Mrs McGinty's Dead
Encyclopedia
Mrs. McGinty's Dead is a work of detective fiction
by Agatha Christie
first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company
in February 1952
and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club
on March 3 of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition nine shillings and sixpence
(9/6). The Detective Book Club issued an edition, also in 1952, as Blood Will Tell.
The novel features the characters Hercule Poirot
and Ariadne Oliver
. The story is a “village mystery”, a sub-genre of whodunit
which Christie usually reserved for Miss Marple
. The novel is notable for its wit and comic detail, something that had been little in evidence in the Poirot novels of the thirties and forties. Poirot's misery in the run-down guesthouse, and Mrs. Oliver's observations on the life of a detective novelist, provide considerable entertainment in the early part of the novel.
The publication of Mrs. McGinty’s Dead may be considered as marking the start of Poirot's final phase, in which Ariadne Oliver plays a large part. Although she had appeared in Cards on the Table
in 1936, Mrs. Oliver's most significant appearances in Christie's work begin here. She appears in five of the last nine Christie novels featuring Poirot to be written, and appears on her own without Poirot at all in The Pale Horse
(1961).
— that is explained in the course of the novel.
During a search among Mrs McGinty's possessions, Poirot finds a newspaper article which speculates about the current whereabouts of people connected with famous murder cases, that also includes photographs of them. On the basis of a bottle of ink he discovers that Mrs McGinty had purchased in a local shop just a few days before her death together with a photo she had torn out of a regional newspaper, Poirot concludes Mrs. McGinty must have recognized someone in one of the photos in someone's house and written to the paper in question. Someone must have found out about it and then killed her to keep their identity concealed. Poirot and Spence, using the ages of people in the town, conclude that someone is either Lily Gamboll, who committed murder with a meat cleaver as a child, or Eva Kane, who had been the love interest who inspired a man to murder his wife and bury her in the cellar. Another possibility is that someone is Evelyn Hope, the daughter of Eva Kane.
Shortly after, Poirot discovers the murder weapon, a sugar hammer, left around in plain sight at his boarding house and accessible to all the suspects. In an attempt to flush out the murderer, Poirot claims to know more than he does, but he is almost pushed under a train. Poirot then decides to show most of the suspects the photos at a party. Mrs. Upward claims to have seen the photo of Lily Gamboll, but does not say where.
The following day, Poirot is contacted by a woman called Maude Williams, who had approached him a few days earlier, telling him that she had got to know James Bentley when they both worked together briefly for the same estate agents. She told Poirot that she liked Bentley and did not believe he was guilty or even capable of murdering Mrs McGinty. She now offers to help Poirot who takes up her offer by getting her to pose as a maid in the house of Mrs Wetherby, a resident in the village who Mrs McGinty used to clean for, and whose daughter, Deirdre, Poirot suspects may have some connection with the circumstances surrounding Mrs McGinty’s murder.
During the maid's night off, Mrs. Upward's son Robin, a theatre director and Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, a famed mystery novelist who has been working on a theatre adaptation with Robin, leave for an evening at the theatre, leaving Mrs. Upward alone at the house. When they return, they find Mrs. Upward strangled to death. She has evidently had coffee with her murderer, and the evidence of lipstick on a coffee cup and perfume in the air points to a woman having committed the crime. Mrs. Upward had invited three people to her house that night: Eve Carpenter, Deirdre Henderson and Shelagh Rendell. Any of the three women could be someone from the photographs. Additionally, the postmistress's assistant, Edna, sees someone with blonde hair enter the house, which points to either Carpenter or Rendell, as Henderson is not blonde. Confusing matters even further is the fact that a book is discovered in Mrs. Upward's house with Evelyn Hope's signature written on the flyleaf, which suggests that Mrs. Upward is actually Eva Kane. Poirot connects the final piece of the puzzle when he finds the photo Mrs. McGinty saw at Maureen Summerhayes' house. It is of Eva Kane and has the inscription “my mother” on the back. Now, with the whole story complete, Poirot gathers all the suspects together and reveals to them the murderer: Robin Upward.
