A Murder is Announced
Encyclopedia
A Murder is Announced is a work of detective fiction
by Agatha Christie
and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club
in June 1950
and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company
in the same month. The UK edition retailed at eight shillings and sixpence
(8/6) and the US edition at $2.50.
The novel features her detective Miss Marple
and is considered a crime novel classic.
The book was heavily promoted upon publication in 1950 as being Christie's fiftieth book, although in truth this figure could only be arrived at by counting in both UK and US short story collections.
Naturally, the villagers are intrigued by this notice, and several of them appear on the doorstep with awkward reasons but a definite interest. As the clock strikes 6:30, the lights go out and a door swings open, revealing a man with a blinding torch.
In a heavily accented voice, the man demands they "Stick 'em up!" Most of the guests do so, believing it to be part of a game. The game ends when shots are fired into the room. The door slams shut, and panic takes hold: in short order, it's discovered that the fuses are blown, the gunman has been shot, and Ms. Blacklock's ear is bleeding, apparently from a bullet's near-miss. The most curious thing of all is the gunman: he is recognized by Dora Bunner (an old friend of Letitia's, affectionately known as "Bunny", who also lives at Little Paddocks) as Rudi Scherz, the receptionist at a local spa, who had asked Letitia for money just a few short days ago.
The police are called in. All clues suggest that the case is merely a strange suicide or accidental death, but Inspector Craddock is uneasy about both possibilities. As luck would have it, Miss Marple is a guest at the very same spa where Rudi Scherz was employed. Craddock is advised to involve her in the case, and the two commence working together. At the spa, it emerges that Rudi has a criminal background, but petty theft and forgery rather than any more serious crime. His girlfriend, a waitress at the spa, however, reveals that not only had he been paid to appear, he believed it was all "a silly English joke": clearly he was not planning on being shot at.
With this new knowledge, Craddock returns to Chipping Cleghorn. Miss Marple, not uncoincidentally, is the godmother of the local vicar's wife, and decides to stay with her.
The first step is to establish a motive for Scherz's attack on Miss Blacklock. This presents a problem: Letitia has no known enemies. She worked for a successful financier (Randall Goedler) and has done quite well for herself but is not herself wealthy. She does not lead a lavish life and, aside from her house, she has only enough to live on. However, she may shortly come into a great deal of money; Randall Goedler's estate passed to his wife, Belle, when he died. Belle is frail, and is now very near death. When Belle dies, Miss Blacklock inherits everything. If, however, she predeceases Belle, the estate goes to the mysterious "Pip" and "Emma", children of Randall's estranged sister, Sonia. No one knows where these two are, much less what they look like.
Inspector Craddock discovers oil on the hinges of a door into the parlour (where the shooting took place) thought to be unused, and Bunny mentions that until quite recently there had been a table placed against the door.
Inspector Craddock travels to Scotland to meet Belle; she mentions that Letitia had a beloved sister, Charlotte, who was born with a goiter. Their father, an old-fashioned doctor, tried unsuccessfully to treat Charlotte, but she only withdrew further into herself as her goiter got worse. Their father died shortly before World War II, and Letitia gave up her job with Goedler and took her sister to Switzerland for the necessary surgery to repair the defect. The two sisters waited out the war in the Swiss countryside, but before it was over, Charlotte died very suddenly. Letitia returned to England shortly thereafter.
Miss Marple takes tea with Bunny during her shopping trip with Letitia, and Bunny reveals several details about the case: she talks about the recently oiled door she found with the Inspector; she's sure that Patrick Simmons, a young cousin of Letitia's who, with his sister Julia, is also staying at Little Paddocks, is not as he appears; and, most tellingly, she's absolutely positive there was a different lamp in the room on the night of the murder (the one with the shepherdess and not with the shepherd) than there was now. Their tête-à-tête is interrupted, however, as Letitia arrives, and she and Bunny resume their shopping.
That evening, Letitia arranges a birthday party for Bunny, complete with all Bunny's friends and even a chocolate cake; this was while rationing was still in effect in England—butter and eggs were hard to come by even in a rural community, and chocolate was quite rare. Afterward, Bunny complains of a headache and goes to bed after taking some of Letitia's aspirin, as her own bottle of aspirin bought that morning seems to be missing. Bunny dies from poisoning in her sleep.
