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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
In the quiet village of King’s Abbot a widow’s suicide has stirred suspicion and dreadful gossip. There are rumours she murdered her first husband, that she was being blackmailed and that her secret lover was Roger Ackroyd. Then Ackroyd is found murdered - and all the members of the household stand to gain from his death. Hercule Poirot, who has retired to King’s Abbot to grow vegetable marrows, is reluctantly drawn into finding an extremely clever, and devious, killer.Year: 1926
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Location: England
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Location: England
Cast of characters
Hercule Poirot. Also: The Ackroyds: Mrs. Cecil, Flora and Roger, Ursula Bourne, Major Hector Blunt, Colonel Carter, Mrs. Ferrars, Mrs. Richard Folliott, Miss Ganett, Mr. Hammond, Charles Kent, Parker, Captain Ralph Paton, Inspector Denis Raglan, Geoffrey Raymond, Miss Russell, Dr. James and Caroline SheppardPublishing history
Publishing: First published in 1926 by William Collins Sons & Co. in London, and by Dodd, Mead & Co. in New York. Stage: Adapted by Michael Morton as the play 'Alibi', opening at the Prince of Wales' Theatre in London on May 15, 1928, starring Charles Laughton as Hercule Poirot. Laughton also starred in the 1932 American stage production, retitled 'The Fatal Alibi'. Films: In 1931, the film 'Alibi' was produced by Twickenham Studios in England, and starred Austin Trevor as Hercule Poirot. TV: The novel was adapted in 1999 with David Suchet as Poirot by LWT with A&E.Notes and reviews
One of the most controversial mysteries ever written, this book broke all the rules of detective fiction and made Agatha Christie a household name. In her 'An Autobiography', the author credited both her brother-in-law, James Watt, and Lord Louis Mountbatten (the uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) for the idea of the unusual choice of murderer. In 1924, Mountbatten was a young naval officer, who wrote to the author and suggested his idea. "One of the landmarks of detective literature." - H.R.F. Keating, 'Crime & Mystery: The 100 Best Books'. "The most brilliant of deceptions" - Julian Symons, 'Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel'.Murder methods:
One Stabbing.xxx