So in this post, I'm going to guide you through the highlights and highpoints - mostly the classics you might have heard of, but they're classics for good reason. This is probably a list of some of the best things she's written - unlike Sherlock Holmes, say, her novels are far better than the short stories.
The novels broadly divide themselves into three categories - the ones starring Poirot, the Miss Marple mysteries - her two most prolific detectives - and the 'other' category, of which there are many. Not all of these are murder mysteries - there's also some brilliant thrillers, as well as delving into the romantic and supernatural,
A word of advice if you're picking books off the shelf - broadly speaking, 'vintage' Christie tends to be stories written around 1930 (her early twenties work take a while to hit their peak) to 1950 (in the novels of the late 60s and into the 70s, written in the last years of her life, the standard of writing and plotting has noticeably slipped). And if you remember the TV (or film) adaptations beforehand then, in most cases, don't bother reading! Honestly, you'll enjoy them far, far more if you don't know what's going to happen next.
The Hercule Poirot novels
In my opinion, the best of the bunch - I prefer Poirot stories to Marple, if only because they contain some of her most ingenious set-ups. Poirot was the first detective she came up with - and, together with friend and narrator Captain Hastings - is basically Sherlock Holmes... but Belgian! Whilst early stories deal with many Holmesian ideas - Inspector Japp takes on the beleagured police role, there's a wife for Hastings, even an Irene Adler figure - he soon grows out of his trappings into something much greater. So - which are my favourites?
Her first novel, written as a bet, and designed to be surprising and unsolvable, yet all the clues are before us. You could do a lot worse than this, a fine country house mystery. (Poirot returns to the house of Styles in his last (chronologically) story, 'Curtain'. But that's a whole other novel.)
The Murder of Roger AckroydControversial, ingenious, and probably not the best choice for a first dip into Christie - although it is one of her very best. I'll say no more!
Murder on the Orient ExpressInfamous, especially the ending - but if, like me, you don't know who did it, it's a perfect chance to dip into Poirot's most famous adventure. There's lots of atmosphere created by the isolated setting of the train, and the investigation is methodical and ever intriguing...
The ABC Murders
Another downright classic, probably my absolute favourite Poirot - if only because it's such a different style to the others. A serial killer is working his way up and down the country, and through the alphabet, going from Andover to Bexhill, to Churston... thrilling and satisfying!
Cards on the TableA slightly contrived, but enjoyable murder here - four criminals playing bridge, and any one of them could have killed the man in the corner whilst they played... With a very narrow list of suspects, and hardly any evidence, this takes a more psychological approach, but is handled very well indeed. And of course, I must mention one of Agatha's most delightful creations: Mrs Ariadne Oliver, a writer of murder mysteries who provides a comedic counterpoint to Poirot on many later occasions.
Death on the Nile
Solid - that's the word I'd use. Whilst most of the books on this list are utterly ingenious, this one ties everything up rather most succinctly than most, and provides clues and suspects galore, which is probably why it's so popular. On a gloriously exotic and expensive river cruise in Egypt, passions come to a head, and a wealthy heiress is murdered...
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
You might not expect anything from that title - but don't be fooled. This is a bloody and fiendish locked room mystery, involving - naturally, for the time of year - a family who hate each other! This theme of bickering relatives is done many a time, but never as good as this one. The Hollow
A later one, this - but it's on the list because it's very well written. At a weekend in a country house, a doctor is found shot in the swimming pool... Poirot has to sort through tangled relationships and a wealth of baffling evidence to catch the murderer...Taken at the Flood
Another late one, which took me by surprise - and I've tried to come up with a range here. Whilst many themes are common, this one is set in the shadow of the Blitz and the War (something rarely acknowledged in these books, especially during the War itself, rightfully), and it has a thrilling solution. A young girl has found herself a widow and, much to the anger of the rest of the family, inheritor of a large fortune. But when a man arrives claiming that her marriage was invalid, things come to a head...
