''After the Funeral'' is a work of
detective fiction
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
by
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
and first published in the US by
Dodd, Mead and Company
Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990.
History Origins
In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Ta ...
in March 1953 under the title of ''Funerals are Fatal''
and in UK by the
Collins Crime Club
Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,012in "The Hooded Gunman -- An Illustrated History of Collins Crime ...
on 18 May of the same year under Christie's original title.
The US edition retailed at $2.50
and the UK edition at ten
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
s and
sixpence (10/6).
A 1963 UK paperback issued by Fontana Books changed the title to ''Murder at the Gallop'' to tie in with the film version. The book features the author's Belgian detective
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
, but the ''Murder at the Gallop'' film adaptation instead featured her amateur sleuth,
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Chr ...
.
A wealthy man dies at home. His relatives gather after his funeral for the reading of his will, during which his sister states that he was murdered. The next day, she herself is found murdered. Poirot is called in to solve the mystery.
Plot summary
Following the funeral of Richard Abernethie, his family assemble at Enderby Hall for the reading of the will by his lawyer, Mr Entwhistle. His wealth is to be divided up between his surviving family: his brother Timothy Abernethie and his wife Maud; his sister Cora Lansquenet; his nephew George Crossfield; his first niece Rosamund Shane, and her husband Michael; his second niece Susan Banks, and her husband Gregory; and Helen Abernethie, the wife of his brother Leo before his death during
the war. Although Richard died of natural causes and his death was expected, Cora makes a chance remark that he was murdered. The day after the funeral, she is found dead, having been violently murdered in her sleep. No motive is obvious in Inspector Morton's investigations - while Cora's life income reverts to the Abernethie estate, her property goes to Susan, while her companion Miss Gilchrist receives a number of her paintings she made. However, doubts soon arise about Richard's death in the wake of her murder. Seeking help, Entwhistle contacts his friend, Hercule Poirot, to resolve the matter. Poirot contacts his old friend Mr Goby to investigate the family.
Each family member had their own reason for wanting Richard's wealth, and thus become a suspect in the murder. On the day of the inquest, Susan visits Cora's home to clean up her possessions for auction. She learns from Gilchrist that her aunt always painted from life, and that she collected paintings from local sales in the hopes of finding a valuable piece. The day after Cora's funeral, art critic Alexander Guthrie arrives to look through Cora's recent purchases as previously scheduled, but finds nothing of value there. That evening, Gilchrist is poisoned with a slice of
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...
-laced wedding cake sent in the post; she survives, mainly from eating a small portion. Gathering to select items from Richard's estate before its sale, the family are joined by Poirot and Gilchrist. During discussions, Helen comments about believing there was something odd on the day of the funeral, Gilchrist makes a remark about one of the decorations in Enderby, while Susan recalls finding a painting in Cora's possession, which she believed had been copied from a picture postcard and not painted from life, Cora's usual style.
Early the next morning, Helen telephones Entwhistle to inform him what she had realised was odd during Richard's funeral, but is struck savagely on the head before she can say more. Helen suffers a concussion, and is taken away for her safety. As Inspector Morton prepares to ask each family member about their movements on the day of Cora's murder, Poirot startles everyone by revealing to them that her murderer was Miss Gilchrist. She had recognised a
Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...
amongst Cora's recent purchases that her employer had not, and knew it was her chance to rebuild her beloved tea shop that she lost in the war. She painted over the Vermeer painting with a scene of a pier from a postcard, unaware it had been destroyed in the war. Afterwards, she put a sedative in Cora's tea so she would be asleep, while Gilchrist posed as her at the funeral. None of the family had seen Cora for more than two decades, which made her deception easier. After leaving suggestions that Richard had been murdered, Gilchrist killed Cora the following day so that police would believe it was connected to Richard's death. To divert suspicion from herself, Gilchrist faked the attempt on her life.
Gilchrist had to copy Cora's characteristic turn of her head, but failed to realise one of these was wrong when she rehearsed it in front of a mirror. Helen was attacked because she eventually realised this. Furthermore, Poirot knew she had posed as Cora because she made a reference to a piece of decoration, which could only have been seen within Enderby Hall on the day of Richard's funeral. The Vermeer was hidden by Gilchrist so that Guthrie did not find it during his scheduled visit. Her claim that Cora painted the pier scene from life was countered by Susan finding a pre-war postcard of the pier in the cottage, along with Entwhistle recollecting that he smelt oil when he visited Cora's home after her murder when he contacted Poirot for help. Poirot then reveals that two nuns visited Cora's cottage on the day of the funeral, who believed someone was inside. Once accused, Gilchrist breaks down into a flood of complaints about the hardships of her life, but quietly goes with the police. During legal proceedings before her trial, she eventually becomes insane, planning one tea shop after another, though Poirot and Entwhistle have no doubt she was in full possession of her faculties during her crime.
