Last week, the new drama "The Great Detective of the Republic of China" began to be released, and it is still on the air. The drama attracted widespread attention from domestic mystery fans before its release, because it was adapted from several classic masterpieces by Agatha Christie, the queen of reasoning.
"The Great Detective of the Republic of China" purchased the copyright of the genuine adaptation of Agatha Christie's company, except that the stage of the story was moved to China and the personality changed, the framework of the case of the theme was almost completely copied from Agatha's classic original.
Stills from "The Great Detective of the Republic of China".
I read the first case before writing this column - "Murder on the Orient Express", compared to the drastic changes in the previous Hollywood film version, the completely Chinese Agatha can be so loyal to the original, which is more surprising to me, but it is forgivable to think about it carefully, after all, the era in which Agatha lived and the time when her detective story was staged was not far from the Republic of China period, almost the same era.
Of course, the adaptation that is completely faithful to the original is a double-edged sword, because Agatha's novels, especially classics such as "Murder on the Orient Express", have long been deeply rooted in people's hearts, and the murderer naturally can no longer have any suspense, which inevitably makes the audience feel a little bored. Judging from the adaptation of the first case, my evaluation is decent, and when the episode is over in the future, if it is worth writing, we will discuss the play in depth.
Today, our topic begins with "The Great Detective of the Republic of China", and then talk about the mystery writer who has been mentioned almost all the time for a hundred years - Agatha Christie. There can be a lot of discussion about her, and today we share eight of her lesser-known cold facts that take you closer to Agatha who is different.
She traveled the world in 1922
In 1922, in her third year of Agatha Christie's debut, she published her second book, Hidden Killing Machine.
Unlike its debut novel, The Strange Case of Stiles Manor, this book is not a work of personal reasoning, but an adventure novel. The protagonist is also replaced by a young couple, Tommy and Tapence, from detective Poirot.
At the time of the book, shortly after the end of the First World War, everything was waiting to be rebuilt, and the streets were full of downcast young people, who were poor, unable to find jobs, young and vigorous, and wanted to do something. Tommy and Tarpens are two of these thousands of ordinary Young British people, but they have a more precious trait, that is, optimism, full of hope, set up the "Young Adventurer Limited", Agatha wrote about the whole British society at that time, but did not complain to you, saying that this place is a mess, she described the stars above the ruins. This romantic temperament is also what makes Agatha different from other mystery writers of the time, and it is also what I like about her. And the formation of this romantic temperament is inseparable from Agatha's carefree state of mind at that time.
In 1922, at the age of 33, Agatha had not yet become famous, and her husband was a retired soldier, and her life was relatively difficult. But she was so happy that even the war did not destroy her optimism. This year, she and her husband were invited to be the advance mission of the British Exhibition (equivalent to the World Expo) to study the world. Seeing the fresh world with her loved ones is the happiest thing for her, and when she was in Hawaii, she also practiced surfing by nature, and it is said that Agatha was the first Western woman on record to stand up.
And these happiness, we can fully feel through the book "Hidden Killing Machine". Agatha will later write the story of Tommy Tapence and his wife, and more than fifty years later, Agatha is old, and Tommy and Tapence have become old men and women. Sadly, it was not Poirot, not Miss Marple, not even her husband, who grew old with her, but who appeared in 1922.
Agatha Christie (1890–1976) was an English detective novelist and playwright. His creative career lasted more than 50 years, and he created a total of 80 detective novels, which sold well in many countries and regions around the world.
She finished a book in just one weekend
The book is The Masquerade of Happiness, a romance novel. Agatha wrote a total of six romance novels under another pseudonym, Mary Westcourt, each of which more or less showed Agatha's unknown inner side, a part of her passion that she never revealed in her professional speculative fiction work.
Our column once introduced one of the "Unfinished Portraits", in which Agatha put the skin of a romance novel on her silent 11 days of disappearance.
Although these six books are not as famous as her mystery novels, every Agatha fan can not miss, especially this "Happiness Mask", in my opinion, this book combines all the delicate observations of Agatha's psychology and love, as well as the structure, layout and suspense precipitated by many years of speculative fiction creation. The story of this book is extremely prosaic at first glance, but after reading it, it is extremely frightening to think about it--more cruel than the murder of the flesh is the spirit of murder.
Moreover, in the Victorian era at that time, women were usually subordinate to men, and it was a generally accepted rule outside the male and female masters, and what women should do and what they should not do was conventional. And Agatha in "Happiness Mask", has already shown the confusion and thinking of women in that era about this situation, which can be said to be the germ of feminism.
The Masquerade of Happiness is one of my three favorite Agatha's works, and it deserves to be seen by more people than drowning in Agatha's star-studded mystery classics. What is even more surprising is that this book, which it actually used to write in one weekend, seems that there are not too many rules to bind, no need to polish tricks, Agatha as a simple "I handwrite my heart" literary creator, is equally talented.