Also of note - because I'm restricting myself to only a few! - Five Little Pigs, Lord Edgware Dies, Peril at End House, Three Act Tragedy, etc, etc...
The Miss Marple novels
There's less of these ones, but she's still very popular. Whereas Hercule Poirot is a bossy private detective, Miss Marple is the opposite: a village spinster, with an equal eye on human nature! Perhaps it's this charming side of her character, and the stories themselves, that have made these so popular.
Murder at the Vicarage
This one's the first Marple, and probably the most famous. What I love about it is the characters. Whilst the murder and solution itself isn't one of Christie's best, the story is a real treat, as is the humour and liveliness of St Mary Mead. (And also, like so many others, the TV movie has a fab cast!)
A Murder is Announced
Probably the most enjoyable Marple there is. Not only have you got the village life that made the above so wonderful (also the setting for quite a few of these - not enough of them, I say), but also a gripping whodunit. When an advert in the local newspaper says a murder will take place at a local house, everybody is puzzled... until the hour comes, and a body appears! Very well written.A Pocket Full of Rye
With this one, I saw it on the telly first, which made the book rather a chore. Which was a shame - as it's rather fine. Christie bases a few stories around nursery rhymes, but this one's rather more blatant (and therefore, surreal!) as there's suspicious murders involving a businessman, his wife and the maid...
Also of note: The Body in the Library, The Moving Finger, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side.
The rest
It feels a bit wrong to sideline everything else into one category - here you have other returning characters, as well as stories with no detectives in them at all. Exotic thrillers, psychological dramas, crazy politics and spies...
The pinnacle. And her best selling novel, with good reason. The plot - ten people are invited to an abandoned island, but each of them has a secret past. When the island becomes cut off, and people start getting murdered, it is evident that one of them must be a homicidal maniac... A very suspenseful, utterly gripping story, the basis for which has been used many times since. And it's not as contrived as I've made it sound, honest.
The Secret Adversary
This book deserves a mention, as it's the best out of the five that star Tommy and Tuppence, a pair of young investigators who get imbroiled into a political mystery. Uniquely, they age the same rate as the books - unlike Miss Marple, who's a pensioner for about fifty years, they grow old together, whilst still having adventures naturally! In this one, they're up against an international spy ring in a pretty barmy, but well written and lively thriller.Towards Zero
Probably the only 'proper' murder mystery on this last list. It could take pride of place in any Poirot or Marple collection, but instead features Superintendant Battle (who features in a few books, including Avengers style crossover Cards on the Table) - and he's not in it too much. A tennis player turns up to a seaside party, and where both his wife and ex-wife are staying. And then their host is murdered...
Death Comes as the EndAgatha wrote some odd books in her time (I particularly like the bonkers conspiracy thriller Destination Unknown, and there's also the baffling James Bond style The Big Four) but this one shows real flair. Whilst a few books are set around archeological sites, and in far eastern places, this goes one further... it's a murder mystery set in ancient Egypt! It works far better than you think, and contains all the usual charactering and intrigue.
Endless Night
A very late book, but very well written. It's told through the first person of a young man who falls in love, but dark events follow...
Also of note: Crooked House, Ordeal by Innocence.
So that's that - a quick guide to the best of the best of Agatha Christie. Of course, by this list I'm not saying the rest of the books are bad (well, not all of them, at least!). I'd advise any new readers to check them out, though. I know I've read eighty-odd, but I love her work to bits.
Coming soon: a (much briefer) guide to her short stories.
2 comments:
Brilliant stuff - I've read a lot of the books and seen most adaptations, but can't compete with tackling the whole catalogue! The one that got me into Christie was one of the "others": The Man in the Brown Suit. There's a great adaptation with Edward Woodward, which was shown on TV several years ago, which I've never been able to get hold of since.
Agree on Hercule Poirot's Christmas - classic story.
From what I remember one of the books was set in Kent's cavern in Torquay(where agatha christie was born). I went there once after seeing a ghost photo taken there,then again and again. Kent's cavern was very eerie but amazing.
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