The pale horse (Christie)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The pale horse (original title The Pale Horse ) is the 52nd detective novel by Agatha Christie . It first appeared in the UK on November 6, 1961 at the Collins Crime Club and the following year in the US at Dodd, Mead and Company . The German first edition was published in 1962 by Scherz Verlag with the translation by Margret Haas, which is still used today. Ariadne Oliver has her fourth appearance in a novel in a supporting role. The novel reflects the very popular works of Dennis Wheatley at the time of its publication .

Explanation of the title of the novel

The pale horse is the horse of the fourth horseman of the apocalyptic , death:

“Then I saw a pale horse; and he who sat on it is called "death"; and the underworld followed him. And they were given power over a quarter of the earth, power to kill by sword, hunger and death, and by the animals of the earth. "

- Revelation 6: 1-8

Introduction to the plot

The Catholic priest Gorman is called to the dying Mrs. Davis to take her last confession. She shares a secret with him before she dies. On the way back to his parish, he ponders what has been said and decides to write down the names given to him while the memory is fresh. In a coffee house he writes this on a paper bag and then puts the notes in his boot, because the pockets of his cassock have holes. A short time after Father Gorman left the coffee house, he was killed in the thick fog.

action

Much of the novel is narrated by Mark Easterbrook, a writer who retired to Chelsea to write a book about Mughal architecture. As he treats himself to a ham and banana sandwich in a coffee bar, he sees two girls fighting. He observes that one girl is pulling out whole tufts of hair from the other. He also learns her name Thomasina Tuckerton. Soon after, he reads her obituary in the newspaper. While he is having dinner with a friend and his acquaintance Poppy Stirling, she mentions the pale horse that brings death. After saying this, she is very frightened and refuses to say anything more.

When Mark meets with the police doctor, he learns of the list that was found in Father Gorman's shoe. In addition to the name of his godmother Lady Hesketh-Dubois, who recently died of natural causes, the list also includes the name of Thomasina Tuckerton. Mark now fears that the list is the victim list of a serial offender.

When Mark goes to a village festival organized by his cousin with the famous crime writer Ariadne Oliver, he learns about an old inn called the Pale Horse , which, after being modernized by three modern “witches”, is now run by Thyrza Gray . During his walks, Mark meets Mr. Venables, an old man who is in a wheelchair and cannot give a reasonable explanation of the origin of his wealth. He also visits the Pale Horse, where he discusses the possibilities of killing from a distance with Thyrza. Later it seems to him as if Thyrza wanted to offer him exactly this service.

There is a witness in the police investigation, the pharmacy owner Zachariah Osborne, who describes a man who persecuted Father Gorman shortly before he was murdered. He later contacts the police and explains that he has seen the same man again, but this time in a wheelchair. Even when he was told that Venable had polio, he stuck to his claim and the first doubts arose as to whether Venable's disability was real.

When Mark's girlfriend doesn't take his growing fears seriously, they both fall out. But he is now receiving support from Ariadne Oliver and a pastor's wife, Mrs. Daniel Calthrop. Ginger Corrigan, a girl from the area who manages to get important information about the pale horse from Poppy, also helps him. She also receives an address in Birmingham where Mark meets with a lawyer, Mr. Bradley, who explains how the Pale Horse can kill someone for him without breaking the law.

In coordination with Inspector Lejeune and in collaboration with Ginger, Mark wants to commission the Pale Horse with the murder of his wife, who is played by Ginger. During a ritual in the Pale Horse, Thyrza opens a spiritual channel to Ginger through an electrical device. Shortly thereafter, Ginger falls ill and appears to be dying quickly.

Then Mrs. Oliver contacts Mark, realizing that all the victims of the Pale Horse lost their hair during their illness, and Ginger's hair is also going out. And then it suddenly occurs to Mark that these are the symptoms of thallium poisoning and not those of a diabolical conspiracy.

