The wax bouquet (novel)
The wax bouquet (original title After the Funeral ) is the 44th detective novel by Agatha Christie . He was first in the United States at Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1953 under the title are Funerals Fatal and the United Kingdom in the Collins Crime Club published on 18 May of that year under its original title. The German first edition was published in 1954 by Scherz Verlag (Bern) with the translation by Lola Humm-Sernau. In 2004 the Fischer-Taschenbuchverlag (Frankfurt am Main) published the new translation by Ursula Wulfekamp, which is still used today.
It determines Hercule Poirot in his 25th novel.
action
After the funeral (ger .: After the Funeral ) of the wealthy Richard Abernethie at its family gathers with the family lawyer for the opening of the will in Abernethies House Enderby Hall . His death was a bit of a surprise, but the death certificate had a natural cause. Suddenly his sister Cora Lansquenet states: “But he was murdered, wasn't he?” The lawyer, Mr. Entwhistle, starts an investigation and it quickly becomes clear that a murderer is free.
After returning from the opening of the will, Cora Lansquenet is murdered while sleeping by being beaten several times with an ax. The crime is not robbery and her inheritance, which goes to her niece Susan Banks, is not exuberant either, as part of Richard's inheritance falls back to the other co-heirs. The only motive could be a conversation between Cora and Richard, overheard by Cora's housekeeper, Miss Gilchrist, in which he suggested that he was being poisoned.
Entwhistle calls Poirot, who assigns an old friend, Mr. Goby, to investigate the family for him. He realizes that there are some in the family who are desperate for the inheritance. But he also warns that Miss Gilchrist could be the victim of murder.
Cora was an amateur painter herself and had bought and collected paintings at local markets. While Susan is looking through Cora's personal belongings, she finds copies of postcards made by Cora. Miss Gilchrist tells of one motif that Cora would have drawn it in nature - but the pier pictured has been destroyed since the Second World War. She invites an art critic, Alexander Guthrie, to judge the pictures, but he doesn't find anything exciting. Immediately after this visit, Miss Gilchrist is almost killed - by arsenic in a cake delivered by the mail.
Poirot is now intensely concerned with the family and realizes that everyone has something to hide. Helen Abernethie also seems to have tracked the murderer after a look in the mirror, but when she calls Entwhistle she is knocked unconscious. Then Poirot calls the family together and gives a startling explanation. Cora had never been to the funeral. It was Miss Gilchrist who had dressed up as Cora. Since the other Cora had not seen Cora for many years and the fake Cora showed many peculiarities of the real Cora, the trick was not noticed. She had only practiced a characteristic movement of the head to the left side in the mirror and was now executing it incorrectly - to the right side. Helen had noticed that too. Poirot had also noticed that Miss Gilchrist was talking about a bouquet of wax flowers that had been on the table on the day the will was opened but had fallen off - which the real Miss Gilchrist had no knowledge of.
The story about the murder of Richard was only staged to distract from the really important murder of Cora. Miss Gilchrist had recognized a real Vermeer among the pictures of Cora , painted over it with a postcard motif and wanted to inherit him by murder.
people
- Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective
- Mr. Entwhistle, the Abernethie family lawyer
- Inspector Morton, the investigating officer
- Mr. Goby, a private investigator
- Richard Abernethie, the owner of Enderby Hall, who suddenly dies
- Cora Lansquenet, sister and heiress of Richard Abernethie and amateur painter
- Miss Anne Gilchrist, your companion
- George Crossfield, nephew and heir to Richard Abernethie, son of his late sister Laura
- Rosamund Shane, niece and heiress of Richard Abernethie, daughter of his late sister Geraldine, an actress
- Michael Shane, her husband, an aspiring actor
- Helen Abernethie, sister-in-law and heiress of Richard Abernethie, wife of his late brother Leo
- Timothy Abernethie, brother and heir to Richard Abernethie, an invalid
- Maude Abernethie, his wife
- Susan Banks, niece and heiress of Richard Abernethie, daughter of his late brother Gordon
- Gregory Banks, her husband, a chemist
- Lanscombe, the butler at Enderby Hall
- Janet, an employee at Enderby Hall
- Mrs. Jones, cleaning lady with Timothy and Maude Abernethie
References to other works
In chapter 12, Poirot recalls thirteen at table as a case in which he was almost beaten.
background
The novel is dedicated: “ For James, in memory of happy days at Abney. "(" For James, in memory of happy days in Abney. ") James Watts Jr. was the nephew of Agatha Christie, to whom she was closely related. Abney refers to Abney Hall in Cheshire , the Victorian country estate of the Watts family, which was of important importance in the life of Agatha Christie. Not only did she spend time there after her father's death, but also after her disappearance in 1926, she spent a lot of time in Abney Hall to find peace. Abney Hall is the subject of various names and depictions in her novels, including Enderby Hall in After the Funeral ( The Wax Bouquet ).
Film adaptations
The wax bouquet (1963)
In 1963, MGM produced a film adaptation of the novel under the title Murder at the Gallop . In this film adaptation, Hercule Poirot is replaced by Miss Marple . Miss Marple is played by Margaret Rutherford . However, the wax bouquet does not have the same meaning as in the novel.
Agatha Christie's Poirot
On 26 March 2006, the film adaptation as part of the British television series was Agatha Christie's Poirot with David Suchet broadcast as Poirot.
Important publications in English and German
- 1953: Dodd, Mead and Company (New York), March 1953
- 1953: Collins Crime Club (London), May 1953
- 1954: First edition in German by Scherz-Verlag (Bern) with the translation by Lola Humm-Sernau
- 2004: New translation into German in Fischer-Taschenbuchverlag (Frankfurt am Main) by Ursula Wulfekamp
Audio books
- 2004: The wax bouquet (5 CDs); Unabridged reading, spoken by Martin Maria Schwarz , director: Hans Eckardt, translation by Lola Humm-Sernau, publishing house and studio for audio book productions, Marburg / Lahn, ISBN 978-3-89614-316-7
- 2010: The wax bouquet (3 CDs); Abridged reading, spoken by Oliver Kalkofe , director: Kai Lüftner, translation by Ursula Wulfekamp, Der Hörverlag, Munich, ISBN 978-3-86717-606-4
Web links
- After the Funeral on the official Agatha Christie website
- Murder at the Gallop (1963) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Gallop (2005) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ American Tribute to Agatha Christie
- ↑ Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. Collins Crime Club - A checklist of First Editions . Dragonby Press (Second Edition) March 1999 (Page 15)
- ↑ a b German first edition in the catalog of the German National Library
- ↑ a b New translation in the catalog of the German National Library
- ↑ Agatha Christie: The wax bouquet. Fischer, Ulm 2004, ISBN 3-596-16539-3 , p. 285.
- ↑ Audiobook (complete) in the catalog of the German National Library