History Recap / AgathaChristie

* ''Literature/{{Nemesis}}'' (1971). Eleventh Miss Marple novel. Jason Rafiel, Marple's partner from ''A Caribbean Mystery'' (1964), has died, leaving to her a small fortune in money, on condition that she solves another crime case. He had something specific in mind, but left no immediate clues as to the nature of the case. Following the vague instructions left behind by her old friend, Marple soon realizes that it is a murder case. She has to investigate the murder of Verity Hunt, fiancée of Michael Rafiel and would-be daughter-in-law of Jason. In order to do so, Marple has to investigate the dead girl's background and get acquainted with her adoptive family, particularly her adoptive mother Clotilde Bradbury-Scott. While the novel explores the themes of ParentalIncest and lesbian relationships, its PsychoLesbian resolution has unfortunate implications. [[spoiler:Clotilde and Verity, adoptive mother and daughter, were lesbian lovers. When Verity decided to leave her mother/lover for a man, Michael, Clotilde went crazy, killing her and hiding the body, then killing Nora Broad, disfiguring the body and dressing it as Verity. She then frames Michael for the second murder. Clotilde is often seen as a stereotypical ButchLesbian.]] There are also several characters who openly belittle rape victims and claim that morally compromised girls "force" their boyfriends to have sex with them, and then their mothers advise them to falsely call it rape. Being sexually active is seen as an indication that a girl couldn't have been raped, and a young man being sentenced for rape is seen as unjustly punished while those who hold it against him are "unfavourably prejudiced." Rape apologists include highly respectable lawyers, a specialist in forensic psychology, and the protagonist herself - all while the theme of the book is correcting a miscarriage of justice.

* ''Literature/SparklingCyanide'' (1945). Fourth and last novel featuring Colonel Race, but the only one where he is clearly the protagonist. The story is a reworking of the short story 'Yellow Iris'', but features a different solution to the mystery. Rosemary Barton is poisoned during a dinner at the restaurant "Luxembourg." Her death is declared a suicide. A year later her husband George Barton attempts to recreate the circumstances of the death, trying to determine if it was murder. He also dies poisoned. Iris Marle, younger sister of Rosemary, financially benefits from the deaths, but might be the next target. Race gets himself involved at this point. The books contains a straight use of the MurderByMistake trope, which Christie typically subverted. [[spoiler:The killers were after both sisters. George was killed by mistake. The true target was Iris.]].

* ''Being So Very Wilful'' (1908-1909). Written around the same time as Snow Upon the Desert, little is known and it's considented lost.
* ''Eugenia and Eugenics''
* ''The Green Gate''
* ''The Greenshore Folly'' (1954). Novella. Written to raise money for a local church, Christie later rewrote it into Dead Man's Folly, finally published in 2014
* ''Snow Upon the Desert'' (1908). The first novel written by Agatha Christie, a romance novel set in Cairo where she debuted for the season, she attempted to get it published to no success, it's been left unpublished due to the juvenile nature.
* ''Someone at the Window''
* ''Stronger than Death''
* ''The War Bride''
* ''Witchhazel''
* ''The Woman and the Kenite''

* ''Wasp's Nest'' (1937). Television production, adapting the 1928 short story of the same name. Broadcast in June, 1937. Only known instance of Christie herself adapting one of her works for this medium. Broadcast live on two separate occasions, but never recorded. The script has never been published and might be lost.
* ''The Yellow Iris'' (1937). A single-episode RadioDrama, broadcast in November, 1937. Adaptation of the short story ''Yellow Iris'' (July, 1937). Featuring Hercule Poirot. The play included cabaret and dance music performed by the Jack Beaver orchestra, the trio The Three Admirals, Inga Anderson, Hugh French, and Janet Lind. Critics at the time complained that the music numbers were largely irrelevant to the mystery and did not provide the right mood. The script has never been printed.