Robin is Eva Kane's son, Evelyn; the child was a boy, not a girl. Mrs. Upward had not known who Robin's mother was and he knew that any scandal would be to his detriment. Mrs. McGinty saw the photo while working at the Upward house and assumed the photo was of Mrs. Upward as a young woman. Robin killed her to prevent her from telling anyone who might recognize the photo of Eva Kane. Mrs. Upward thought the photo of Eva Kane to be similar to a photo Robin showed her of his mother, whose back story he made up. She wanted to confront Robin by herself, so she pointed to the wrong photo to put Poirot off the scent. Robin, however, sensed the truth and killed her before leaving for the play. Then he planted the evidence and made the three calls to make it appear that a woman had committed the crime. At this point Robin still had the photo, but rather than destroy it, he kept it and planted it at Mrs. Summerhayes' house in order to incriminate her. But Poirot had gone through the drawer earlier and did not see the photo, so he knew it had been planted subsequently. Robin is then taken away and imprisoned.
Further revelations are also made. Eve Carpenter wanted to conceal her past for reasons of her own, which was why she didn't cooperate in the investigation. Poirot discovers that Dr. Rendell may have killed his first wife, which led Mrs. Rendell to talk about anonymous letters she'd received warning her of the fact. Also, Poirot now suspects that it was Dr. Rendell, convinced that Poirot was actually in Broadhinny to investigate the potential murder (by him) of his first wife, and not the murder of an unimportant charwoman, who tried to push him off the platform and under a train. And Maude Williams turns out to be the daughter of Eva Kane's lover. She came to Mrs. Upward's house, thinking Mrs. Upward was Eva Kane, with the intent to kill her, but left once she found her dead. Poirot tells her he will not mention that fact to anyone. Finally, Poirot reveals to Superintendent Spence his plan to pair off Deirdre Henderson with James Bentley.
Maurice Richardson of The Observer
of March 23, 1952 thought that Poirot was, "slightly subdued" and summed up "Not one of A.C's best-constructed jobs, yet far more readable than most other people's."
Robert Barnard
: "This village murder begins among the rural proletariat (cf. Death by Drowning in The Thirteen Problems
and the excellent London working-class woman in The Hollow
), but after a time it moves toward the better-spoken classes. Poirot suffers in a vividly awful country guesthouse in order to get in with the community and rescue a rather unsatisfactory young man from the gallows. Highly ingenious – at this point she is still able to vary the tricks she plays, not repeat them."
. However, in an unusual move, the character of Poirot was replaced with Christie's other most famous detective
Miss Marple
(portrayed by Margaret Rutherford
), who comes onto the case when she is a juror in the trial of the lodger who is accused of the murder. As she is the only juror to believe the lodger is innocent and will not join with the others to vote guilty the jury foreman says to the judge that they cannot make up their minds. The judge rules for a mistrial and arranges for a retrial for a week's time, giving Miss Marple seven days to solve the case.
as Poirot in the ITV
series Agatha Christie's Poirot
, first broadcast on 14 September 2008. It was directed by Ashley Pearce, who also directed Appointment with Death
and Three Act Tragedy
for the ITV series. It also starred Zoë Wanamaker
and Richard Hope
returning as Ariadne Oliver (who first appeared in Cards on the Table
) and Superintendent Spence (who first appeared in Taken at the Flood
), respectively. The adaptation is very faithful to the novel, despite the deletion of a few characters and omitting two of the women from the newspaper article — only focusing on Lily Gamboll and Eva Kane. The characters of Dierdre Henderson and Maude Wiliams are merged in the film. As such it is Maude Williams, the estate agents' secretary (with dark hair instead of blonde), who is in love with Bentley and helps Poirot throughout his investigation. Maude and Bentley are reunited by Poirot in the final scene.
In the US, the novel was serialised in the Chicago Tribune
in its Sunday edition in thirteen parts from October 7 to December 30, 1951 under the title of Blood Will Tell.
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...
first published 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 February 1952
1952 in literature
The year 1952, in literature involved some significant events and new literary publications.-Events:*J. L. Carr takes over as headmaster of Highfields Primary School, Kettering, which will eventually furnish the subject matter for his novel, The Harpole Report.*November 25 - Agatha Christie's play...
and 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...
on March 3 of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition nine 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....
(9/6). The Detective Book Club issued an edition, also in 1952, as Blood Will Tell.
The novel features the characters Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
and Ariadne Oliver
Ariadne Oliver
Ariadne Oliver is a fictional character in the novels of Agatha Christie. She is a mystery novelist and a friend of Hercule Poirot.-Profile:Mrs. Oliver often assists Poirot in his cases through her knowledge of the criminal mind. She often claims to be endowed with particular "feminine intuition,"...
