The big four
The big four (original title: The Big Four ) is the seventh detective novel by the British author Agatha Christie , which is based on twelve previously published short stories. The novel was first published in the United Kingdom by William Collins & Sons on January 27, 1927 and later that year in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company . The German first edition was published in 1963 by Scherz-Verlag in a translation by Hans Mehl. In 2015 a new translation by Giovanni Bandini was published by Atlantik, Hamburg.
Hercule Poirot , Arthur Hastings and Inspector (later Chief Inspector) Japp investigate .
action
introduction
Captain Arthur Hastings travels from his adopted home Argentina to his friend Hercule Poirot in London to pay him a surprise visit. However, he is about to leave for South America, as he has received a well-paid contract from the American multimillionaire Abe Ryland.
When Poirot Hastings tries to explain the circumstances of his departure, the two notice an intruder in Poirot's bedroom. He seems to be very confused: he keeps mumbling Poirot's name and address. A doctor called in explains to the investigative duo that the man had suffered a shock. When the stranger is given pen and paper, he keeps writing fours on the paper until Hastings mentions the criminal organization "The Big Four", which Poirot had previously spoken of. The intruder then begins to provide the two of them with more information about this organization and then faints.
Poirot and Hastings leave the stranger in Poirot's apartment because Poirot urgently needs to travel to Brazil . At the last moment Poirot decides to stay in England. He finds the stranger dead in his apartment and suspects hydrogen cyanide poisoning, as this leaves no traces apart from an unpleasant smell. A short time later, an alleged mental health worker appears who claims that the dead man was an escaped inmate who felt he was being persecuted by Chinese secret organizations. However, it turns out that no inmate escaped there. Poirot suspects criminals “No. 4 ”because the dying man was able to set the clock to 4:00 as an indication of his murderer. Chief Inspector Japp can later identify the dead person as a secret agent.
The big four
In this case, Poirot tries to determine on the basis of the clues that the deceased mentioned:
- No. 1 is a Chinese businessman named Li Chang Yen. Although it is little known beyond the borders of China, experts are certain that it stirs revolutions all over the world and becomes a great threat to the western world.
- No. 2 is known as the silent power man in the background of the organization, who mainly supports the organization with financial means. He is likely an American citizen.
- The identity of No. 3 is initially unknown, as is his role in the organization. It is only known for the time being that it is a woman and French.
- No. 4 is the executive hand of the Big Four . Presumably he is an actor, as he often meets Poirot without Poirot or Hastings being able to identify him as No. 4 by his looks.
The cases of the novel
In The Big Four, Poirot investigates several murders, attacks or other crimes that he suspects the Big Four are behind . In each case, he encounters no. 3 and no. 2, which have another appearance in the clarification of the case. In the other cases Poirot / Hastings mostly deal with No. 4, who assumes a different identity in each case. No. 1 is mentioned several times throughout the novel, but it never appears. To Poirot's and Hastings' surprise, the criminal countess Vera Rossakoff , whom they know, is also a member of the organization and usually stays near No. 3. At the end of the novel, Poirot admits that he deeply admires Li Chang Yen and Vera Rossakoff, which Hastings clearly displeases.
useful information
- The person Li Chang Yen is used today as a parallel to the fictional character Dr. Fu Manchu by the writer Sax Rohmer .
- At the first mention of the Big Four , Hastings Poirot recalls the Versailles Treaty , which was drawn up by four powers. This is remarkable since the four powers were only described as criminals from the German side.
- Poirot calls the fall of the Big Four at the end of history his greatest fall.
- Agatha Christie is best known for her detective novels, but she also wrote spy novels and thrillers in her early days and occasionally later ( age does not protect against ingenuity ) . The big four is an exception in this respect, since in the other thrillers and spy novels mostly younger women and men chase the heads of the criminal organizations. Here, however, the aging Hercule Poirot determines .
- In the German translation of the novel, Poirot and Hastings address each other as “Du”, but in most of the others as “Sie”.
Important English and German language editions
- 1926 first edition UK William Collins and Sons (London), January 27, 1927
- 1926 First edition USA Dodd Mead and Company (New York), 1927
- 1963 German first edition in the translation by Hans Mehl: Bern; Stuttgart; Vienna: Scherz Verlag
- 2015 New translation by Giovanni Bandini, Hamburg: Atlantik
First publication of the short stories
All of the short stories that make up The Big Four were first published in The Sketch Magazine in 1924 with the subtitle The Man who was No. 4 (The Man Who Was No. 4) as follows (without illustrations):
- The Unexpected Guest: January 2, 1924, edition 1614. It forms the basis for Chapters 1 and 2: - The Unexpected Guest / The Man from the Asylum (An Unexpected Guest / The Man from the Asylum) .