Miss Marple visits Ms. Blacklock, who mourns Bunny and starts crying. Miss Marple asks to see photo albums which might contain pictures of Sonia Goedler, Pip and Emma's mother, but all photos of Sonia were taken out of the albums recently, although they were in place before the death of Rudi Scherz.
Through deduction and re-enactment, Misses Hinchliffe and Murgatroyd (two spinster farmers who were also present at the time of the Scherz murder) figure out that Miss Murgatroyd could see who was in the room as she was standing behind the door when it swung open; she couldn't have seen Rudi as he was on the other side of the opened door, but she could see whose faces were illuminated by the torch beam. The two women conclude that the person who wasn't in the room (and therefore not seen by Miss Murgatroyd) could have snuck out of the room when the lights went out and come around behind Rudi, and shot at him—and Miss Blacklock.
Just as she remembers the one person not in the room, the stationmaster calls to notify them that a dog has just arrived. As Miss Hinchliffe pulls away in her car, Miss Murgatroyd runs into the driveway, shouting "She wasn't there!" She is murdered while Miss Hinchliffe is away, and so does not reveal whom she did not see.
Miss Hinchliffe returns and meets Miss Marple. They discover Murgatroyd's body, and a distraught Hinchliffe informs Miss Marple of Murgatroyd's cryptic statement.
At Little Paddocks, Letitia receives a letter from the real Julia Simmons in Perth. She confronts "Julia" with the letter, and "Julia" reveals that she is actually Sonia's daughter, Emma Stamfordis, masquerading as Julia so that she could attempt to gain a portion of the inheritance from Letitia and let the real Julia could spend time pursuing an acting career.
Julia/Emma insists she is uninvolved in the assassination attempt—she was a crack shot during the French Resistance and would not have missed at that range, even in the dark—nor did she wish to prevent Letitia from inheriting Randall Goedler's estate. She had intended to ingratiate herself with Letitia and try to obtain a portion of the money, and once the murder took place, had no choice but to continue the masquerade.
Phillipa Haymes (a boarder at Little Paddocks and a young widow) sneaks into the kitchen to speak to Julia/Emma, but Julia/Emma sends her away before finding out what Phillipa had to say. That night, the vicar's cat, Tiglath Pileser, knocks over a glass of water onto a frayed electrical cord, which causes the fuses to blow, and the final clue falls into place for Miss Marple.
Inspector Craddock gathers everyone at Little Paddocks and launches the final inquest, which is interrupted by Mitzi, Letitia's foreign "lady-help", crying out that she saw Letitia commit the murder. The inspector does not believe her, and continues with his questioning.
The inspector continues, and quickly insinuates that Edmund Swettenham who, with his widowed mother, was also present at the shooting, is in fact Pip. However, Phillipa comes forward and confesses that she is in fact Pip; Inspector Craddock then accuses Edmund of wanting to marry a rich wife in Phillipa by murdering Letitia. Edmund denies this and as he does so, a terrified scream is heard from the kitchen.
Everyone rushes to the kitchen and discovers Miss Blacklock attempting to drown Mitzi in the sink. Miss Blacklock is arrested by a local constable who has been hiding in the kitchen with Miss Marple, who imitates Dora Bunner's voice to make Ms. Blacklock break down.
Miss Marple explains it quite simply: it wasn't Charlotte who died in Switzerland, but Letitia. Charlotte, aware that Letitia was in line to inherit a fortune, posed as Letitia and returned to England; few people knew Charlotte, as she had been a recluse before leaving England, and a slight change in Letitia's appearance could be explained away to casual acquaintances by her time abroad during the war. She need only avoid people who knew Letitia well, such as Belle Goedler, and to always cover her throat with strings of pearls or beads to hide the scars from her goiter surgery. Bunny was one of the few people who remembered Charlotte as Charlotte, but by then, Charlotte was so lonely that she allowed her old school friend to move in.
However, Rudi Scherz could have ruined everything: he worked at the Swiss hospital where Charlotte had been treated and could therefore identify Charlotte as herself. This is why Letitia/Charlotte hired him to come to Chipping Cleghorn and "hold up" a room full of guests: she blew the fuse by pouring water from a vase of flowers onto the frayed cord of a lamp, slipped out the second door, stood behind Rudi, and shot him. She then nicked her ear with a pair of nail scissors and rejoined the others, playing the part of perplexed host.