. The story is a “village mystery”, a sub-genre of whodunit
Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
which Christie usually reserved for 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...
. The novel is notable for its wit and comic detail, something that had been little in evidence in the Poirot novels of the thirties and forties. Poirot's misery in the run-down guesthouse, and Mrs. Oliver's observations on the life of a detective novelist, provide considerable entertainment in the early part of the novel.
The publication of Mrs. McGinty’s Dead may be considered as marking the start of Poirot's final phase, in which Ariadne Oliver plays a large part. Although she had appeared in Cards on the Table
Cards on the Table
Cards on the Table is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 2 1936 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year...
in 1936, Mrs. Oliver's most significant appearances in Christie's work begin here. She appears in five of the last nine Christie novels featuring Poirot to be written, and appears on her own without Poirot at all in The Pale Horse
The Pale Horse (novel)
The Pale Horse is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1961 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at fifteen shillings and the US edition at $3.75...
(1961).
Plot introduction
Poirot, disillusioned by the “senseless cruel brutality” of modern crime, pays no attention to the sad case of Mrs. McGinty, an old woman apparently struck dead by her lodger for thirty pounds that she kept under a floorboard. When, however, he is asked by the investigating officer to take another look at the case in order to stop an innocent man going to the gallows, he realises that things may not be as simple as they first appear to be.Explanation of the novel's title
The novel is named after a children's game — a sort of follow-the-leader type of verse somewhat like the Hokey-CokeyHokey Pokey
The hokey cokey or hokey pokey , also known as the okey cokey, hokey tokey, or cokey cokey, is a participation dance with a distinctive accompanying tune and lyric structure. It is well known in English-speaking countries...
— that is explained in the course of the novel.
Plot summary
Superintendent Spence informs Belgian detective Hercule Poirot of the case of Mrs. McGinty, an elderly lady who was apparently killed by her lodger, James Bentley, for thirty pounds that she kept under a floorboard. Bentley is soon to be executed for the crime, but Spence does not think he is guilty. Poirot agrees to go to the town of Broadhinny and investigate the murder further. Poirot finds that Mrs. McGinty often worked as a cleaner at the houses of people in the village. No one wants to talk to Poirot, and most agree Bentley is the killer.During a search among Mrs McGinty's possessions, Poirot finds a newspaper article which speculates about the current whereabouts of people connected with famous murder cases, that also includes photographs of them. On the basis of a bottle of ink he discovers that Mrs McGinty had purchased in a local shop just a few days before her death together with a photo she had torn out of a regional newspaper, Poirot concludes Mrs. McGinty must have recognized someone in one of the photos in someone's house and written to the paper in question. Someone must have found out about it and then killed her to keep their identity concealed. Poirot and Spence, using the ages of people in the town, conclude that someone is either Lily Gamboll, who committed murder with a meat cleaver as a child, or Eva Kane, who had been the love interest who inspired a man to murder his wife and bury her in the cellar. Another possibility is that someone is Evelyn Hope, the daughter of Eva Kane.
Shortly after, Poirot discovers the murder weapon, a sugar hammer, left around in plain sight at his boarding house and accessible to all the suspects. In an attempt to flush out the murderer, Poirot claims to know more than he does, but he is almost pushed under a train. Poirot then decides to show most of the suspects the photos at a party. Mrs. Upward claims to have seen the photo of Lily Gamboll, but does not say where.
The following day, Poirot is contacted by a woman called Maude Williams, who had approached him a few days earlier, telling him that she had got to know James Bentley when they both worked together briefly for the same estate agents. She told Poirot that she liked Bentley and did not believe he was guilty or even capable of murdering Mrs McGinty. She now offers to help Poirot who takes up her offer by getting her to pose as a maid in the house of Mrs Wetherby, a resident in the village who Mrs McGinty used to clean for, and whose daughter, Deirdre, Poirot suspects may have some connection with the circumstances surrounding Mrs McGinty’s murder.