* ''Being So Very Wilful''

* ''The Greenshore Folly''
* ''Snow Upon the Desert''

* ''Spider's Web'' (1954). Eighth theatrical play by Christie. It was published in book form during 1957. A comedy thriller. Protagonist Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, her husband Henry, and teenaged stepdaughter Pippa rent Copplestone Court, their current residence, at a dirt cheap price, which is curious in itself. The existence of many secret doors and passageways in the house, the presence of house guests constantly searching around when nobody is looking, and the re-appearance of Pippa's drug addicted biological mother and her drug-dealing lover promise for interesting developments. The play is noted for mixing a mystery plot and genuine crimes with funny lines and comical misunderstandings. It received a 2000 novelization by Charles Osborne.

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* ''The Floating Admiral'' (1931). A collaborative novel written by 14 members of the Detection Club, Christie included. The initial setting has Admiral Penistone discovered floating down the river on a small boat, stabbed to death. Inspector Rudge investigates the murder, but soon notices that several persons involved in the case act in particularly suspicious ways. Each author agreed to contribute a new chapter, with new clues and a new direction to the story, while building on the clues of the others. Each had their own solution, though only one became "official" at the finale. In order of writing the authors were: 1) Creator/GKChesterton, 2) Victor Whitechurch, 3) George Douglas Howard Cole, 4) Margaret Cole, 5) Henry Wade, 6) Agatha Christie, 7) "John Rode", actually an alias for Major Cecil John Charles Street, 8) Milward Kennedy, 9) Creator/DorothyLSayers, 10) Ronald Knox, 11) Freeman Wills Crofts, 12) Edgar Jepson, 13) "Clemence Dane", actually an alias for Winifred Ashton, and 14) Anthony Berkeley Cox.

* ''Partners in Crime'' (1929). A short story collection featuring Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, now married to each other. Albert Batt, their sidekick, also returns. The frame story has the Secret Service discovering that "The International Detective Agency" is actually a front for spies. The owner is arrested and Tommy is asked to impersonate him, with Tuppence posing as his secretary. While they wait for spies to contact them, the two are assigned actual detective cases. Tommy finds the opportunity to imitate his favorite fictional detectives. A total of 14 short stories were revised and included in the collection. They had been published in magazines between 1923 and 1928. Christie found the opportunity to parody several popular authors of her time.

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* ''Literature/DeathComesAsTheEnd'' (1944). A mystery novel set in AncientEgypt. Renisenb, a young widow, returns to the estate of her father, bringing along Teti, her own young daughter. She has to reacquaint herself with her brothers, sisters-in-law, and elder relatives, having the illusion that nothing much has changed, though there are clearly tensions among the family members. Something does change when Imhotep, the widowed pater familias, introduces his new concubine to the family: Nofret, a 19-year-old beauty from Memphis. She does not get along with the other family members and tensions turn to regular fights. When Nofret is found murdered, it is only the first of many deaths in this closed family setting. There are two basic questions: "who is responsible?" and "who is next?". This book is considered the first full-length novel in the HistoricalWhodunnit sub-genre, a combination of HistoricalFiction and MysteryFiction. The main criticism of this novel has been that it has a rather high body count, second only to ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone'', and that the suspects keep getting eliminated. By the time the mystery concludes, there aren't many viable suspects available.

* ''The Pale Horse'' (1961). A mystery novel, featuring one-shot protagonists Mark Easterbrook and Katherine "Ginger" Corrigan. Ariadne Oliver plays a significant part. The novel also re-introduces a number of secondary characters from previous stories. Major Hugh Despard (previously called John Despard) and Rhoda Dawes from ''Cards on the Table'' (1936) are now a married couple with children of their own. Maud Dane Calthrop from ''The Moving Finger'' (1942) reprises her role of giving the religious perspective on events. There is also mention of an old lady in a mental hospital who repeats certain cryptic phrases. This serves as an EarlyBirdCameo of Mrs. Lancaster, a major character from ''By the Pricking of My Thumbs'' (1968). Mark Easterbrook, a professional historian, happens to witness a CatFight in a Chelsea coffee-bar. Thomasina Anne Tuckerton, {{Beatnik}} heiress to a large fortune, loses much of her hair in the fight, but claims to have felt no actual pain during the hair pulling. She dies shortly after, supposedly of natural causes. Mark soon learns of a long list of recent "natural" deaths who have had clear beneficiaries. Rumors have it that the inn "Pale Horse" serves as headquarters to a trio of witches able to kill persons from a distance and offering their MurderInc services to paying customers. The police don't take the story seriously, but Mark is intrigued enough to investigate, recruiting author Ariadne Oliver and painting restorer Ginger Corrigan to help him. The title is an allusion to the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse, though the characters initially fail to recognize its significance. The novel is famous for a detailed and accurate description of [[spoiler:thallium poisoning]]. It is credited with helping solve a number of real-life cases in the 1970s, since certain readers recognized the described symptoms in actual poisonings.

