![]() Dust-jacket illustration of the first UK edition | |
Author | Agatha Christie |
---|---|
Cover artist | Not known |
Language | English |
Series | Hercule Poirot |
Genre | Crime novel |
Publisher | Collins Crime Club |
Publication date | November 1940 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
Pages | 256 (first edition, hardback) |
Preceded by | Sad Cypress |
Followed by | Evil Under the Sun |
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November 1940, [1] and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1941 under the title of The Patriotic Murders. [2] A paperback edition in the US by Dell books in 1953 changed the title again to An Overdose of Death. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) [1] while the United States edition retailed at $2.00. [2]
The novel features both the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and Chief Inspector Japp. This is Japp's final novel appearance. The plot of the novel concerns Poirot investigating the death of his dentist and other people.
At the time of publication, the novel was met with mixed reviews, as "compactly simple in narrative, with a swift course of unflagging suspense that leads to complete surprise." [3] A later review by Robert Barnard in 1990 found "a fairly conventional murder mystery, beguilingly and cunningly sustained." while Christie has included characters of the politically unstable war time in which it was written, "political 'idealists', fascist movements and conservative financiers who maintain world stability." [4]
Poirot visits his dentist, Dr Morley, to have his teeth seen to. During the visit, Morley mentions that his secretary is away, and that her absence is a great inconvenience. As Poirot leaves the office, he encounters former actress Mabelle Sainsbury Seale as she exits a cab; he retrieves a lost shoe buckle for her. Later that day, Inspector Japp informs Poirot that Morley has been found dead of a gunshot wound to the head, the gun in his hand. Between Poirot's appointment and Morley's death, the dentist had seen three patients – Mabelle, prominent financier Alistair Blunt, and a Greek gentleman named Amberiotis. Howard Raikes, an American left-wing activist who wishes to marry Blunt's niece Jane Olivera, left the office without seeing Morley's partner Dr Reilly.
The same day, Amberiotis' body is found, dead from an overdose of anaesthetic. The police conclude Morley accidentally injected the overdose, and committed suicide upon realising his mistake, but Poirot does not accept this view. Later, Morley's secretary Gladys Nevill reveals that the telegram that decoyed her away turned out to contain a lie. Poirot remembers that Morley, who disliked Gladys' boyfriend Frank Carter, had believed Carter sent the telegram.
Mabelle disappears after speaking with the police. A month later, a badly disfigured body is found in the apartment of Mrs Albert Chapman, a woman who also has disappeared. Poirot notes the dullness of the buckled shoes on the body, which is wearing clothes like Mabelle's. However, dental records reveal the body to be that of Mrs Chapman.
Blunt invites Poirot to his country house, where he meets Blunt's cousin Helen and niece Jane. Later, a shot is fired at Blunt; the culprit is apparently Frank Carter, Blunt's new assistant gardener, as Raikes finds Carter holding a gun of the same make as the gun that killed Morley. Furthermore, Morley's maid Agnes Fletcher admits she saw Carter on the office's back stairs, before Morley's death. Poirot presses Carter, now held by police, for the truth. Carter admits he did go to confront Morley, and saw two men leave the office by the back stair; however, when Carter himself entered the office, Morley was already dead. Carter also claims that he found the gun in the shrubbery after hearing the shot, and never actually fired at Blunt.
Poirot confronts Blunt and accuses him of the murders. Blunt's "cousin" Helen Montressor is really his first wife, Gerda; the real Helen had died years before. Gerda and Mabelle had been in the same repertory theatre company in India when Blunt secretly married Gerda. He had not divorced Gerda before he married his now-deceased and socially appropriate second wife, Rebecca Arnholt. If his bigamy were exposed, he would be disgraced, lose the fortune he inherited from Arnholt, and be removed from his position of power. When Mabelle recognised Blunt years later, she knew nothing of his second marriage. Later, Mabelle met Amberiotis, a casual acquaintance, and mentioned encountering her old friend's husband. Amberiotis decided to blackmail Blunt by threatening to expose the bigamy.
The day of Poirot's appointment with Morley, Gerda and Blunt decoyed Morley's secretary away by the false telegram. Gerda had already invited Mabelle to an apartment she had secured under the alias of Mrs Chapman, poisoned her, and stole her identity. Gerda, as "Mabelle", then visited the dentist's waiting room, secure in her deception since Gladys was away. After Morley had taken care of Blunt's teeth, Blunt shot him, took Morley's place, and buzzed the page so he could send "Mabelle" up as the next patient. The two moved the body into a side room, and Gerda changed Mabelle's records to become those of Mrs Chapman and vice versa, to confuse the police. Gerda, as "Mabelle", left the office by the back staircase most patients usually took; Blunt, as "Morley", then saw Amberiotis (who had never met Morley or Blunt in person before), and injected his gum with the overdose. Once Amberiotis left, Blunt moved Morley's body back into the surgery, set up the "suicide" scene, and left, also via the back stair, unaware that he and Amberiotis had been seen leaving by Carter. Gerda wore new shoes when impersonating Mabelle, as she could not fit into Mabelle's larger shoes; she left Mabelle's own old shoes on the dead body, a detail that Poirot noticed. Later, as "Helen", Gerda fired a shot in the vague direction of Blunt and left the gun for Carter to find, setting him up as their scapegoat.