Bunny became the next target because she, too, could reveal too much. Bunny had an eye for detail, but was prone to slip-ups: on several occasions, she referred to Ms. Blacklock as "Lotty" (short for "Charlotte") instead of "Letty" (short for "Letitia"), and her conversation with Miss Marple in the cafe proved fatal.
Miss Murgatroyd, the final victim, was also killed for guessing too much and for coming to the realization that Letitia/Charlotte was the one person, beside herself, whose face was not illuminated by Rudi Scherz's torch.
Mitzi and Edmund had been persuaded by Miss Marple to play parts in tripping Charlotte Blacklock up; Miss Marple's plans were almost brought down when Phillipa admitted to being Pip, but Inspector Craddock thought fast enough to turn around and claim Edmund was after Phillipa's money.
In the end, Phillipa/Pip and Julia/Emma inherit the Goedler fortune; Edmund and Phillipa/Pip get married and return to Chipping Cleghorn to live.
in the Times Literary Supplement was lavish in his praise of the book in the issue dated June 23, 1950: "A new novel by Mrs Agatha Christie always deserves to be placed at the head of any list of detective fiction and her fiftieth book, A Murder is Announced, establishes firmly her claim to the throne of detection. The plot is as ingenious as ever, the writing more careful, the dialogue both wise and witty; while suspense is engendered from the very start, and maintained skilfully until the final revelation: it will be a clever reader indeed who anticipates this, and though Miss Christie is as usual scrupulously fair in scattering her clues, close attention to the text is necessary if a correct solution of the mystery is to be arrived at before the astute Miss Marple unmasks the culprit."
The review concluded, "Miss Christie has several surprises up her sleeve besides the main one, and (this much may be said without spoiling the reader’s pleasure) she once again breaks new ground by creating a weak and kindly murderer who is yet responsible for the deaths of three people: that such a character should, in the last analysis, seem credible, is a tribute to the author’s psychological acumen and originality of concept."
Maurice Richardson, in the June 4, 1950 issue of The Observer
said, "For her fiftieth book she has chosen a snug, residential village setting with her favourite detective, silver-haired, needle-sharp spinster, Miss Marple, making a delayed appearance. Not quite one of her top notchers, but very smooth entertainment. The Prime Minister (Clement Attlee
), who is her fervent admirer, might fittingly celebrate this jubilee by making her a Dame." (In the event, it took until 1971 for Christie to be awarded the DBE
).
Normal Shrapnel in The Guardian
s issue of June 9, 1950 noted that this was Christie's fiftieth book and said that the murderer was, "run to earth in a brilliantly conducted parlour game".
An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star
of September 30, 1950 said, "A Murder is Announced displays all the adroit and well-bred legerdemain one has come to expect from Agatha Christie...This jubilee whodunit is as deft and ingenious a fabrication as Agatha Christie has contrived in many a year."
Robert Barnard
: "Superb reworking of the standard Christie setting and procedures, marred only by an excess of homicide at the end. The book is distantly related to The Companion, in The Thirteen Problems."
on December 30, 1956 as part of Goodyear Television Playhouse
with Gracie Fields
in the role of Miss Marple. It was filmed with Joan Hickson
as Miss Marple and Ursula Howells
as Miss Blacklock in 1985 (director David Giles) for the BBC
. A later version featuring Geraldine McEwan
as Miss Marple, Zoë Wanamaker
as Letitia Blacklock; and Christian Pedersen as Rudi Scherz. Radical plot changes were made in 2005 for the ITV
series Marple
. In this version the character of Mrs. Easterbrook has long-ago divorced her husband who is an alcoholic and was thrown out of the army for drunkenness, Mrs. Swettenham is a single mother and is attempting to convince Colonel Easterbrook to marry her; her son, Edmund, greatly resents this, Hinch and Murgatroyd are overtly romantic and sexual in their relationship, also in this version Miss Marple is depicted as an old friend of Murgatroyd's mother (unlike the BBC version). Patrick and Julia are more intimately involved with one another than in either the book or previous adaptations and Inspector Craddock is a gruff, impatient man who is much more aggressive in his attitude and technique of investigation than in the novel.