The pharmacist Osborne was the head behind the pale horse. He had smuggled poisoned samples to the victims through a marketing company. The black magic was only staged as a disguise. Portraying Venable as a criminal was only his last mistake.

people

  • Mark Easterbrook, a historian researching the Mughal Empire
  • Inspector Lejeune, the investigating officer
  • Ariadne Oliver, a famous crime writer
  • Jim Corrigan, a police doctor
  • Katherine Ginger Corrigan, a young woman not related to Jim
  • Hermia Redcliffe, an old friend of Mark
  • David Ardingly, Oxford history professor and friend of Mark
  • Pamela Poppy Stirling, a flower shop clerk
  • Mr. Venables, a rich man in a wheelchair
  • Zachariah Osborne, a pharmacist
  • Mr. Bradley, an attorney representing The Pale Horse
  • Thyrza Gray, a Dark Art practitioner
  • Sybil Stamfordis, a medium
  • Bella, a witch (and Thyrza's cook)
  • Thomasina Ann Tuckerton, a wealthy young woman
  • Caleb Daniel Calthrop, Vicar
  • Mrs. Daniel Calthrop, his wife
  • Rhoda Despard, Mark's cousin
  • Colonel Despard, Rhoda's husband
  • Mrs. Tuckerton, Thomasina's stepmother and heiress
  • Mrs. Davis, employee of a market research company
  • Mrs. Coppins, owner of the inn where Mrs. Davis died
  • Father Gorman, a Catholic priest

References to other works

This novel brings back some characters from previous novels. In addition to Ariadne Oliver, the reader meets Major Despard and his wife Rhoda, who got to know and love each other in With Open Cards . Mrs Dane Calthrop plays roughly the same role here as in The Shadow Hand , the devout Christian who wants to stop evil. When visiting the village festival, Mrs. Oliver is very anxious, for reasons familiar to the reader from seeing Mrs. Oliver again . In chapter 8, David Ardingly tells how he met an old lady in the anteroom of an insane doctor's office, where he was supposed to deliver a message for the doctor, who was sipping a glass of milk and asking him: “Is that your child, that one over there Chimney was buried? (...) “This scene is very reminiscent of Lauter charming old ladies , apart from a few additions and the location. Even at rest , one of the characters remembers a very similar story, which, like in The Pale Horse, has no meaning for the plot.

Film adaptations

The novel was first filmed in 1996 for the British television station ITV with Colin Buchanan as Mark Easterbrook. The role of Ariadne Oliver has been canceled. An attempt is also made to portray Mark as a suspect in the murder of Father Gorman, which is not credible. At first Venable is portrayed as a murderer who is not disabled, but ultimately Osbourne is the murderer here too.

In 2010 the novel was filmed again - now for the British television series Agatha Christie's Marple with Julia McKenzie in the leading role. For this, Miss Marple , that does not appear in the original, written in the script.

Another film adaptation was broadcast as a two-parter on the British television broadcaster BBC in February 2020 . The script was written by Sarah Phelps , who has adapted several novels by Christie for the BBC. Rufus Sewell starred as Mark Easterbrook, with Sean Pertwee , Kaya Scodelario and Rita Tushingham also starring.

Major expenses

  • 1961 Collins Crime Club (London), November 6th, 1961
  • 1962 Dodd Mead and Company (New York), 1962
  • 1962 German first edition by Scherzverlag

Audio books

  • 2004 Das pahle Pferd (5 CDs): only unabridged reading. Speaker: Peter Weis. Director: Hans Eckardt. Translation from English by Margaret Haas. Publishing house and studio for audio book productions (Marburg)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. Collins Crime Club - A checklist of First Editions . Dragonby Press (Second Edition) March 1999 (Page 15)
  2. John Cooper and BA Pyke. Detective Fiction - the collector's guide : Second Edition (Pages 82 and 87) Scholar Press. 1994. ISBN 0-85967-991-8
  3. American Tribute to Agatha Christie
  4. a b German first edition in the catalog of the German National Library
  5. Bible text in the WP
  6. Audiobook (complete) in the catalog of the German National Library