Characters
* Mr Entwhistle - the Abernethie family's solicitor, he is also an assistant in the case and one of the friends of Inspector Morton.
* Inspector Morton - the investigating officer for the Berkshire County's police investigation into Cora's murder.
*
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
- The Belgian detective called in by Entwhistle to aid Morton and the family.
* Mrs Cora Lansquenet - the victim of the case. An amateur painter and the youngest sister of Richard Abernethie. One of the heirs to Richard's fortune, before her murder.
* Richard Abernethie - a wealthy widower, recently deceased and cremated before the start of the novel. Lost one brother in World War II, and another brother and two sisters to other causes. His only surviving son Mortimer died six months ago.
* Timothy Abernethie - only surviving brother of Richard. A grumpy invalid, and one of the heirs to his brother's fortune.
* Maude Abernethie - Timothy's wife, a strong, healthy woman who tends to her husband's needs.
* Susan Banks - Richard's first niece, daughter of his brother Gordon, and one of the heirs to his fortune. She is a woman with a drive for business, and Cora's heir.
* Gregory Banks - Susan's husband. A chemist, who inadvertently gave a non-lethal overdose to one of his customers in the past.
* George Crossfield - Richard's nephew, son of his sister Laura. A solicitor for a stock broker's office, and one of the heirs to Richard's fortune.
* Rosamund Shane - Richard's second niece, daughter of his sister Geraldine. She is an aspiring actress, and one of the heirs to Richard's fortune.
* Michael Shane - Rosamund's husband; like her, he is an aspiring actor.
* Helen Abernethie - widow of Richard's brother Leo, and one of the heirs to Richard's fortune.
* Miss Gilchrist - the killer of the case. Cora's paid companion. She owned a tea shop until it was lost in the war.
* Lanscombe - butler at Enderby Hall
* Janet - kitchenmaid at Enderby Hall
* Marjorie - cook at Enderby Hall
* Mrs Jacks - Enderby Hall's cleaning lady.
* Mrs Jones - Timothy and Maude Abernethie's cleaning lady.
* Alexander Guthrie - an old friend of Cora's, and an expert on artwork.
* Miss Entwhistle - spinster sister of Mr Entwhistle.
Themes
Unlike in ''
Taken at the Flood
''Taken at the Flood'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1948 under the title of ''There is a Tide . . .'' and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in ...
'', in which there is a strong sense of post-war English society re-forming along the lines of the "status quo ante", ''After the Funeral'' is deeply pessimistic about the social impact of war. A pier on a postcard has been bombed and not yet rebuilt, which fact is pivotal to the plot. Richard Abernethie is devastated that his only son died abruptly from polio, an epidemic of that time. The son was fit, healthy, about to marry, and then gone. Richard sees no other single heir worthy of succeeding to his estate entire. The Abernethie drive and talent for business are found in his niece Susan, but he cannot consider her as sole heir because she is female. Rather, he reacts to her by being disappointed in her husband. Not finding any one person to take over his fortune and business, he divides the money among family members who seem likely to waste it on gambling and theatrical ventures.
One person he valued was his sister-in-law, now widowed by the war. She had a child in a war time affair. She never told Richard of the child, aware of his Victorian views, telling others she has a nephew she helps. She is grateful for his kindness in including her in his will, as she can now raise her son on faraway Cyprus with a proper education. The child is loved, but his mother feels he cannot be accepted in post war England. The last name chosen for Cora's husband, the much disliked painter with some claim to being French, is
Lansquenet
Lansquenet is a banking game played with cards, named after the French spelling of the German word Landsknecht ('servant of the land or country'), which refers to 15th- and 16th-century German mercenary foot soldiers; the lansquenet drum is a ty ...
. It is unusual as a last name, as mentioned in the story. The word is the name of a card game, and it is the term for the
German mercenary foot soldier with a lance or lancer of the 15th and 16th centuries, who may have played that card game.
Food rationing in England came to an end in the year of publication, but its effect is still felt in the egg shortages that are mentioned in the novel. Throughout, there is a strong sense of the hardships of the post-war period, including the conniving Miss Gilchrist's heartache at losing her cherished teashop due to food shortages, and being forced into a life of dependence, in which she is regarded as little more than a servant. There are also comments on the increased burden of taxation associated with
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
's government.
Literary significance and reception
Robert Barnard
Robert Barnard (23 November 1936 – 19 September 2013) was an English crime writer, critic and lecturer. In addition to over 40 books published under his own name, he also published four books under the pseudonym Bernard Bastable.
Life and work ...
said of this novel that it had "A subject of perennial appeal – unhappy families: lots of scattered siblings, lots of Victorian money (made from corn plasters). Be sure you are investigating the right murder, and watch for mirrors (always interesting in Christie). Contains Christie's last major butler: the 'fifties and 'sixties were not good times for butlers."