- The Adventure of the Dartmoor Bungalow: January 9, 1924, issue 1615. It forms the basis for Chapters 3 and 4: We hear more about Li Chang Yen / The Importance of a Leg of Mutton more about Li Chang Yen / The importance of the leg of mutton) .
- The Lady on the Stairs: January 16, 1924, edition 1616. It forms the basis for Chapters 5 and 6: Disappearance of a Scientist / The Woman on the Stairs (The disappearance of the scientist / The woman on the stairs) .
- The Radium Thieves: January 23, 1924, 1617 edition. It forms the basis for Chapter 7 of the same title.
- In the House of the Enemy: January 30, 1924, 1618 edition. It forms the basis for Chapter 8 of the same title.
- The Yellow Jasmine Mystery: February 6, 1924, edition 1619. It forms the basis for chapters 9 and 10: The Yellow Jasmine Mystery / We investigate at Croftlands small farm) .
- The Chess Problem: February 13, 1924, edition 1620. It forms the basis for Chapter 11 with the slightly changed title A Chess Problem (A Chess Problem) .
- The Baited Trap: February 20, 1924, Issue 1621. It forms the basis for Chapters 12 and 13: The Baited Trap / A Mouse walks in (A trap with a bait / The mouse taps into it) .
- The Adventure of the Peroxide Blond: February 27, 1924, edition 1622. It forms the basis for Chapter 14 with the slightly changed title The Peroxide Blond (The Hydrogen Blonde) .
- The Terrible Catastrophe: March 5, 1924, 1623 edition. It forms the basis for Chapter 15 of the same title.
- The Dying Chinaman: March 12, 1924, 1624 edition. It forms the basis for Chapter 16 of the same title.
- The Crag in the Dolomites: March 19, 1924, edition 1625. It forms the basis for chapters 17 and 18: Number Four wins the trick / In the Felsenlabyrinth (number four wins a trick / Im Felsenlabyrinth) . This story was also the last Poirot story Christie wrote for Sketch Magazine .
In the United States, the majority of the stories in Blue Book Magazine appeared from March 1927 to January 1928, with this publication sticking to book form rather than the original stories.
Publication of the novel
1926 was a very difficult year for Christie. Her mother died earlier in the year, and while she was still settling the inheritance, her husband left her after cheating with a golf partner. Since she was in dire need of money but was unable to write a novel, her brother-in-law Campbell Christie suggested that the short stories that had already appeared in Sketch Magazine be put together into a novel. He also helped bring it into a more suitable form for book publishing. Most of all, his help consisted of changing the beginning and ending of each story so that they fit better with the flow of the novel. The order of the stories was not changed.
1942 asked Christie to keep a manuscript in reserve (most likely her agent, Edmund Cork, Sleeping Murder ( Sleeping Murder )) and placed in a letter to him firmly: "I have been in a position where I write wanted to make money to earn, realized that I can't - this is such a nerve-wracking game. If I had just one manuscript up my sleeve back then , it would have made a huge difference. That's when I get the time the hideous book The Big Four , produced and to me The Mystery of the Blue Train ( The Mystery of the Blue Train ) forced. "
Nevertheless, the finished novel The Big Four became her greatest success to date, which was generally justified by the great discussion about her previously published novel Alibi .
dedication
This is the second book without a dedication. The first was Poirot Investigates ( Poirot accounts ) . As described above, this book was created in great material and emotional distress, so that Christie, who always dedicated her novels to loved ones, found no reason to dedicate it.
Film adaptations
This novel was filmed in 2013 for the English television series Agatha Christie's Poirot . The episode aired on October 23, 2013.
Audio books
This novel is one of the few by the author, of which there is no generally accessible version as an audio book in German.
For blind and visually impaired people there is an edition as a DAISY audio book , which can be borrowed from the individual audio libraries for the blind . The audio book was produced in 2012 by the German Central Library for the Blind in Leipzig . The speaker is Wolfgang Schilling. The playing time is 7 hours and 35 minutes.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Publishers' Circular and Booksellers Record January 15, 1927 (page 1)
- ↑ John Cooper and BA Pyke. Detective Fiction - the collector's guide: Second Edition (pages 82 and 86) Scholar Press. 1994. ISBN 0-85967-991-8 .
- ↑ American Tribute to Agatha Christie
- ^ German first edition in the catalog of the German National Library
- ↑ a b Morgan, Janet. Agatha Christie, A Biography . (Page 163) Collins, 1984 ISBN 0-00-216330-6 .