During the maid's night off, Mrs. Upward's son Robin, a theatre director and Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, a famed mystery novelist who has been working on a theatre adaptation with Robin, leave for an evening at the theatre, leaving Mrs. Upward alone at the house. When they return, they find Mrs. Upward strangled to death. She has evidently had coffee with her murderer, and the evidence of lipstick on a coffee cup and perfume in the air points to a woman having committed the crime. Mrs. Upward had invited three people to her house that night: Eve Carpenter, Deirdre Henderson and Shelagh Rendell. Any of the three women could be someone from the photographs. Additionally, the postmistress's assistant, Edna, sees someone with blonde hair enter the house, which points to either Carpenter or Rendell, as Henderson is not blonde. Confusing matters even further is the fact that a book is discovered in Mrs. Upward's house with Evelyn Hope's signature written on the flyleaf, which suggests that Mrs. Upward is actually Eva Kane. Poirot connects the final piece of the puzzle when he finds the photo Mrs. McGinty saw at Maureen Summerhayes' house. It is of Eva Kane and has the inscription “my mother” on the back. Now, with the whole story complete, Poirot gathers all the suspects together and reveals to them the murderer: Robin Upward.
Robin is Eva Kane's son, Evelyn; the child was a boy, not a girl. Mrs. Upward had not known who Robin's mother was and he knew that any scandal would be to his detriment. Mrs. McGinty saw the photo while working at the Upward house and assumed the photo was of Mrs. Upward as a young woman. Robin killed her to prevent her from telling anyone who might recognize the photo of Eva Kane. Mrs. Upward thought the photo of Eva Kane to be similar to a photo Robin showed her of his mother, whose back story he made up. She wanted to confront Robin by herself, so she pointed to the wrong photo to put Poirot off the scent. Robin, however, sensed the truth and killed her before leaving for the play. Then he planted the evidence and made the three calls to make it appear that a woman had committed the crime. At this point Robin still had the photo, but rather than destroy it, he kept it and planted it at Mrs. Summerhayes' house in order to incriminate her. But Poirot had gone through the drawer earlier and did not see the photo, so he knew it had been planted subsequently. Robin is then taken away and imprisoned.
Further revelations are also made. Eve Carpenter wanted to conceal her past for reasons of her own, which was why she didn't cooperate in the investigation. Poirot discovers that Dr. Rendell may have killed his first wife, which led Mrs. Rendell to talk about anonymous letters she'd received warning her of the fact. Also, Poirot now suspects that it was Dr. Rendell, convinced that Poirot was actually in Broadhinny to investigate the potential murder (by him) of his first wife, and not the murder of an unimportant charwoman, who tried to push him off the platform and under a train. And Maude Williams turns out to be the daughter of Eva Kane's lover. She came to Mrs. Upward's house, thinking Mrs. Upward was Eva Kane, with the intent to kill her, but left once she found her dead. Poirot tells her he will not mention that fact to anyone. Finally, Poirot reveals to Superintendent Spence his plan to pair off Deirdre Henderson with James Bentley.
Characters in "Mrs. McGinty’s Dead"
- Hercule PoirotHercule PoirotHercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
, - Ariadne OliverAriadne OliverAriadne Oliver is a fictional character in the novels of Agatha Christie. She is a mystery novelist and a friend of Hercule Poirot.-Profile:Mrs. Oliver often assists Poirot in his cases through her knowledge of the criminal mind. She often claims to be endowed with particular "feminine intuition,"...
, - Supt. Harold Spence,
- George The Butler,
- District Judge,
- James Gordon Bentley,
- Mr. Scuttle,
- Maude Williams,
- Maureen Summerhayes,
- Major Johnnie Summerhayes,
- Guy Carpenter,
- Eve Carpenter,
- Robin Upward,
- Laura Upward,
- Dr. Rendell,
- Sheelagh Rendell,
- Mr. Roger Wetherby,
- Mrs. Edith Wetherby,
- Deirdre Henderson,
- Mrs. Sweetiman,
- Edna,
- Bessie Burch,
- Joe Burch,
- Lily Gamboll,
- Abigail McGinty,
- Pamela Horsfall,
- Michael West,
- Mrs. Elliott,
- Frieda.
Literary significance and reception
No review of this book appeared in the Times Literary Supplement.Maurice Richardson 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,...
of March 23, 1952 thought that Poirot was, "slightly subdued" and summed up "Not one of A.C's best-constructed jobs, yet far more readable than most other people's."
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....