A BBC Radio 4 adaptation was first broadcast on 9th August 1999. This version omitted the characters of Mrs. Swettenham and her son. The cast included:
The novel was serialised in eleven parts in the Daily Express
from Tuesday, February 28 to Saturday March 11, 1950. Five of the instalments carried an illustration by long-term Express artist Andrew Robb. This version did not contain any chapter divisions and contained only about half of the text that appeared in the book publication, totally omitting chapters five, six, seven, fourteen and the epilogue. It had been planned for this serialisation to take place closer to the eventual book publication in June 1950 but it was pulled forward by Christie’s literary agent
Edmund Cork in an effort to boost interest at the ailing box office for the play Murder at the Vicarage
.
In the US, the first publication was in the Chicago Tribune
in forty-nine parts from Monday, April 17 to Monday, June 12, 1950.
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club
Collins Crime Club
The Collins Crime Club was an imprint of UK book publishers William Collins & Co Ltd and ran from May 6, 1930 to April 1994. Customers registered their name and address with the club and were sent a newsletter every three months which advised them of the latest books which had been or were to be...
in June 1950
1950 in literature
The year 1950 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Kazuo Shimada wins the "Mystery Writer Of Japan" award for his book Shakai-bu Kisha .*Jack Kerouac has his first novel published....
and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company
Dodd, Mead and Company
Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. Its history properly began in 1870, with the retirement of its founder, Moses Woodruff Dodd. Control passed to his son Frank...
in the same month. The UK edition retailed at eight shillings and sixpence
British sixpence coin
The sixpence, known colloquially as the tanner, or half-shilling, was a British pre-decimal coin, worth six pence, or 1/40th of a pound sterling....
(8/6) and the US edition at $2.50.
The novel features her detective Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
and is considered a crime novel classic.
The book was heavily promoted upon publication in 1950 as being Christie's fiftieth book, although in truth this figure could only be arrived at by counting in both UK and US short story collections.
Plot summary
A strange notice appears in the morning paper of a perfectly ordinary small English village, Chipping Cleghorn: "A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 p.m. Friends accept this, the only intimation." This apparently comes as a great surprise to Letitia Blacklock, the owner of Little Paddocks, as she has no idea what the notice means; she didn't place it and none of her companions knows more than she. Miss Blacklock decides to take it in her stride and prepares herself to have guests that evening.Naturally, the villagers are intrigued by this notice, and several of them appear on the doorstep with awkward reasons but a definite interest. As the clock strikes 6:30, the lights go out and a door swings open, revealing a man with a blinding torch.
In a heavily accented voice, the man demands they "Stick 'em up!" Most of the guests do so, believing it to be part of a game. The game ends when shots are fired into the room. The door slams shut, and panic takes hold: in short order, it's discovered that the fuses are blown, the gunman has been shot, and Ms. Blacklock's ear is bleeding, apparently from a bullet's near-miss. The most curious thing of all is the gunman: he is recognized by Dora Bunner (an old friend of Letitia's, affectionately known as "Bunny", who also lives at Little Paddocks) as Rudi Scherz, the receptionist at a local spa, who had asked Letitia for money just a few short days ago.
The police are called in. All clues suggest that the case is merely a strange suicide or accidental death, but Inspector Craddock is uneasy about both possibilities. As luck would have it, Miss Marple is a guest at the very same spa where Rudi Scherz was employed. Craddock is advised to involve her in the case, and the two commence working together. At the spa, it emerges that Rudi has a criminal background, but petty theft and forgery rather than any more serious crime. His girlfriend, a waitress at the spa, however, reveals that not only had he been paid to appear, he believed it was all "a silly English joke": clearly he was not planning on being shot at.
With this new knowledge, Craddock returns to Chipping Cleghorn. Miss Marple, not uncoincidentally, is the godmother of the local vicar's wife, and decides to stay with her.
The first step is to establish a motive for Scherz's attack on Miss Blacklock. This presents a problem: Letitia has no known enemies. She worked for a successful financier (Randall Goedler) and has done quite well for herself but is not herself wealthy. She does not lead a lavish life and, aside from her house, she has only enough to live on. However, she may shortly come into a great deal of money; Randall Goedler's estate passed to his wife, Belle, when he died. Belle is frail, and is now very near death. When Belle dies, Miss Blacklock inherits everything. If, however, she predeceases Belle, the estate goes to the mysterious "Pip" and "Emma", children of Randall's estranged sister, Sonia. No one knows where these two are, much less what they look like.
