Murder in the Mews & Other Stories
[Also published as Dead Man's Mirror]
Author: Agatha Christie
At one time, I actually had two very old paperback versions of this book on my shelves - one as Murder in the Mews and one Dead Man's Mirror. When I discovered both were the same book, I used my copy of Mews (pages were falling out) to make bookmark gifts for friends. And kept Dead Man's Mirror.
This collection of four short stories was first published in the UK in March 1937 as Murder in the Mews & Other Stories. US publication [as Dead Man's Mirror] followed in June 1937. The title difference is probably how I ended up with two different copies of the same book. Before the internet, it was sometimes difficult to identify Christie books that had a UK title and a US title, so I'm sure I often picked up both by accident.
I read my old paperback copy of Dead Man's Mirror from 1975 (Dell Paperbacks) and listened to an audio book of Murder in the Mews (Harper Audio, July 2012). The audio is just over 6 1/2 hours long and is narrated by Sir Nigel Hawthorne. Hawthorne has a pleasant voice and did a wonderful job of narration/voice acting. I prefer David Suchet or Hugh Fraser as narrator for Poirot novels, but Hawthorne did a very good job.
Mirror and Triangle at Rhodes.
I was a bit sad that I kept the copy of Dead Man's Mirror rather than Mews because I discovered that the 1975 Dell paperback I have only has 3 stories in it. It leaves out The Incredible Theft. I searched around online and found that newer editions of the paperback include all 4 stories. So strange that the publisher decided to leave one out. I found no explanation online as to why this edition left out one of the
stories. To save money maybe? Just seems like a strange choice.[I did find the reason for the omission later in my research. It's detailed below under the review of the novella.] It also has the stories in a different order than Murder in the Mews. I had to skip around in my book as I listened to the audio. Not sure if other editions of Dead Man's Mirror have the stories in a different order than Mews.
I relied on the Audio Book for the story that wasn't in my old paperback.
Murder in the Mews: Inspector Japp and Hercule Poirot investigate a shooting that at first looks like a suicide. As they look at things closer, they discover the case is not quite as obvious as it appears. A very clever story! I enjoyed it! This story was first published in the US in Redbook Magazine in 1936. It first appeared in the UK later that same year in the Women's Journal under the title The Mystery of the Dressing Case. In my research, I found the story has only been adapted once. The television show Poirot had an episode based on this novella [Series 1, episode 2].
Poirot episode: Hastings is added into the mix, but doesn't appear in the original story. I didn't mind this change as I love the character in the television show, and it added a spot of humor. The episode stuck to the original plot, and was very enjoyable to watch.
The Incredible Theft: This novella is an expansion on an earlier short story: The Submarine Plans, and was first published in this expanded version in six parts in the Daily Express in April 1937. An aside: Ah ha!! I discovered the reason why this story is left out of my 1975 paperback!! When originally published in 1937, the US version of this short story collection [Dead Man's Mirror] did not include this story. It wasn't added into US versions until 1987!!
The original, shorter story was first published in The Sketch magazine in 1923 (UK) and Blue Book Magazine in 1925 (US). It was first included in a short story collection in the US in 1951 (The Underdog and Other Stories). And, in 1974, the original story was included in the short story collection Poirot's Early Cases.
In 1937, the plot was changed and expanded into the novella, The Incredible Theft. When secret plans for a new Bomber are stolen during a house party, Hercule Poirot is fetched from his bed in the wee hours of the morning to investigate. There were some interesting twists in this story. I wasn't quite sure who all was involved until the very end! And, the ending made me smile.
I only found one adaptation of this story - a Poirot episode [Series 1, episode 8]. The episode adds in Captain Hastings and Inspector Japp to add a bit of humor.
Poirot episode: The episode adds in Inspector Japp, Captain Hastings and Miss Lemon to add a bit of humor. The
plot follows the major plot points of the original story, but makes minor changes. Some characters and minor events in the original story are left out, and some action and exciting moments
added in to spice things up a bit. I didn't mind the changes since the basic bones of the story are intact.
Dead Man's Mirror: This story is an expansion of an earlier short story, The Second Gong, first published in 1932. This expanded version was first published in this story collection.
A wealthy man summons Poirot to his estate because he feels he has been a victim of fraud and doesn't want to involve the police. Poirot is angry about being summoned because he feels the man disrespected him or assumed he had nothing more important to do. Unfortunately, when Poirot arrives, for the first time in 20 years the man he has come to see is late for dinner. Turns out....he will never eat dinner again.
This is an interesting and entertaining story! It definitely has that Christie feel and cleverness to it. I would have been completely annoyed by Gervase Chevanix-Gore. He is a complete upper class bore who delights in making his own family squirm under his control....even down to everyone being expected to show up to dinner exactly on time or face his anger. He annoyed Poirot immediately -- and didn't even have to be in the same room to do it! Can you imagine the cheek of a person who assumes they can summon Hercule Poirot by letter! The indignation!!
I only found one adaptation of this story, an episode of Poirot (season 5, episode 7).
Poirot episode: The episode differs in many ways from the original novella, but there aren't major changes to the basic bones of the plot. The changes are necessary to make the story into an interesting television episode. Characters are introduced differently. The plot is advanced by more active means rather than Poirot interviewing suspects. And, some characters in the story are removed and others expanded a bit. Captain Hastings and Inspector Japp are added into the story. I'm totally ok with the changes since the murder method and ending are intact.:) The background music in this episode is super creepy - perfect!
The Triangle at Rhodes: This short story rounds out this collection. Poirot is on vacation at Rhodes. The drama unfolds among other vacationing Brits, leading to the death of a beautiful, but completely stupid, woman. In full view of a group of people, no less! Who killed Valentine Chantry? In true Christie form, there is a whole group of suspects.....and Poirot, of course, has it all figured out.
Nothing really special about the plot here.....I pretty much had this one figured out early on. But, it was still lovely to get Poirot's take on events. This plot has really become quite a trope over the years. But, Christie published this story in 1937. I'm sure it wasn't as much of a trope back then.
There have been two adaptations of this story: A Poirot episode (Season 1, Episode 6) and an OTR audio play, Murder Circle: Triangle at Rhodes, broadcast in 1943. The radio broadcast appears to be lost media, but I watched the Poirot episode to see if they added some pizazz to the plot.
Poirot episode: Hastings and Japp are absent in this episode entirely. A fellow vacationer helps Poirot investigate. There are many changes to the original story to flesh it out to television episode length and add some excitement. The basic plot of the story is intact, and I enjoyed this episode.
All in all, this story collection is an enjoyable, quick read (or listen). I felt the stories really weren't anything particularly exciting, but still entertaining. The Incredible Theft was my least favorite, especially since it is just a re-working of a short story I have already read.
The pages started to fall out of my ancient paperback copy of Dead Man's Mirror as I finished reading. I relegated it to the trash can with a twinge of regret.
On to the next book -- Dumb Witness!
No comments:
Post a Comment