: "This village murder begins among the rural proletariat (cf. Death by Drowning in The Thirteen Problems
The Thirteen Problems
The Thirteen Problems is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in June 1932 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1933 under the title The Tuesday Club Murders. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US...
and the excellent London working-class woman in The Hollow
The Hollow
The Hollow is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1946 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in November of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence...
), but after a time it moves toward the better-spoken classes. Poirot suffers in a vividly awful country guesthouse in order to get in with the community and rescue a rather unsatisfactory young man from the gallows. Highly ingenious – at this point she is still able to vary the tricks she plays, not repeat them."
Murder Most Foul
The novel was adapted by MGM in 1964 as the film Murder Most FoulMurder Most Foul
Murder Most Foul is the third of four films made by MGM loosely based on novels by Agatha Christie and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Bud Tingwell as Inspector Craddock, and Stringer Davis as Mr Stringer. The story is ostensibly based on the novel Mrs McGinty's Dead, but notably...
. However, in an unusual move, the character of Poirot was replaced with Christie's other most famous detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
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...
(portrayed by Margaret Rutherford
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...
), who comes onto the case when she is a juror in the trial of the lodger who is accused of the murder. As she is the only juror to believe the lodger is innocent and will not join with the others to vote guilty the jury foreman says to the judge that they cannot make up their minds. The judge rules for a mistrial and arranges for a retrial for a week's time, giving Miss Marple seven days to solve the case.
Agatha Christie's Poirot
A television film was produced in 2007 with David SuchetDavid Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
as Poirot in 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 Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
, first broadcast on 14 September 2008. It was directed by Ashley Pearce, who also directed Appointment with Death
Appointment with Death
Appointment with Death is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on May 2, 1938 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year...
and Three Act Tragedy
Three Act Tragedy
Three Act Tragedy is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1934 under the title Murder in Three Acts and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in January 1935 under Christie's original title...
for the ITV series. It also starred 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...
and Richard Hope
Richard Hope (actor)
Richard Hope is a British actor.-Career:Born in Kettering and brought up in Norfolk, Mr. Hope attended Oakham School in Rutland from 1967–1971 and trained at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain from 1972 - 1976. He is a member of the National Youth Theatre Association and an Associate...
returning as Ariadne Oliver (who first appeared in Cards on the Table
Cards on the Table
Cards on the Table is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 2 1936 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year...
) and Superintendent Spence (who first appeared in Taken at the Flood
Taken at the Flood
Taken at the Flood is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1948 under the title of There is a Tide... and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the November of the same year under Christie's original title...
), respectively. The adaptation is very faithful to the novel, despite the deletion of a few characters and omitting two of the women from the newspaper article — only focusing on Lily Gamboll and Eva Kane. The characters of Dierdre Henderson and Maude Wiliams are merged in the film. As such it is Maude Williams, the estate agents' secretary (with dark hair instead of blonde), who is in love with Bentley and helps Poirot throughout his investigation. Maude and Bentley are reunited by Poirot in the final scene.
Publication history
- 1952, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), February 1952, Hardback, 243 pp
- 1952, Collins Crime Club (London), March 3 1952, Hardback, 192 pp
- 1952, Walter J. Black (Detection Book Club), 180 pp (Dated 1951)
- 1953, 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, 181 pp - 1957, 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, 188 pp - 1970, 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, 191 pp - 1988, Ulverscroft Large-print Edition, Hardcover, ISBN 0-70-891771-2
- 2008, HarperCollins; Facsimile edition, Hardcover, ISBN-13: 978-0007280537
In the US, the novel was serialised 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 its Sunday edition in thirteen parts from October 7 to December 30, 1951 under the title of Blood Will Tell.
International titles
- Dutch: Poirot komt terug (Poirot Returns)
- German: Vier Frauen und ein Mord (Four Women and a Murder)
- Hungarian: Mrs. McGinty halott (Mrs McGinty's Dead), Mrs. McGinty meghalt (Mrs. McGinty has Died)
- Italian: Fermate il boia (Stop the Hangman)
- Spanish: La Señora McGinty ha muerto (Mrs. McGinty Has Died)
- Czech: Smrt staré posluhovačky (Old Charwoman´s Death)
- Indonesian: Mrs. McGinty Sudah Mati (Mrs. McGinty's Dead)
External links
- Mrs McGinty's Dead at the official Agatha Christie website