Her last public appearance was in
At the premiere of Murder on the Orient Express in 1974
In 1974, the first film version of Murder on the Orient Express was released, and this classic version received six Oscar nominations, for which Ingrid Bergman won Best Supporting Actress. The star-studded film invited the original author, Agatha, to stand on the stage herself, and this will be her last public appearance.
Stills from Murder on the Orient Express (1974).
The following year, Poirot's final case, The Veil, was published, and the British mainstream media published an obituary in honor of the great detective, the highest praise for a fictional character, and another year later, in early 1976, Agatha died in the Uk at the age of 85.
"The Curtain" is her last gift to the world, and it is also the ideal home she gave to the great detective Poirot she portrayed, and the book has earned the tears of all Agatha fans. But in fact, in her later years, Agatha's creative ability has declined significantly, and her physical strength is difficult to support her to personally complete the conception and creation of a long detective novel, many of which she completed through oral narration and secretarial records. But the quality of The Curtain is so high that even at her peak, it is one of the best classics in every way, for the simple reason that the book was completed as early as 1944.
At a time when the World War II was in full swing, Agatha said in her autobiography: "At that time, I was always mentally prepared to be killed in an air raid, which is very likely in London. One of them was written for Rosalind, the first book to be completed in the Hercule Poirot series; The other was written for Max and features Miss Marple. After the two books were written, I stored the manuscript in a bank vault and officially gave it to Rosalind and Max as a gift. I remember I also bought high insurance for them in case they were destroyed. ”
The Veil is a gift to her daughter Rosalind, and it is said that Judith, the daughter of Hastings, is based on Rosalind.
In the last two years of Agatha's life, she first personally saw "Murder on the Orient Express" on the screen, and then "The Curtain" was officially published, bringing the Poirot series to a perfect end, which should be regarded as the best parting gift for the Queen of Reasoning.
Istanbul has an Agatha's room
Istanbul – the terminus of the Orient Express.
In 1928, Agatha, who had just finished divorcing and her life was in a state of confusion, embarked on the Oriental Express that changed her destiny and came to the distant and mysterious East. This journey led directly to the creation of Murder on the Orient Express and to her second husband, Max Mallowen, who has been in love with the Eastern world for the next forty years. It can be said that it was this train to the East that opened Agatha's new life.
Straddling Eurasia, Istanbul, saddled with the glorious civilizations of the Roman, Ottoman and Greek immigrants, was both a fortified city and a port for ships. Formerly Constantinople, now Istanbul; Once the Ottoman Empire, it is now the Republic of Turkey. After nearly 3,000 years of political, military and religious baptism, the city has merged the essence of the ideas, cultures and arts of the three ethnic groups in Europe, Asia and Africa, thus becoming an important intersection of Eastern and Western ideologies and cultures. Such a rich and fascinating scenery, culture, history, gathered in Istanbul.
Pera Palace Hotel is one of the most famous hotels in Istanbul's long history, and many celebrities have intersected with it, such as Hemingway, Pierre Lotti, etc., but the most prestigious of them belongs to Suite 411 of the Pera Palace Hotel, because that is where Agatha stayed, and it was in this room that Agatha wrote the classic masterpiece in the history of reasoning, "Murder on the Orient Express".
Today, this room is still arranged as it was when Agatha stayed, and there are still elements related to the typewriter and the Orient Express and Agatha, as an Agatha fan, Suite 411 of the Pera Palace Hotel is still a must-visit place.
Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie, translated by Zheng Qiao, Nova Press, July 2017.
A pseudonym for Mary Westcourt
It was kept secret for almost 20 years
As we mentioned earlier, Agatha Christie wrote six emotional novels under the pseudonym Mary Westcourt, namely: Unfinished Portraits, The Masquerade of Happiness, Satan's Love Songs, The Weight of Love, Mother's Daughter, and Rose and Yew.
The six works spanned 27 years, and the earliest copy of Satan's Love Song was published in 1930, but at that time, no one had yet discovered that this female writer who was proficient in emotion and female psychology was actually the famous Agatha Christie. You know, in 1930, she also published "The Mystery of the Apartment", in this novel, perhaps the most classic female detective in the history of reasoning, Miss Jane Marple, debuted, as a professional detective novel writer, Agatha Christie's career has just reached its peak. But such a writer, who has already made a name in the world of reasoning, discarded the most appealing name "Agatha Christie" (even after the divorce, she is no longer Mrs. Christie, she still uses this name that has been well known to readers), and this time, she uses a new pen name that no one can find clues to publish.
The reason may be related to Agatha's reluctance to reveal her heart, to the media and the public to show the slightest personal information, she is not willing to tell the gossip media and the unrelated public the truest side of herself, but at the same time she has too much to say in her heart, about her family, her love, her female identity... She has experienced a lot of these things and has also generated thoughts. Reluctantly, I had to use another pseudonym that no one knew, and Wrote six emotional novels that may have the same weight as Agatha's Autobiography.
