Murder in Mesopotamia
Author: Agatha Christie
For the last three years, I've been on a quest to read all of Agatha Christie's writings in publication order. I'm finally up to 1936. So many more books and short stories to go! I am loving every word of it!
I have developed a habit of reading a physical or digital copy while listening to an audio book performance. I enjoy it more that way, plus I can pinpoint any changes in the text. Most of the time it's an older print version and a newer audio book, or the US version vs the UK edition.
I also stop frequently and research adaptations for each story, look up people and references Christie mentions, or the settings for the stories. My only rule is that to be best of my ability I need to read in publication order. No skipping around. And I can't skip any books. I am not reading The Detection Club writings or the Mary Westmacott writings at this time. Only books written solely by Agatha and under her own name. I may go back and try the Westmacott books after I have finished all of the regular Christie novels. And, I will definitely be reading The Detection Club books!
I am really enjoying meandering my way through Christie with no time line, no agenda and no
supervision -- joy!! And for those who are interested in my musings on
each book, I'm happy to write down my thoughts and share them. I love
comments and discussion, so feel free to message me.
Now, on to Murder in Mesopotamia --
This story was first published in serial format in the Saturday Evening Post in the US in 1935. It was also serialized, but abridged, in the UK magazine Women's Pictoral in February 1936. It was first published in novel format in the UK in July 1936, with US publication later in the year.
I love it when I come across Christie mysteries that I have never read. Murder in Mesopotamia is another one!
This is one of Agatha's books that I never owned. I have many of them in
very old paperback format most dating from the 1960s - 1980s, gathered
over the years. But this is one of the few missing from my collection. A
collection that unfortunately was more bookshelf decor than actually
read. Making up for that now! This particular book seems to be one of
the few I never found.
I found an old print copy available online for this reading. I read the text from a collection of 5 books
I did not note any differences between the text copy and the audio book for this novel.
I
recognized Anne Massey's voice, but it took me about half the book to
pinpoint why. Anne Massey played Mrs. Norris in the 1983 Mansfield Park
mini-series! I knew I recognized that voice!! :) She did a very good job
of narrating, but her attempts at voicing Poirot and the accent just
fell a bit flat for me. I still enjoyed her performance, however. Her
voice was perfect for Nurse Amy Leatheran, the main narrator of the story.
I will be honest and say I was a bit disappointed in this one at first. I didn't really like Amy Leatheran. I found her more than a bit judgemental, whiny, and gossip-y. And, even a bit racist. As I got further into the story, the character grew on me...or maybe it was just the mystery drew me in. Soon I was sucked into the story as usual.
I think I had a rough time getting used to the audio narration by Anna Massey because I was used to Hercule Poirot stories being narrated by Hugh Fraser. And, I will be honest and admit, I have a rough time liking some of Agatha's non-Poirot or Marple characters. I don't really enjoy Tommy & Tuppence, Superintendent Battle, Colonel Race, Parker Pyne, Mr. Quin, etc I want Poirot and Marple. I need to get over that! The minute the story started and the nurse was the focus...I went into Where-Is-Poirot mode. At least the feeling didn't last long!! And, these books where Poirot doesn't pop in from the start, are helping me expand my enjoyment of Christie. Not every book has to focus on her two most famous characters!!
I enjoyed A Murder in Mesopotamia. Poirot doesn't come in until partway through the story, but it was interesting to get the story from Ann Leatheran's point of view after the first few chapters. She underestimated Poirot at first and then learned over the course of the investigation just how smart he is.
Adaptations:A Murder in Mesopotamia has been adapted 3 times that I could find. It was adapted for television as an episode of Poirot (Season 8, Episode 2). In 1994, Radio 4 presented an audio drama based on the story. And, in 2008, it was released in graphic novel format by Harper.
Agatha Christie's Poirot: The episode changes quite a few things to make the story work for a television episode and to add in Hastings, who did not appear in the original story at all. Poirot is the main character since it is his show, and Nurse Leatheran is just a side character. Several plot points were changed to build suspense faster and make the plot fit the format and time allowed, as is pretty normal for TV. But the basic bones of the story are intact. David Suchet is outstanding as Poirot and Hugh Fraser is the perfect Hastings, as usual.
Radio 4 Audio Drama: The audio is a bit over 2 hours long. I'm really enjoying these radio plays of Christie's books. This episode is well done, as usual, and was first broadcast in December 1994. This presentation is much truer to the original book than the Poirot episode. John Moffat does a very good job
Graphic Novel: Unfortunately, I could not find a copy of this book to read, but I was able to find some examples of the art online. It looks very interesting! I have yet to find any of this series of graphic novels. Not sure if they went quickly out of print or what. At some point maybe I will get lucky and actually be able to read one of these! From the few photos I was able to find, the art looks very well done!
All in all, I enjoyed this story! Another great mystery solved by Poirot and his little grey cells. Although, I did notice in this novel Poirot did not mention his grey cells...not even once!
On to the next: Cards on the Table!
