The missing link in the chain
The missing link in the chain (original title The Mysterious Affair at Styles ) is the first crime novel by the British author Agatha Christie .
Although Christie had already written the novel in 1916 while she was a nurse in World War I , the novel was not published until October 1920 in the United States by John Lane and on January 21, 1921 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head . The German first edition was published in 1929 under the title The mysterious crime in Styles in the translation by Anna Drawe by Georg Müller Verlag, Munich.
To investigate: Hercule Poirot together with Inspector Japp.
introduction
Lieutenant Arthur Hastings returns to England after an injury in the war and visits his friend John Cavendish, who lives with his wife Mary with his stepmother Emily Inglethorp on their inherited estate Styles.
action
A few days after the departure of Miss Howard, who had told Mrs. Emily Inglethorp in an argument that her husband Alfred was cheating on her, Mrs. Inglethorp had severe cramps at night. But when the relatives want to see her, her room door is locked. After the door is broken into, Emily Inglethorp can only say the name of her husband before she passes away. However, her husband is away that day. The poison specialist Dr. Bauerstein, who was already in the vicinity of the house at the time of Mrs. Inglethorp's death, and the general practitioner Dr. Wilkins suspect Mrs. Inglethorp died of strychnine poisoning.
At the later court hearing, Dr. Bauerstein, who examined the body, that the assumptions have been proven to be correct. After the trial reveals that a person resembling Alfred Inglethorp had bought strychnine in the local pharmacy, the widower Inglethorp is suspected of having committed the murder. But when Japp arrives at Gut Styles with an arrest warrant in his pocket, Hercule Poirot prevents Inglethorp's arrest at the last minute by presenting an alibi to Inglethorps for the time of the visit to the pharmacy.
In the further course, Dr. Bauerstein and John Cavendish arrested as suspects, but Hercule Poirot is finally able to find "the missing link in the chain" and name the murderer: It is Alfred Inglethorp who has been responsible for the murder together with his lover Evelyn Howard, the housekeeper, had planned. Poirot explains that when he was first arrested, he intervened to prevent Inglethorp from being acquitted in the trial for his alibi for buying strychnine, which would have prevented another charge.
people
People living on Gut Styles
- Mrs. Emily Inglethorp, landowner, and Mr. Alfred Inglethorp, her husband
- Mr. John Cavendish, Emily Inglethorp's stepson, and Mrs. Mary Cavendish, his wife
- Lawrence Cavendish, John Cavendish's biological brother
- Cynthia Murdoch, daughter of late friends of Mrs. Inglethorp, nurse
- Evelyn Howard, housekeeper at Gut Styles
- Lieutenant Arthur Hastings , friend Poirot and John Cavendish
- Dorcas, older maid
- other servants
Minor characters
- Dr. Bauerstein, Jewish poison specialist with German nationality, personal friend of Mary Cavendish
- Mrs. Raikes, farmer's wife, alleged lover of Alfred Inglethorp
- Dr. Wilkins, Emily Inglethorp's general practitioner
Investigator
- Detective Inspector James Japp, Official Investigative Inspector for Scotland Yard
- Superintendent Summerhaye, also investigating officer, superintendent of James Japp
- Hercule Poirot , Belgian investigative legend, good friends with Arthur Hastings, his immigration was co-financed by Mrs. Inglethorp
background
Agatha Christie wrote this novel during World War I while volunteering as a nurse, as did her several fictional heroine, "Tuppence" Beresford at the time.
Although written in 1916, the novel is set in 1917 because the author gives several dates with days of the week, which can be used to assign the appropriate year to the plot. For example, she writes: “July 16th fell on a Monday.” Or “Tuesday, July 24th ...” Both are only valid for 1917.
The origin of this novel and also of Christie's long career as a writer can be seen today in a bet made in Christie's childhood with her sister Madge, who bet that Christie would never manage to write a novel. This is also so in the blurb of the publishing house The Bodley Head . When the publisher wanted to publish the novel, they requested a change in the clarification by Christie: the original clarification of the case during a court hearing was moved by the court to Styles.
Christie dedicated the novel to her mother, whom she encouraged to write during an illness as a distraction.
useful information
- The novel is told from the first person perspective by Poirot's friend Hastings , probably a reason for Hastings' return on several Poirot cases, although Christie did not like his personality.
- The character of Cynthia Murdoch shows parallels to Christie herself: She works as a nurse.
- Styles is also where Poirot's Last Fall Curtain takes place.
- Christie later named her house "Styles".
German-language editions
- 1929 German first edition: The mysterious crime in Styles. Translation by Anna Drawe. Munich: Georg Müller
- 1959 New translation: The missing link in the chain. Translation by Dorothea Gotfurt . Bern, Stuttgart, Vienna: joke
- 2003 new version (used until today): The missing link in the chain. Newly translated by Nina Schindler . Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag (Frankfurt am Main)
Audio books
- 2003 The missing link in the chain (3 CDs). Abridged version by Neville Teller. Translated from the English by Tanja Handels. Read by Uwe Friedrichsen . Director: Sven Stricker . The Hörverlag (Munich)
- 2005 The missing link in the chain (5 CDs). Only unabridged reading. Speaker: Martin Maria Schwarz . Director: Hans Eckardt. Publishing house and studio for audio book productions (Marburg)
Film adaptations
The novel was filmed in the television series Agatha Christie's Poirot with David Suchet as Hercule Poirot , Hugh Fraser as Captain Arthur Hastings and Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp and aired as a long episode between the second and third seasons on September 16, 1990. In the German dubbing, she received the title A family is under suspicion .
Web links
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles on the official Agatha Christie website
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Curran, John. Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks (Page 33). HarperCollins 2009. ISBN 978-0-00-731056-2
- ↑ a b German first edition in the catalog of the German National Library
- ^ Translation by Dorothea Gotfurt in the catalog of the German National Library
- ^ Translation by Nina Schindler in the catalog of the German National Library
- ↑ Audio book in the catalog of the German National Library
- ↑ Audio book in the catalog of the German National Library