* ''Theatre/BlackCoffee'' (1930). First theatrical play by Christie. Features Literature/HerculePoirot, Arthur Hastings, and Inspector Japp. The play received a film adaptation in 1931, and another in 1932. It was published in book form in 1934, and adapted into a novel by Charles Osborne in 1998.

* ''Akhnaton'' (1973). Sixteenth theatrical play by Christie. Written in 1937, but not published until May, 1973. Has rarely been performed on stage. Mostly because of the large cast of characters and prohibitive production costs. The play is set in AncientEgypt and covers the life and reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten (reigned c. 1353-1336). Significant characters include his mother Tiye/Tyi, his wife Nefertiti, his soldier and friend Horemheb, and his heir Tutankhaton. The play was influenced by the views of famous Egyptologist Stephen Glanville (1900-1956). But as SocietyMarchesOn, several of these views were outdated by the 1970s.

* ''Why Didn't They Ask Evans?'' (1934). A thriller novel with comic elements. The protagonists are Robert "Bobby" Jones and Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent. He is the son of a vicar, with little prospects for a future. She is a member of the aristocracy. They were childhood friends, and currently attempt to re-introduce themselves to each other. The adventure begins when Bobby discovers a dying man lying on the seaside. Asking the eponymous question, he is at first simply curious. But when someone tries to poison Bobby himself, the protagonists realize that the are facing a criminal conspiracy. Frankie has notable similarities in background and personality to Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent. Christie reviewers often point her out as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, though both characters belong to a type of female protagonists by Christie, "energetic, adventure-seeking," "feisty," and often witty young women.

* ''The Seven Dials Mystery'' (1929). A sequel to ''The Secret of Chimneys''. Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent investigates a series of murders. Superintendent Battle and Bill Eversleigh also return from ''Chimneys'', while two new characters, Jimmy Thesiger and Lorraine Wade, assist Bundle. The story contains an early use of the DetectiveMole plot.

* ''The Secret of Chimneys'' (1925). A comedy-thriller novel. The protagonist is Anthony Cade, a young adventurer who is currently broke. He is hired to delivere a package from Bulawayo (a city in Zimbabwe) to London, and accidentally gets involved in international intrigue. Other important characters include amateur sleuths Virginia Revel, Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent, and Bill Eversleigh. First appearance for Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard.

* ''Literature/SleepingMurder'' (1976). Twelfth and last Miss Marple novel, briefly features Raymond West and his wife Joan. Mrs. Lancaster, a major character from ''By the Pricking of My Thumbs'' (1968), has a cameo. This was also the last Christie novel ever published, though internal details point to its events predating a number of other novels. [[spoiler:The novel contains references to a real-life theatrical performance dating to 1944. Mrs. Lancaster dies at the finale of her only major appearance but turns up alive in this novel.]] Also, Miss Marple appears much more hale and hearty than she was in the last three novels written about her but previously published, in which her age was starting to catch up with her. Written in the 1940s, intended to be a series' finale. Slightly revised over several years. The novel begins with newlyweds Giles and Gwenda Reed, who have just moved from New Zealand to Great Britain. While witnessing a stage murder (in ''Theatre/TheDuchessOfMalfi''), Gwenda is shocked to realize that something seems very familiar about it. She has RepressedMemories of witnessing a murder during her childhood, that of her own stepmother Helen Halliday. Helen disappeared two decades before, and most people figured that she had run off with some lover. Marple reluctantly agrees to help the young woman investigate the hidden murder of her stepmother, while all too aware that an undetected murderer could kill again, this time to cover his tracks. The novel is considered a solid exercise in working cold cases, but in contrast to ''Curtain'' (1975), offers no conclusion to the protagonist's story. There is nothing preventing Marple from working further cases, other than AuthorExistenceFailure.