Inspector Craddock discovers oil on the hinges of a door into the parlour (where the shooting took place) thought to be unused, and Bunny mentions that until quite recently there had been a table placed against the door.
Inspector Craddock travels to Scotland to meet Belle; she mentions that Letitia had a beloved sister, Charlotte, who was born with a goiter. Their father, an old-fashioned doctor, tried unsuccessfully to treat Charlotte, but she only withdrew further into herself as her goiter got worse. Their father died shortly before World War II, and Letitia gave up her job with Goedler and took her sister to Switzerland for the necessary surgery to repair the defect. The two sisters waited out the war in the Swiss countryside, but before it was over, Charlotte died very suddenly. Letitia returned to England shortly thereafter.
Miss Marple takes tea with Bunny during her shopping trip with Letitia, and Bunny reveals several details about the case: she talks about the recently oiled door she found with the Inspector; she's sure that Patrick Simmons, a young cousin of Letitia's who, with his sister Julia, is also staying at Little Paddocks, is not as he appears; and, most tellingly, she's absolutely positive there was a different lamp in the room on the night of the murder (the one with the shepherdess and not with the shepherd) than there was now. Their tête-à-tête is interrupted, however, as Letitia arrives, and she and Bunny resume their shopping.
That evening, Letitia arranges a birthday party for Bunny, complete with all Bunny's friends and even a chocolate cake; this was while rationing was still in effect in England—butter and eggs were hard to come by even in a rural community, and chocolate was quite rare. Afterward, Bunny complains of a headache and goes to bed after taking some of Letitia's aspirin, as her own bottle of aspirin bought that morning seems to be missing. Bunny dies from poisoning in her sleep.
Miss Marple visits Ms. Blacklock, who mourns Bunny and starts crying. Miss Marple asks to see photo albums which might contain pictures of Sonia Goedler, Pip and Emma's mother, but all photos of Sonia were taken out of the albums recently, although they were in place before the death of Rudi Scherz.
Through deduction and re-enactment, Misses Hinchliffe and Murgatroyd (two spinster farmers who were also present at the time of the Scherz murder) figure out that Miss Murgatroyd could see who was in the room as she was standing behind the door when it swung open; she couldn't have seen Rudi as he was on the other side of the opened door, but she could see whose faces were illuminated by the torch beam. The two women conclude that the person who wasn't in the room (and therefore not seen by Miss Murgatroyd) could have snuck out of the room when the lights went out and come around behind Rudi, and shot at him—and Miss Blacklock.
Just as she remembers the one person not in the room, the stationmaster calls to notify them that a dog has just arrived. As Miss Hinchliffe pulls away in her car, Miss Murgatroyd runs into the driveway, shouting "She wasn't there!" She is murdered while Miss Hinchliffe is away, and so does not reveal whom she did not see.
Miss Hinchliffe returns and meets Miss Marple. They discover Murgatroyd's body, and a distraught Hinchliffe informs Miss Marple of Murgatroyd's cryptic statement.
At Little Paddocks, Letitia receives a letter from the real Julia Simmons in Perth. She confronts "Julia" with the letter, and "Julia" reveals that she is actually Sonia's daughter, Emma Stamfordis, masquerading as Julia so that she could attempt to gain a portion of the inheritance from Letitia and let the real Julia could spend time pursuing an acting career.
Julia/Emma insists she is uninvolved in the assassination attempt—she was a crack shot during the French Resistance and would not have missed at that range, even in the dark—nor did she wish to prevent Letitia from inheriting Randall Goedler's estate. She had intended to ingratiate herself with Letitia and try to obtain a portion of the money, and once the murder took place, had no choice but to continue the masquerade.
Phillipa Haymes (a boarder at Little Paddocks and a young widow) sneaks into the kitchen to speak to Julia/Emma, but Julia/Emma sends her away before finding out what Phillipa had to say. That night, the vicar's cat, Tiglath Pileser, knocks over a glass of water onto a frayed electrical cord, which causes the fuses to blow, and the final clue falls into place for Miss Marple.
