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"‘[Absorption in one’s personal life] is, you know,’ Poirot persisted, ‘a form of humility. And humility is valuable. There was a slogan that was written up in your underground railways here, I remember, during the war. “It all depends on you.” It was composed, I think, by some eminent divine– but in my opinion it was a dangerous and undesirable doctrine. For it is not true. Everything does not depend on, say, Mrs Blank of Little-Blank-in-the-Marsh. And if she is led to think it does, it will not be good for her character. While she thinks of the part she can play in world affairs, the baby pulls over the kettle.’
‘You are rather old-fashioned in your views, I think. Let’s hear what your slogan would be.’
‘I do not need to formulate one of my own. There is an older one in this country which contents me very well.’
‘What is that?’
‘ “Put your trust in God, and keep your powder dry.'" - Dead Man's Folly
‘You are rather old-fashioned in your views, I think. Let’s hear what your slogan would be.’
‘I do not need to formulate one of my own. There is an older one in this country which contents me very well.’
‘What is that?’
‘ “Put your trust in God, and keep your powder dry.'" - Dead Man's Folly
The Sum of It:
In this novel, Poirot is a bit old fashioned in his views (on purpose?) and we learn what color cyclamen is (it's pink). It allll begins when Poirot gets a phone call from his old pal and apple enthusiast, Ariadne Oliver, basically being like "POIROT! I'M ON VACAY! YOU'RE NEEDED, TAKE A TRAIN, WE'LL SEND A CAR." Poirot is like what huh what and then tells Miss Lemon to get him a train ticket because he's curious like a cat. Turns out Ariadne is staying at these people's country house and designing a #MURDERHUNT which is apparently a variation on the more typical treasure hunt set to raise money for the county's local fete. She called in Poirot because she's got a funny feeling about the people in the country house, and is worried someone might actually get murdered.
In a massive twist, someone does get murdered! Actually a few people. The action centers (kind of) around a fuggles folly that was built on the property at the whim of the lady of the house (Hattie Stubbs), who is a total drip but very beautiful, and married to this new money fella (Lord Stubbs) who used to be in the military and has a beard. Their lovely estate, Nasse House, used to be occupied by the Folliat family, who lost their fortune (partially to death duties, which has become a major recurring gripe of Agatha in these later books, clearly a political concern of hers #topical #activist #torypresumably.) Now the only remaining Folliat in town is Amy, who lost her husband, sons, and fortune around the times of the war. Now she has sold her house to the Stubbses, and she lives in the lodge at the gates #howthemightyhavefallen. Anyhow on the day of the #MURDERHUNT a young girl is found murdered, Lady Stubbs disappears, and Poirot sets about trying to figure out what happened. There is a great deal of slight of hand in terms of disguises and false identities, and a hidden corpse, as well as a mysterious visitor on a fancy yacht.
The YOA Treatment:
One interesting thing about this tale is the depiction of the fall of these old great houses of the British aristocratic families, #DowntonAbbey style. By the time this book was written, in 1956, very few of the old families had the resources to maintain massive estates and the huge houses that had been the pride of their families for years. The struggle to retain the glamour and prominence of years gone by, and the old traditions of these homes, is a prominent feature of this story's plot.
Another interesting thing about this story is the premise of the #MURDERHUNT, which Ariadne Oliver is trying to create for the residents of the local village. She is not only writing the story, but also developing fake "clues," such as difficult to interpret photographs of certain areas on the estate's property. Considering the abstract nature of a real life mystery - definitely requiring some creative thinking to tease out real clues from the aftermath of a crime - it would be difficult to do this in a believeable way.
Also as she is developing the mystery, she keeps getting input from all the people hanging out on the estate, which is what makes her start to feel uneasy. She just starts thinking hmm someone might actually die over here, and which of these people is telling me clues to help facilitate an actual murder? This is an interesting parallel to Agatha's experience in developing a mystery plot, paired with the characters that evolve within the plot - how do you drop in red herrings and suspicious actors without disrupting the plot, or giving the whole thing away? It's also a bit of a parallel to our experience as readers, constantly trying to tease out simple suspicions from actual maliciousness.
While this one wasn't a major standout for me, it also had some interesting conceits, and was a bit of a thinker!
- E.
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