* ''The Secret Adversary'' (1922). The first of Christie's spy thriller novels. First appearances for [[Literature/TommyAndTuppence Thomas "Tommy" Beresford, Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley]], and their sidekick Albert Batt. There is a crossover of sorts with the Hercule Poirot series, as the calling card of Inspector Japp appears in a brief scene.

* ''The Labours of Hercules'' (1947). Short story collection, featuring 12 Hercule Poirot stories. In the frame story Poirot has a conversation with his friend, Dr. Burton. Burton points out that Poirot is named after a major figure from Myth/ClassicalMythology, but doesn't resemble his namesake in the slightest, and that Poirot is seriously lacking in literary education, having never bothered to read ClassicLiterature. Finally, Burton pokes fun at Poirot's constant efforts at retirement, pointing out that Poirot is always tempted to take OneLastJob, and then "That's the way of it. Just a case or two, just one case more – the Prima Donna's farewell performance won't be in it with yours, Poirot." In response Poirot decides to take just 12 more cases before retirement, each an allusion to the labours of his namesake. The stories were originally published in magazines between 1939 and 1947. This is often considered among the strongest of the Christie short story collections, largely due to the unifying theme and inspiration from legendary material. On the other hand, the uneven quality of the stories has been pointed out.

* ''4.50 from Paddington'' (1957), also known as ''What Mrs. [=McGillicuddy=] Saw!''. Seventh Miss Marple novel. The co-protagonist is Lucy Eyelesbarrow, a new character. Mrs. Elspeth [=McGillicuddy=], an elderly woman from Scotland, ends her stay in London after concluding her Christmas shopping. She next decides to visit her old friend Jane Marple and takes a train towards St. Mary Mead. She naps for part of her trip and wakes by the sound of another train, traveling parallel to her own. Through the windows of the trains, Elspeth witnesses a murder taking place aboard the second train, a man strangling a woman. She later fails to convince the authorities about the reality of what she witnessed. They dismiss it as a nightmare or fantasy, but Miss Marple knowns that her friend has no imagination to speak of. Convinced that a crime did take place and that the corpse was thrown overboard, Marple estimates that the murder took place next to the grounds of Rutherford Hall. Too infirm to investigate the Hall by herself, Marple hires freelance housekeeper Lucy Eyelesbarrow to act as her proxy. The novel is noted for the strong characterization of the young co-protagonist and its memorable supporting cast, but it is considered a CluelessMystery with no way for the reader to determine how Marple reaches her solution.

** ''A Fruitful Sunday''. First published in August, 1928. The protagonists are Dorothy Jane Pratt and her boyfriend Edward Palgrove, respectively a parlourmaid and a clerk. During a Sunday date, the two buy a basket of cherries. The man who is selling them promises them "you've got more than your money's worth in that basket of cherries." Some time later, the young couple reads the newspaper while eating the cherries. They first learn that a ruby necklace worth 50,000 pounds has gone missing. Then they find what seems to be a ruby necklace at the bottom of their basket. Time for a MoralDilemma. Dorothy is tempted to either keep the necklace or sell it to a fence. "It's come to us and it's probably the only chance we'll ever have of getting all the things we want." Edward has his doubts as "It sounds to me more like the kind of story where the hero goes to Dartmoor unjustly accused for fourteen years." But their positions in this argument will change several times before the matter is settled. [[spoiler:It's not the real necklace but an imitation, part of an advertising stunt.]]