Unrepentant, Blunt makes it clear he expects Poirot to cover for him because of his political importance. Poirot refuses; though he believes Blunt's policies are better for England than those of Blunt's opponents, he cannot leave the untimely deaths of three human beings unavenged. As Gerda and Blunt are arrested, Poirot meets Raikes and Olivera and tells them to enjoy their life together, asking that they allow freedom and pity within it.
The book's UK title is derived from a well-known children's nursery rhyme of the same name, and the chapters each correspond to a line of that rhyme. Other Agatha Christie books and short stories also share this naming convention, such as Hickory Dickory Dock , A Pocket Full of Rye , Five Little Pigs , How Does Your Garden Grow? and – most famously – And Then There Were None .
This is the first of the Poirot novels to reflect the pervasive gloom of the Second World War, and is one of Christie's most overtly political novels. [4] Frank Carter is a fascist and Howard Raikes a leftist. Mr Barnes discusses the main political forces freely with Poirot. Blunt's credentials as a champion of political and financial stability are made clear in the text. Nevertheless, given the choice between setting free a blasé triple murderer and allowing an innocent man, set up by the guilty man, to be hanged, Poirot saves Carter and lets Blunt and Gerda be arrested.
Maurice Willson Disher in The Times Literary Supplement of 9 November 1940 was not impressed with either the novel or the genre when he said, "Possibly the reader who wants to be puzzled may be the best judge of a detective story. If so Agatha Christie wins another prize, for her new novel should satisfy his demands. But another type of reader will find it dry and colourless." He continued; "The facts are stated in a joyless style of impartial investigation; it quickens into life only when a revolting corpse is discovered. This is characteristic of Christie's school. The 'full horrible details' that bring people to death are accounted of more importance than details which bring people to life." [5]
In The New York Times Book Review of 2 March 1941, Kay Irvin concluded, "It's a real Agatha Christie thriller: exceedingly complicated in plot, briskly and compactly simple in narrative, with a swift course of unflagging suspense that leads to complete surprise. After closing the book one may murmur, "Far-fetched", or even "Impossible". But any such complaint will be voiced only after the story has been finished; there won't be a moment to think of such things, before." [3]
Maurice Richardson in the 10 November 1940 issue of The Observer stated, "The Queen of Crime's scheming ingenuity has been so much praised that one is sometimes inclined to overlook the lightness of her touch. If Mrs Christie were to write about the murder of a telephone directory by a time-table the story would still be compellingly readable." He did admit that the "[f]iend's identity is perhaps less obscured than usual; motivation a trifle shaky, but clue details are brilliant." [6]
The Scotsman of 26 December 1940 said of the book that, "Although motive is not of the obvious order, Mrs Christie deals with the mystery in the most ingenious way and, as usual, produces a masterly solution." [7]
E R Punshon in The Guardian of 13 December 1940 summed up by saying, "Mrs Christie has to work coincidence rather hard and the plot is more ingenious than probable, since the culprit could, and certainly would, have reached his end by simpler means than murder." [8]
An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star of 15 March 1941 referred to the story as a "neat puzzle" having a "highly involved plot" with a "not-unforeseen solution." The reviewer added, "the pace is swift and talk – curse of the English detective story – is kept to a minimum" and concluded by saying, "Far from usual is ... Christie's use of her thriller to expound a number of her own rather odd political opinions." [9]
Robert Barnard wrote "It is usually said that Christie drags herself into the modern world in the 'fifties, but the books in the late 'thirties show her dipping a not-too-confident toe into the ideological conflicts of the pre-war years. Here we have political 'idealists', fascist movements and conservative financiers who maintain world stability. But behind it all is a fairly conventional murder mystery, beguilingly and cunningly sustained." [4]
The novel was adapted in 1992 for the series Agatha Christie's Poirot with David Suchet as Poirot. [10] The adaptation is, overall, faithful to the book, but lacks certain characters such as Raikes, Reilly and Barnes. The adaptation for TV has gained much praise in several countries, standing out as one of the darkest episodes of the series, in contrast to adaptations that have been lighter in tone.[ citation needed ]
The novel was adapted by Michael Bakewell for BBC Radio 4 in 2004, with John Moffatt as Poirot. [11]
The book was first serialised in the US in Collier's Weekly in nine parts from 3 August (vol. 106, no 5) to 28 September 1940 (vol. 106, no. 13) under the title The Patriotic Murders with illustrations by Mario Cooper.
