REVIEW: The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor (Agatha Christie)

The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
Author: Agatha Christie

This Hercule Poirot short story first published in The Sketch magazine in the UK on April 18, 1923 and followed in the US in March 1924. It is the 7th short story featuring Poirot and his famed little grey cells.

Poirot is hired by an insurance company to investigate a death. Mr. Maltravers recently insured his life for £50,000 and only a few weeks later was discovered dead on his estate. Despite a local doctor declaring it a natural death by hemorrhage, Poirot is there to check the circumstances and either support or contest the cause of death.

I was curious just how much £50,000 would be in today's money adjusted for inflation.....and was surprised by the amount! More than £726,000! No wonder the insurance company required an investigation! Another lovely investigation by Poirot. He uses several interesting psychological tricks to get to the truth in this case! Very entertaining read!

Agatha Christie's Poirot adapted this story for television in 1991 (Series 3, episode 5). As usual the adaptation adds quite a bit to the story to flesh it out to make it episode-length, but the basics of the story are left intact. Very enjoyable to watch!

On to the next story: The Kidnapped Prime Minister....