Inspector Craddock gathers everyone at Little Paddocks and launches the final inquest, which is interrupted by Mitzi, Letitia's foreign "lady-help", crying out that she saw Letitia commit the murder. The inspector does not believe her, and continues with his questioning.
The inspector continues, and quickly insinuates that Edmund Swettenham who, with his widowed mother, was also present at the shooting, is in fact Pip. However, Phillipa comes forward and confesses that she is in fact Pip; Inspector Craddock then accuses Edmund of wanting to marry a rich wife in Phillipa by murdering Letitia. Edmund denies this and as he does so, a terrified scream is heard from the kitchen.
Everyone rushes to the kitchen and discovers Miss Blacklock attempting to drown Mitzi in the sink. Miss Blacklock is arrested by a local constable who has been hiding in the kitchen with Miss Marple, who imitates Dora Bunner's voice to make Ms. Blacklock break down.
Miss Marple explains it quite simply: it wasn't Charlotte who died in Switzerland, but Letitia. Charlotte, aware that Letitia was in line to inherit a fortune, posed as Letitia and returned to England; few people knew Charlotte, as she had been a recluse before leaving England, and a slight change in Letitia's appearance could be explained away to casual acquaintances by her time abroad during the war. She need only avoid people who knew Letitia well, such as Belle Goedler, and to always cover her throat with strings of pearls or beads to hide the scars from her goiter surgery. Bunny was one of the few people who remembered Charlotte as Charlotte, but by then, Charlotte was so lonely that she allowed her old school friend to move in.
However, Rudi Scherz could have ruined everything: he worked at the Swiss hospital where Charlotte had been treated and could therefore identify Charlotte as herself. This is why Letitia/Charlotte hired him to come to Chipping Cleghorn and "hold up" a room full of guests: she blew the fuse by pouring water from a vase of flowers onto the frayed cord of a lamp, slipped out the second door, stood behind Rudi, and shot him. She then nicked her ear with a pair of nail scissors and rejoined the others, playing the part of perplexed host.
Bunny became the next target because she, too, could reveal too much. Bunny had an eye for detail, but was prone to slip-ups: on several occasions, she referred to Ms. Blacklock as "Lotty" (short for "Charlotte") instead of "Letty" (short for "Letitia"), and her conversation with Miss Marple in the cafe proved fatal.
Miss Murgatroyd, the final victim, was also killed for guessing too much and for coming to the realization that Letitia/Charlotte was the one person, beside herself, whose face was not illuminated by Rudi Scherz's torch.
Mitzi and Edmund had been persuaded by Miss Marple to play parts in tripping Charlotte Blacklock up; Miss Marple's plans were almost brought down when Phillipa admitted to being Pip, but Inspector Craddock thought fast enough to turn around and claim Edmund was after Phillipa's money.
In the end, Phillipa/Pip and Julia/Emma inherit the Goedler fortune; Edmund and Phillipa/Pip get married and return to Chipping Cleghorn to live.
Characters in "A Murder is Announced"
- Miss Jane Marple
- Inspector Dermot Craddock
- Letitia Blacklock, lady of the house, in her early/mid 60s
- Dora Bunner, her elderly fluttery childhood friend, usually known by her nickname, "Bunny"
- Patrick and Julia Simmons, Miss Blacklock's spoiled and foolish young cousins (who call her Aunt)
- Mitzi, Miss Blacklock's foreign housekeeper and cook, a young refugee
- Phillipa Haymes, a young widowed paying guest/gardener with a young son at boarding school
- Colonel Archie Easterbrook, blustery old colonel just returned from India
- Laura Easterbrook, his considerably younger, glamorous wife
- Mrs Swettenham, elderly lady who dotes on her son
- Edmund Swettenham, cynical young writer
- Miss Hinchcliffe, efficient lady farmer
- Miss Amy Murgatroyd, her pleasant but giggly companion
- Belle Goedler, dying widow of Letitia's former wealthy employer
- Diane `Bunch´ Harmon, wife of the local vicar
- Julian Harmon, the vicar
- Tiglath Pileser, the vicarage cat
- Rudi Scherz, a young man of Swiss extraction, the receptionist at a local spa
- Myrna Harris, girlfriend of the latter, waitress at local spa
- Chief Constable George Rydesdale, Craddock's superior
Literary significance and reception
After five years of not reviewing any Christie detective novel, Julian MacLaren-RossJulian MacLaren-Ross
Julian MacLaren-Ross was a British novelist.-Background:Born James McLaren Ross in South Norwood, London in 1912, his father John Lambden Ross was of mixed Scottish and Cuban blood, and his mother, from an Anglo-Indian family, was described as "a magnificent Indian lady and the obvious source of...
