton.
Philip Lombard, that upon a date in February, 1932, you were guilty of the death of twenty-one men, members of an East African tribe.
John Gordon Macarthur, that on the 4th of January, 1917, you deliberately sent your wife’s lover, Arthur Richmond, to his death.

Anthony James Marston, that upon the 14th day of November last, you were guilty of the murder of John and Lucy Combes.
Thomas Rogers and Ethel Rogers, that on the 6th of May, 1929, you brought about the death of Jennifer Brady.
Lawrence John Wargrave, that upon the 10th day of June, 1930, you were guilty of the murder of Edward Seton.
Prisoners at the bar, have you anything to say in your defence?”

And Then There Were None/ Ten Little Indians

Published: 1939

Genre: Crime, mystery, psychology

With over 100 million copies sold, “And Then” is certainly Agatha Christie’s most popular title out of all her works. The first edition of the novel was published in November 1939, and remains a classic until today. I have reviewed this title in some of my older posts; however I just saw two of the film adaptations this week. Having completed the PC game last year, I decided that there are significant differences between the original novel, the films, and the game, most notably on their conclusion.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.

1. The book.

Fans of Christie would be familiar with the plot, the settings and the characters of this wonderful novel. Eight guests were invited to Soldier Island (also known as Nigger Island or Indian Island) by a Mr. U.N. Owen. Upon reaching there, the guests were greeted by two servants, a Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, who arrived on the island just two days before. Altogether, there were ten people on the island, and none of them have met their mysterious (or rather, non-existent) host. The guests were amused to find copies of the nursery rhyme “Ten Little Niggers” in each of their room, and there were also ten figurines sitting on the dining table. However their amusement soon turned to fear, anger, and suspicion when each of them is accused of murder by a voice on a gramophone record that plays during their first dinner. One by one, each of them dies according to the method described in the nursery rhyme, and with each death a figurine is removed from the table. The story concluded with the death of all ten of them, including Wargrave (the real murderer), and a letter of confession is found in a floating bottle which is handed to the police. Thus we have ten bodies and an unsolved case on Soldier Island. In this novel, the motive of murder was to preserve justice by killing the nine guilty people, with the exception of Wargrave himself who ironically, was the only one innocent of the crime he was accused of.

2. The films & TV.

There were altogether eleven film and TV adaptations of the novel, although some of them have significant deviations from the story and the plot. So I would say there are only about five of them that follow the story faithfully; with the first one made in 1945 in the US. Others include the 1965 version of the film, where the settings were changed to a mountain retreat in Austria, and the one in 1974 was set in the Iranian desert instead of an island. In 1987 another adaptation was made, this time by the USSR, with the title Desyat’ negrityat (Ten Little Negroes). The last movie was made in 1989 and was titled Ten Little Indians.

I first watched the 1945 U.S. adaptation, and to me it was just average. There is a lot of humour incorporated into the story, and the ending is not as tragic as it should be. Most of the films follow the ending written for the play (by Christie herself) instead of using the original ending; in the films, Lombard managed to figure out that the murderer is still alive among them and urged Vera to pretend shooting him in order to lure out the murderer. In the end, Wargrave died by suicide and Lombard was able to escape the island with Vera; they lived happily ever after, being the only ones who were innocent of the crimes.

One exception to this is the Russian adaptation of the novel, which follows the plot and ending exactly. All ten of them died, with Vera hanging herself as predicted, and Wargrave shooting himself to complete the rhyme. One minor difference is that Wargrave shot himself while sitting at the dining table, instead of in his room as described in the book.

3. The PC game.

The PC game, which was released in 2005, is significantly different from the novel. Not only that a new character, Patrick Narracott the boatman is introduced as the main character, we also have a different murderer with a very different motive for the crimes (which, if I may say, is totally ridiculous). There are four possible endings to it, and up to three people may survive depending on which path you (as Narracott) chose to take. Altogether, it is a poor interpretation of this classic story, but the gameplay is very enjoyable, with beautiful scenery. Recommended only if you have at least read the novel.