* ''Literature/OneTwoBuckleMyShoe'' (1940). Nineteenth Hercule Poirot novel. Also features Inspector Japp, making his last appearance in a novel. Henry Morley, Poirot's dentist, has been murdered, having been shot to death within his own office. Fellow customer Amberiotis, a Greek blackmailer, is also dead, killed by an overdose of anesthetic. Another client, Mabelle Sainsbury Seale, vanishes, but the body of a woman matching her age soon turns up, with the face disfigured beyond recognition. The life of a fourth customer, politically-influential banker Alistair Blunt, might be in danger. Poirot has to discover what connects the murders to each other. The novel is set in the political climate of the late 1930s, with subplots covering the British Union of Fascists gaining a following among the new generation, communism also spreading out, and political tensions increasing. Blunt himself is a conservative figure, and the main figure maintaining the stability of the current British political system. The murders have an ideological motivation and the killer firmly believes that the ends justify the means. Poirot has to make his own decision on the matter, struggling with a MoralDilemma by the finale. The novel is considered particularly gloomy and humorless, arguably reflecting its setting in time.

* ''Nemesis'' (1971). Eleventh Miss Marple novel. Jason Rafiel, Marple's partner from ''A Caribbean Mystery'' (1964), has died, leaving to her a small fortune in money, on condition that she solves another crime case. He had something specific in mind, but left no immediate clues as to the nature of the case. Following the vague instructions left behind by her old friend, Marple soon realizes that it is a murder case. She has to investigate the murder of Verity Hunt, fiancée of Michael Rafiel and would-be daughter-in-law of Jason. In order to do so, Marple has to investigate the dead girl's background and get acquainted with her adoptive family, particularly her adoptive mother Clotilde Bradbury-Scott. While the novel explores the themes of ParentalIncest and lesbian relationships, its PsychoLesbian resolution has unfortunate implications. [[spoiler:Clotilde and Verity, adoptive mother and daughter, were lesbian lovers. When Verity decided to leave her mother/lover for a man, Michael, Clotilde went crazy, killing her and hiding the body, then killing Nora Broad, disfiguring the body and dressing it as Verity. She then frames Michael for the second murder. Clotilde is often seen as a stereotypical ButchLesbian.]] There are also several characters who openly belittle rape victims and claim that morally compromised girls "force" their boyfriends to have sex with them, and then their mothers advise them to falsely call it rape. Being sexually active is seen as an indication that a girl couldn't have been raped, and a young man being sentenced for rape is seen as unjustly punished while those who hold it against him are "unfavourably prejudiced." Rape apologists include highly respectable lawyers, a specialist in forensic psychology, and the protagonist herself - all while the theme of the book is correcting a miscarriage of justice.

* ''Third Girl'' (1966). Thirtieth Hercule Poirot novel. Also features Ariadne Oliver, Felicity Lemon, and Mr. Goby. Poirot is approached by 20-year-old Norma Restarick, who seeks his help because she might have committed murder. Before explaining herself, Norma decides that Poirot is "too old" to help her and runs off. Poirot is intrigued enough to start checking on the background and current activities of the girl. Norma is the heiress to a considerable fortune, but she is estranged from her businessman father and the rest of her family, currently supporting herself as an interior decorator and sharing an apartment with two other girls her age. She has recently found herself increasingly disoriented and unable to recall her activities. While Norma spends much of the novel missing, Poirot and Oliver investigate the life of the young woman. There is an apparent contradiction between her current "insane" status and the perfectly normal girl her acquaintances from her teenage years remember, which provides a vital clue to the investigators. [[spoiler:Norma is the victim of a {{Gaslighting}} plot involving several conspirators. Her "mental problems" are actually the result of cocktails of drugs, provided to her by one of her roommates. She has been framed for murder.]] The novel is firmly set in TheSixties, with Christie providing commentary on contemporary fashion (high-healed leather boots, short skirts, oversized woolen sweaters, long hair for men, etc.), nightclub scene, drug culture (a secondary character has a police file for dealing heroine, cocaine, LSD, and marijuana), the rockers subculture, and the fascination of youth with musicians, at some point complaining that they know by heart an endless list of singers, musical groups and disk jockeys, while on the other hand have trouble naming a single doctor, lawyer, or detective when the need for them arise. The title derives from the then-contemporary habit of young girls to move in together just for sharing the rent. As described, the first two girls are typically friends. The third and even fourth ones just answer a newspaper ad, resulting in co-habitation with virtual strangers, which serves as a major plot point. While often considered a relatively weak novel, Christie's portrayal of the youth culture is considered highly entertaining.