in the Times Literary Supplement was lavish in his praise of the book in the issue dated June 23, 1950: "A new novel by Mrs Agatha Christie always deserves to be placed at the head of any list of detective fiction and her fiftieth book, A Murder is Announced, establishes firmly her claim to the throne of detection. The plot is as ingenious as ever, the writing more careful, the dialogue both wise and witty; while suspense is engendered from the very start, and maintained skilfully until the final revelation: it will be a clever reader indeed who anticipates this, and though Miss Christie is as usual scrupulously fair in scattering her clues, close attention to the text is necessary if a correct solution of the mystery is to be arrived at before the astute Miss Marple unmasks the culprit."
The review concluded, "Miss Christie has several surprises up her sleeve besides the main one, and (this much may be said without spoiling the reader’s pleasure) she once again breaks new ground by creating a weak and kindly murderer who is yet responsible for the deaths of three people: that such a character should, in the last analysis, seem credible, is a tribute to the author’s psychological acumen and originality of concept."
Maurice Richardson, in the June 4, 1950 issue of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
said, "For her fiftieth book she has chosen a snug, residential village setting with her favourite detective, silver-haired, needle-sharp spinster, Miss Marple, making a delayed appearance. Not quite one of her top notchers, but very smooth entertainment. The Prime Minister (Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
), who is her fervent admirer, might fittingly celebrate this jubilee by making her a Dame." (In the event, it took until 1971 for Christie to be awarded the DBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
).
Normal Shrapnel in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s issue of June 9, 1950 noted that this was Christie's fiftieth book and said that the murderer was, "run to earth in a brilliantly conducted parlour game".
An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
of September 30, 1950 said, "A Murder is Announced displays all the adroit and well-bred legerdemain one has come to expect from Agatha Christie...This jubilee whodunit is as deft and ingenious a fabrication as Agatha Christie has contrived in many a year."
Robert Barnard
Robert Barnard
Robert Barnard is an English crime writer, critic and lecturer.- Life and work :Born in Essex, Barnard was educated at the Colchester Royal Grammar School and at Balliol College in Oxford....
: "Superb reworking of the standard Christie setting and procedures, marred only by an excess of homicide at the end. The book is distantly related to The Companion, in The Thirteen Problems."
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel was adapted for the stage in 1977 by Leslie Darbon. It was acted live for NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on December 30, 1956 as part of Goodyear Television Playhouse
Goodyear Television Playhouse
The Goodyear Television Playhouse produced live television dramas from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television".Sponsored by Goodyear, the hour-long anthology series was telecast Sundays at 9pm on NBC...
with Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
in the role of Miss Marple. It was filmed with Joan Hickson
Joan Hickson
Joan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...
as Miss Marple and Ursula Howells
Ursula Howells
Ursula Howells was an English actress whose elegant presence kept her much in demand for roles in film and television....
as Miss Blacklock in 1985 (director David Giles) for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. A later version featuring Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
as Miss Marple, Zoë Wanamaker
Zoe Wanamaker
Zoë Wanamaker, CBE is an American-British actress. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company; in films, including the Harry Potter series; and in a number of television productions, including a long-time role as Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life and family:Wanamaker was...
as Letitia Blacklock; and Christian Pedersen as Rudi Scherz. Radical plot changes were made in 2005 for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
. In this version the character of Mrs. Easterbrook has long-ago divorced her husband who is an alcoholic and was thrown out of the army for drunkenness, Mrs. Swettenham is a single mother and is attempting to convince Colonel Easterbrook to marry her; her son, Edmund, greatly resents this, Hinch and Murgatroyd are overtly romantic and sexual in their relationship, also in this version Miss Marple is depicted as an old friend of Murgatroyd's mother (unlike the BBC version). Patrick and Julia are more intimately involved with one another than in either the book or previous adaptations and Inspector Craddock is a gruff, impatient man who is much more aggressive in his attitude and technique of investigation than in the novel.
