Zehra Jane Naqvi
Autor de The Man in the Brown Suit (Colonel Race, #1)
Obras de Zehra Jane Naqvi
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Flash forward several decades, and I'm reading my way though all of Christie's writing in publication order. The second I picked up my ancient 1970s paperback copy of this book, I smiled, remembering the bike treks, the phone calls, the parental permission I had to have just to read this book back in 1980. Nostalgia. :)
The main character in the book, Anne Beddingfeld, has quite the adventure of her own! She sees a murder in the subway station, finds a clue written on a tiny piece of paper, and off she goes for some sleuthing. Turns out the mystery involves more than one dead body....and a boat headed for Africa. Lots of danger, intrigue, romance, and excitement!
The Man in the Brown suit introduces Colonel Race. Race is also in several other Christie novels -- Cards on the Table, Sparkling Cyanide, and Death on the Nile. The book was published in 1924. Some of the characters, the setting, and some events were inspired by Christie's 10-month around the world trip in 1922 to promote the upcoming British Empire Exhibition. I never knew until this year that the character of Sir Eustace Pedler in the book was inspired by the man who headed up that trip -- Major E. A. Belcher. The book is even dedicated to him: to E.A.B. -- in memory of a journey, some lion stories, and a request that I should someday write the "Mystery of the Mill House.'' She penned all of the Hercule Poirot early short stories while on this trip. I was so excited to learn something new about my favorite author that I bought a book about her adventures on this trip: The Grand Tour! [b:The Grand Tour: Letters and Photographs from the British Empire Expedition 1922|12042387|The Grand Tour Letters and Photographs from the British Empire Expedition 1922|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1332339266l/12042387._SX50_.jpg|17009075] I can't wait to read it! :)
This book is more of a thriller or romantic adventure story, rather than Christie's usual mystery. Several reviews at the time she published the book complained about this fact and that Poirot was set aside for this story in favor of Colonel Race and Harry Rayburn. The story was serialized in several parts in the London Evening News in 1923-24 (Anne the Adventurous) before being published in novel form.
I like this story! It's almost 100 years old now....and the main character is a young girl, alone in the world, heading off to find adventure and a life of her own. Anne refuses to do the normal thing -- get married for security, have babies, clean house, etc. She wants more than that -- she wants some adventure, to live life on her own terms.... Pretty brave for 1924! I loved the story in 1980....and I find it still a very enjoyable read in 2020!
I read and listened to this book at the same time. The audio book I checked out using Kindle Unlimited said that some "editorial edits'' had been made to the story. So I pulled out my 45-year old paperback version, and read along with the audio to see what changes were made. Mostly superficial....some differences in where chapters started and ended....a word changed here or there...sentences added/removed. Nothing major.
All in all, a very enjoyable read. A bit dated in spots....but not bad for a book written 97 years ago! On to the next book -- The Secret of Chimneys (1925)!
A made-for-television movie starring Stephanie Zimbalist was released in 1988. It's on youtube... The movie makes significant changes to the story -- it's set in modern times, and so makes major plot changes. But, it's still an enjoyable watch! Here is a link to it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6ykLTvENoI&t=5s… (más)