There are not many writers who use the new pen name to publish their works, and Agatha's contemporary Anthony Berkeley, who published "Killing Intention" under the pseudonym of Francis Ayers, in that novel, the author describes from the first perspective how a man has the intention to kill his wife to the final implementation of the process, and the boldness, sensationality, and truth of its psychological description once aroused heated discussion, but no one knows that the "perverted" author of this book actually wrote the classic multiple solutions to "Poison Chocolate Murder", advocating logic and science, The optimistic and friendly Berkeley is the same person. As we've said in our previous column, a pair of cousin writers, "Ellery Quinn," have also written another classic series under the pseudonym Barnaby Ross, two writers who are one and the same, and even scold each other in public speeches to hype up fame.
But of all the pseudonyms, I think Agatha is the most natural, because those works don't conjure up with detective fiction, they're completely new territory, and at the same time, she does reveal too many details about herself in those works. Twenty years later, when the secret was finally discovered, it was then that people learned more about the real life of the queen of detectives.
Agatha christie.
She would never allow any image of Poirot
Appears on the cover of the book
Writers have quirks, and Agatha's is particularly interesting.
Based on Agatha's introverted personality and unwillingness to reveal too much, we can only speculate about why she rejected Poirot's appearance on the cover.
In fact, Poirot' image as Agatha's famous character has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts, with a bare egg-like head and two iconic beards, which can be visualized in just a few strokes, because compared to the images of other famous detectives, Poirot is really too different.
Stills from Poirot the Great Detective (1989).
There are only a few detectives with such an iconic appearance, like Holmes's work, we can often see a thin side face silhouette wearing a deer hunting hat and smoking a pipe on the cover, so that is enough, this is the classic IP image of this series, no need to do more design, the reader can know at a glance.
But Agatha Christie's work really didn't see Poirot on the cover, whether it was the original English version or the simplified version of Nova Press (the cover even had a specially designed collection ticket, and still couldn't find a Poirot), perhaps Agatha was not satisfied with Poirot's image itself, and only wanted readers to pay attention to his gray brain cells. Or maybe Agatha loved Poirot too much to want others to create it, so as not to destroy his perfect image in her heart.
Of course, I have seen Poirot's portrait on the covers of several old books in China, and one of the more classic ones is "Massacre on the Nile".
Stills from Massacre on the Nile.
She prevented real murders from happening
It happened before Agatha became a writer, and we all know that during World War I, Agatha worked in Torquay's pharmacy as a pharmacist. It was in that place that she learned a great deal of pharmacy, all practical, and this knowledge would later be transformed into a steady stream of tricks in her work.
One day, she discovered that a pharmacist had made a mistake in her calculations, mixing an overdose of potentially dangerous drugs into a batch of suppositories. Agatha knew that this person did not like to be pointed out for mistakes, so she threw the overdose of the medicine on the ground so that it could not be used. The pharmacist, who boasted that he had arrow poison in his pocket, later became the prototype for a character in The Grey Horse Hotel.
From this we can see that first of all, Agatha was very proficient in the knowledge of potions, especially the calculation of measurement, how these ubiquitous potions became murderous poisons by changing the way they were measured or used, and this knowledge became the most important inspiration for her in the creation of Benge's reasoning. Poisoning has also become the most common way of killing in her novels. The popularity of speculative fiction is inseparable from the popularity of scientific concepts and popular science trends, and Agatha's speculative works on the one hand present exquisite tricks, on the other hand, they have become an important popular science for many people for drugs.
In addition, we can see that when Agatha found that her colleagues had made mistakes, she did not correct them in person, but through another way to prevent the tragedy from happening, which shows that Agatha's ability to be sensitive, emotionally intelligent, and in a hurry is also outstanding. All of the above are important qualities that make up the complete character of Agatha Christie.
Agatha's personal likes and dislikes
The more we read Agatha's work, the more we can see that this novelist, who has sold more than 2 billion copies, is actually a limited, living ordinary person.
Like everyone else, she will be trapped by love, she will be depressed and confused, she has some things that she does not allow others to know, and she has many cute quirks.
Finally, let's take stock of what Agatha personally hates and likes from the perspective of a friend, and in parentheses is my own annotation haha.
Things she hates:
marmalade
Pudding (unexpected)
cockroach
Crowded environment
Loud noise
Lengthy conversation
Parties, especially cocktail parties
Cigarettes and all cigarettes (as opposed to contemporaries of male writers)
Any liquor not used in cooking (ibid.)
oysters
Half-cooked food
Gray skies
bird
Hot milk
Agatha christie.
What she likes:
Sunlight
Apple (it is said that she eats one apple a day)
Almost any music
Train (everything you know)
Numbers games
Anything to do with math
navigation
Thalassotherapy and swimming
silent
sleep
dream
Eat
coffee
Lilies in the valley
Most dogs
Watch the play
Written by Lu Yehua
Editor/Li Yongbo Qingqingzi
Proofreading/Wang Xin