A BBC Radio 4 adaptation was first broadcast on 9th August 1999. This version omitted the characters of Mrs. Swettenham and her son. The cast included:
- June WhitfieldJune WhitfieldJune Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
as Miss Marple - Ian LavenderIan LavenderArthur Ian Lavender , better known as Ian Lavender, is an English stage, film and television actor, best known for his role as Private Frank Pike in the BBC comedy series Dad's Army.-Early life and career:...
as Inspector Craddock - Graham CrowdenGraham CrowdenClement Graham Crowden was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric 'offbeat' scientist, teacher and doctor characters.-Early life:...
as Sir Henry Clithering - Sarah Lawson as Miss Blacklock
- Judy CornwellJudy CornwellJudy Valerie Cornwell is an English actress best known for her role as Daisy in the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.-Biography:...
as Miss Bunner - Jamie GloverJamie GloverJamie Glover is an English actor, known for portraying Andrew Treneman in Waterloo Road.-Background:Born and raised in Barnes, London, Glover is the son of actors Julian Glover and Isla Blair...
as Patrick Simmons - Angela Sims as Julia Simmons
- Sarah RiceSarah RiceSarah Rice is an actress whose career in theatre has spanned across many leading theatrical productions, including Sweeney Todd and A Little Night Music, both by Stephen Sondheim. She has been well known for her numerous operatic performances, including The Marriage of Figaro, The Barber of Seville...
as Philippa Haymes - Jenny FunnellJenny FunnellJenny Funnell is a British actress best known for her role as Sandy in the British sitcom As Time Goes By .Funnell was born in Kenya, then still a British colony, and has a twin sister named Julie...
as Mitzi - Jack HedleyJack HedleyJack Hedley is an English actor, best known for his performances on television....
as Colonel Easterbrook - Joanna McCallumJoanna McCallumJoanna McCallum is a British theatre, film and television actress. She is the daughter of British actress Googie Withers and Australian actor John McCallum...
as Laura Easterbrook - Elizabeth Bell as Miss Hinchcliffe
- Alice ArnoldAlice ArnoldAlice Arnold is a British newsreader and continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4.After gaining a degree in politics at the University of Sussex, she trained as an actress and was a magistrate for ten years....
as Miss Murgatroyd
Publication history
- 1950, Collins Crime Club (London), June 1950, Hardcover, 256 pp
- 1950, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), June 1950, Hardcover, 248 pp
- 1951, Pocket BooksPocket BooksPocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
(New York), Paperback, 229 pp - 1953, Fontana Books (Imprint of HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
), Paperback, 191 pp - 1958, Pan BooksPan BooksPan Books is an imprint which first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers owned by German publishers, Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group....
, Paperback, 204 pp (Great Pan 144) - 1965, Ulverscroft Large-print Edition, Hardcover, 246 pp
- 1967, Greenway edition of collected works (William Collins), Hardcover, 288 pp
- 1967, Greenway edition of collected works (Dodd Mead), Hardcover, 288 pp
- 2005, Marple Facsimile edition (Facsimile of 1950 UK first edition), November 7, 2005, Hardcover ISBN 0-00-720846-4
The novel was serialised in eleven parts in the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
from Tuesday, February 28 to Saturday March 11, 1950. Five of the instalments carried an illustration by long-term Express artist Andrew Robb. This version did not contain any chapter divisions and contained only about half of the text that appeared in the book publication, totally omitting chapters five, six, seven, fourteen and the epilogue. It had been planned for this serialisation to take place closer to the eventual book publication in June 1950 but it was pulled forward by Christie’s literary agent
Literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers...
Edmund Cork in an effort to boost interest at the ailing box office for the play Murder at the Vicarage
Murder at the Vicarage (play)
Murder at the Vicarage is a 1949 play by Moie Charles and Barbara Toy based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. Christie's official biography suggests that the play was written by Christie with changes then made by Charles and Toy, presumably enough for them to claim the credit...
.
In the US, the first publication was in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
in forty-nine parts from Monday, April 17 to Monday, June 12, 1950.
External links
- A Murder is Announced at the official Agatha Christie website