* ''Black Coffee'' (1930). First theatrical play by Christie. Features Literature/HerculePoirot, Arthur Hastings, and Inspector Japp. The play received a film adaptation in 1931, and another in 1932. It was published in book form in 1934, and adapted into a novel by Charles Osborne in 1998.

* ''Literature/TheBigFour'' (1927). Fourth Hercule Poirot novel. Also features Arthur Hastings, Inspector Japp, and Countess Vera Rossakoff . Unusually for this series, the novel is a spy thriller. It is also an episodic novel. Several different cases, connected by the broad theme of Poirot facing the Big Four, an alliance of villains. Several chapters are actually revised versions of 12 different short stories, published in magazines during 1924. First appearances for The titular Four. Their ranks include are: 1) Li Chang Yen, a Chinese criminal mastermind. Lives as a recluse in Pekin, but organizes plans with worldwide scope and effects. A YellowPeril, often considered an {{Expy}} of Literature/FuManchu. 2) Abe Ryland. An American businessman, supposedly "the richest man in the world". A CorruptCorporateExecutive-type. 3) Madame Olivier. A famous French scientist, with shady activities on the side. Permanently disfigured with a scar on her cheek. Serves as both a FemmeFatale and a [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Villainous Scientist]]. 4) Claude Darrell. A MasterOfDisguise, and [[ProfessionalKiller Assassin]]. The name is an alias and his true features are always hidden.

* ''Literature/CrookedHouse'' (1949). A mystery novel with no previously established characters. Charles Hayward, the narrator, was about to marry into the Leonides family, a wealthy clan of Greek emigrants, when Aristide Leonides, the 85-year-old pater familias dies, poisoned with his own eye medicine. All members of the extended family were living under his roof, all had motives, and none has an established alibi. Now there are many suspects for the authorities to investigate. Josephine Leonides, the 12-year-old granddaughter of the deceased, contacts her own investigation as a KidDetective, proving she is remarkably intelligent and inquisitive. The novel is one of Christie's most notable uses of InTheBlood trope, as the narrative argues that "authoritarian ruthlessness," "ruthless egoism," and an "essential crooked strain" are hereditary traits in this family. [[spoiler:Which Josephine inherited. She is actually the murderer and has psychopathic tendencies.]] Christie listed the novel as one of her personal favorites, and so do several critics and readers. However, there are complaints over an implication that BeautyEqualsGoodness. [[spoiler:Good looks run in the family but Josephine did not inherit them. She is constantly described as ugly, odd-looking, and even a "changeling." The conclusion points out that "the stigma of being the unattractive" contributed to her madness.]]

* ''They Do It With Mirrors'' (1952), also known as ''Murder with Mirrors''. Fifth Miss Marple novel. Jane Marple visits the affluent Ruth Van Rydock, a friend from her teenage years. Ruth is concerned about the well-being of her sister Carrie Louise, a WideEyedIdealist with a tendency to support lost causes. Carrie Louise and her latest husband have converted their house into a reformatory for juvenile delinquents. Ruth recently visited her sister and got the impression that something was seriously wrong about the place. Miss Marple pays a visit to Carrie Louise and keeps a close eye on the youths and Carrie Louise's extended family of adopted grandchildren. A murder soon takes place, though the victim isn't Carrie Louise. The novel is dominated by NatureVersusNurture debates. The theory supported by Marple is that personality traits, including criminal tendencies, are hereditary. You can raise children well, you can educate them, but you can't change their nature, nor actually rehabilitate a delinquent. The idea extends to the nature of adoptive families, with several characters believing that the adopted children exhibit the traits of their biological parents.