Publication date: 1967
Summary: Penniless Mark and American heiress Ellie meet in the sprawling country landscape of Gypsy's Acre and fall for each other. Aided by Ellie's companion, Greta (whom no one in Ellie's family likes), the two lovers get married and buy Gypsy's Acre. Despite local superstition about the place and warnings from local gypsies, the two decide to tear down the old house and build a new place designed by Mark's friend, the famous architect Santonix. Santonix is a hard character to classify in the Christie canon. He's a mysterious figure who seems to see through people. If I had to lump him with other characters, I'd say he reminded me of Shaitana from Cards on the Table or Mr. Quinn from The Mysterious Mr. Quinn. He frightens people, not because of who he is, but because he sees you for who you are.
Almost immediately after moving into their new house, Ellie and Mark begin to have strange things happen to them. A note attached to a rock comes through the window, a bird is found stabbed through with a knife, and Ellie sprains her ankle. Greta is sent for and a short visit quickly becomes a live-in situation. Eventually, just when Mark and Ellie believe that all of the superstition has come to an end, disaster strikes. Ellie goes out riding and never comes back. Her horse is seen galloping by without its rider and she's eventually found dead in a grove. There are only minor injuries on her body from the fall from the horse. Death is determined to have been caused by heart failure. One neighbor claims to have seen Miss Lee, a local gypsy, in the vicinity shortly before seeing Ellie's horse. Unfortunately Miss Lee
Body count: 4
Detective/Sleuth: None
Rating: 5 gypsies out of 5
Commentary:
Sunday, May 29, 2011
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Spoiler alert (in a way):
ReplyDeleteAs I read the part of the novel just before Mark went to the US to deal with the financial implications of Ellie's death, I had an idea about a different way Christie could have ended the novel. There were so many issues about different characters and their control over Ellie that I thought, what if, like Murder on the Orient Express, everyone except Mark was involved in a conspiracy to get Ellie's money and leave Mark penniless by killing her. The way that everyone seemed to be in England at the time of her death put it in my head. I think it would have been cool to have seen Mark slowly see what was going on and not be able to do anything about it. I'd then end it with a final conversation with Andrew who would explain how everyone used Greta to make the whole thing possible. I don't know exactly how it would end but you'd get the same sense of lack of closure that the last lines of the novel offer.
I have to say that one of the things I hate about the movie is that every time I read about Ellie, all I could see was Hayley Mills! I will never forgive the film for this.
ReplyDeleteDear anskov,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it's hard to classify this novel. To me I see it as a love story, a mystery, a psychological thriller with Gothic undertones in a modern period. I must admit it did have a slow beginning but when it got to them receiving the threats and certain people were interested in Mike and Ellie's affairs I was determined to read it. I did not like Ellie's family because they really did not have Ellie's best interest at heart but I thought it was interesting that her family consists of a disconnected bunch including a stepmother, cousins, lawyers, trustees, guardians, and uncles. Only Lippencott seem to be the only one who truly was concerned about her. One theme that I noticed was love and how it is seen in different ways. For instance the lack of love in Ellie's family, Mike's love of having beautiful things, and most especially Mike and Greta's lustful affair near the end of the book. I think that when after Ellie, Santonix, Miss Lee, and Claudia Hardcastle die do we see the true and shocking portrayal of Michael Rogers-an amoral, adulterous, stealing, and mentally disturbed young man. The ending was shocking and in some ways terrifying. Which of the characters did you like and why. Also I have been meaning to ask you do you think Christie creates cardboard characters? Although this is a later Christie novel it is a good read and after reading it I watched the film version and I don't think like Hayley Mills' performance of Ellie. Otherwise I thought the movie was good and seemed the same as the book. I love the musical score in the movie by the excellent Bernard Herrmann. To me this novel is like a modern Greek Tragedy because there are menacing forebodings in the persons of Santonix, Miss Lee and even Mike's mother because they all seem to know that something tragic will happen and that several people end up dead before the story ends and the protagonist ends up with a even more terrible and sad punishment-the endless nights of insanity. I hope this does not sound silly or weird.
Hi Cameron:
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments! I agree - the story starts fairly slow but picks up momentum in the middle of the novel when the threats start coming. As for favorite characters, I really enjoy Mark himself because he is the most complex character in the novel. I have to say I also really enjoy Lippencott because of his final action of sending the letter (a brilliant twist, I think) to Mark. I do think Christie uses stock characters for some characters but I think she really created many original characters as well.
I have to say I hated the film because it lacked atmosphere to me and the creepier things (the knifed bird, the letter with the clipping, etc.) were left out even though it was essentially faithful to the novel.
I really like how she used the Blake poem to full advantage in this novel - it was a nice touch.
I've read a good number of Christie's novels and besides _And Then There Were None_ she's never scared me so much! I was a bit relieved when Ellie died because I thought the tension was all over and I wouldn't have to be freaked out any more. Silly me, how wrong I was!
ReplyDeleteI'm still wrapping my head around it all. Mostly, I thought her prose was gripping--almost poetic--and the whole novel felt very dense because of it, I think. In a good way. I loved the way she talked about the house and made it haunted even though it was a brand new, modern, beautiful house. Probably because of the narrator and the house motiff, the novel kept reminding me of a short story of hers in the collection _The Harlequin Tea Set_.
I loved the book, and really enjoyed the commentary. I'll have to read that Blake poem!
Just passing by your blog , i saw your review on And Then There Were None on the official AC website , i couldn't agree more it is an extraordinary , intelligent and suspenseful novel , my favorite of hers undoubtedly along with Giant's Bread ( Mary Westmacott series).
ReplyDeleteI did read all AC standalone novels in French when i was 9 years old ( being French !! ) but i now have to re-read them in their original version , so well done for your project!! great blog