Death in the Clouds is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in 1935. It features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and Chief Inspector Japp. It is a "closed circle" murder mystery: the victim is a passenger on a cross-Channel aircraft flight, and the perpetrator can only be one of eleven fellow-passengers and crew.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie, introducing her fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head on 21 January 1921.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a detective novel by the British writer Agatha Christie, her third to feature Hercule Poirot as the lead detective. The novel was published in the UK in June 1926 by William Collins, Sons, having previously been serialised as Who Killed Ackroyd? between July and September 1925 in the London Evening News. An American edition by Dodd, Mead and Company followed in 1926.
The A.B.C. Murders is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, featuring her characters Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp, as they contend with a series of killings by a mysterious murderer known only as "A.B.C.". The book was first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 January 1936, sold for seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) while a US edition, published by Dodd, Mead and Company on 14 February of the same year, was priced $2.00.
Lord Edgware Dies is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of Thirteen at Dinner. Before its book publication, the novel was serialised in six issues of The American Magazine as 13 For Dinner.
Inspector James Japp is a fictional character who appears in several of Agatha Christie's novels featuring Hercule Poirot.
Peril at End House is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by the Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1932 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).
The Hollow is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Co. in 1946 and in the United Kingdom 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 (8/6). A paperback edition in the US by Dell Books in 1954 changed the title to Murder after Hours.
Evil Under the Sun is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1941 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October of the same year.
Elephants Can Remember is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in 1972. It features her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the recurring character Ariadne Oliver. This was the last novel to feature either character, although it was succeeded by Curtain: Poirot's Last Case, which had been written in the early 1940s but was published last. Elephants Can Remember concentrates on memory and oral testimony.
Poirot Investigates is a short story collection written by English author Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in March 1924. In the eleven stories, famed eccentric detective Hercule Poirot solves a variety of mysteries involving greed, jealousy, and revenge. The American version of this book, published by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1925, featured a further three stories. The UK first edition featured an illustration of Poirot on the dust jacket by W. Smithson Broadhead, reprinted from the 21 March 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.
Poirot's Early Cases is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in September 1974. The book retailed at £2.25. Although the stories contained within the volume had all appeared in previous US collections, the book also appeared there later in 1974 under the slightly different title of Hercule Poirot's Early Cases in an edition retailing at $6.95.
Murder in the Mews and Other Stories is a short story collection by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club on 15 March 1937. In the US, the book was published by Dodd, Mead and Company under the title Dead Man's Mirror in June 1937 with one story missing ; the 1987 Berkeley Books edition of the same title has all four stories. All of the tales feature Hercule Poirot. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the first US edition at $2.00.
This page details the other fictional characters created by Agatha Christie in her stories about the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.
Superintendent Battle is a fictional character created by Agatha Christie who appeared in five of her novels.
The Alphabet Murders is a 1965 British detective film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Tony Randall, Anita Ekberg and Robert Morley. It is based on the 1936 novel The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie.
Black Coffee is a play by the British crime-fiction author Agatha Christie (1890–1976) which was produced initially in 1930. The first piece that Christie wrote for the stage, it launched a successful second career for her as a playwright. In the play, a scientist discovers that someone in his household has stolen the formula for an explosive. The scientist calls Hercule Poirot to investigate, but is murdered just as Poirot arrives with Hastings and Inspector Japp.
Thirteen at Dinner is a 1985 British-American made-for-television mystery film featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Adapted by Rod Browning from the 1933 Agatha Christie novel Lord Edgware Dies, it was directed by Lou Antonio and starred Peter Ustinov, Faye Dunaway, Jonathan Cecil, Diane Keen, Bill Nighy and David Suchet, who was later to play Poirot in the long-running television series entitled Agatha Christie's Poirot. The film first aired on CBS Television on October 18, 1985.
In Agatha Christie's mystery novels, several characters cross over different sagas, creating a fictional universe in which most of her stories are set. This article has one table to summarize the novels with characters who occur in other Christie novels; the table is titled Crossovers by Christie. There is brief mention of characters crossing over in adaptations of the novels. Her publications, both novels and short stories, are then listed by main detective, in order of publication. Some stories or novels authorised by the estate of Agatha Christie, using the characters she created, and written long after Agatha Christie died, are included in the lists.
Hercule Poirot is a series of full cast BBC Radio drama adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels and short stories adapted by Michael Bakewell, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1985 and 2007. With the exception of the first two adaptations, the series stars John Moffatt as Poirot.