References or allusions
References to other works
In chapter 12, Poirot mentions the case handled in ''
Lord Edgware Dies
''Lord Edgware Dies'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of ''Thirt ...
'' as being one in which he was "nearly defeated".
In Chapter 13, Poirot's valet is referred to in the narrative as ''Georges''. His actual name is ''George'', but Poirot always addresses him directly as ''Georges''. This is the first (and only?) time that he is referred to by the French version in narration.
References to actual history, geography and current science
This is the first of the Poirot novels in which lesbianism (between a woman and her companion) may be discussed as a possible motive. However, the possible references are sparse, veiled and
euphemistic
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes t ...
: Inspector Morton calls it "feverish feminine friendship" in chapter 13.
Adaptations
Film
In 1963, a film adaptation entitled ''
Murder at the Gallop
''Murder at the Gallop'' (1963) is the second of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was based on the 1953 novel '' After the Funeral'' by Agatha Christie, and starred Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Ti ...
'' was released by
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
. It was the second of
George Pollock
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet (4 June 1786 – 6 October 1872) was a British Indian Army officer. He first saw action at the Battle of Deeg and at the Siege of Bhurtpore (1805), Siege of Bhurtpor ...
’s four popular Christie adaptations. The film holds a 100% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 6 reviews.
This version replaced Poirot with the character of
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Chr ...
, played by
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film.
She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's '' Blithe Spirit'', and Osca ...
. The film makes a number of other changes to the novel:
* A change in setting: the majority of the film's action is set in a riding establishment,
* The addition of film character 'Mr Stringer' (played by
Stringer Davis
James Buckley Stringer Davis, generally known as Stringer Davis (4 June 1899 – 29 August 1973), was an English character actor on the stage and in films, and a British army officer who served in both world wars. He was married to actress Marg ...
, Margaret Rutherford's real-life husband),
* The addition of a third death,
* The alteration and omission of a number of characters,
* A much lighter-hearted, more playful tone
Television
On 26 March 2006, an adaptation of the novel was broadcast on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
with
David Suchet
Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenh ...
as Poirot in the tenth series of ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot
''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...
''. The cast included
Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender (born 2 April 1977) is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Award ...
as George,
Geraldine James
Geraldine James, OBE (born 6 July 1950) is an English film and television actress.
Biography Early life and family
James was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to a cardiologist father and an alcoholic mother, who had been a nurse. She failed her ...
as Helen Abernethie,
Lucy Punch
Lucy Punch (born 30 December 1977) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films '' Ella Enchanted'', ''Hot Fuzz'', ''You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'', '' Dinner for Schmucks,'' and ''Into the Woods''. She is also known for her role as ...
as Susan,
Robert Bathurst
Robert Guy Bathurst (born 22 February 1957) is an English actor. Bathurst was born in The Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. In 1959 his family moved to Ballybrack, Dublin, Ireland and Bath ...
as Gilbert Entwhistle,
Anna Calder-Marshall
Anna Calder-Marshall (born 11 January 1947) is an English stage, film and television actress.
Personal life
Calder-Marshall was born in Kensington, London, and is the daughter of the novelist and essayist Arthur Calder-Marshall and documentary ...
as Maude,
Fiona Glascott
Fiona Glascott (born 22 November 1982) is an Irish actress. She is best known for portraying a young Minerva McGonagall in the ''Fantastic Beasts'' franchise, a spin-off of the ''Harry Potter'' film series.
Early life
Glascott was born in Wat ...
as Rosamund, and
Monica Dolan
Monica Margaret Dolan (born 15 March 1969) is an English actress. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Rosemary West in ''Appropriate Adult'' (2011).
Career
Dolan was born in Middlesbrough and trained at the Guildh ...
as Miss Gilchrist.
There were some changes made for the adaptation:
* Cora is the divorced wife of an Italian artist named Gallaccio, whose surname she kept. Gallaccio replaces the character of Mr. Guthrie as the art expert that Poirot relies upon.
* Miss Gilchrist's teashop in the novel was named the Palm Tree; the adaption renamed it the Willow Tree, all the china was willow pattern. (In the book, this is the name of the tea shop she kept before the war.)
* The painting revealed at the end is a
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
instead of a Vermeer.
* Entwhistle does not investigate following the funeral and will-reading, but only after Cora's death, though in a minor capacity.
* The character of Mr Goby is omitted. Poirot appears solely under his own name, and interviews the family members himself.
* Timothy's ability to walk is only shown at the end, unlike in the book where it is known from the start, while Maude is presented as slightly foolish and participates in a flirtation with Gallaccio.
* Susan Banks is renamed Susannah Henderson. She is unmarried, and devoted to missionary works in Africa (specifically,
Bechuanaland).
* George is Helen's son, Richard's favoured nephew, and expected heir to the bulk of the estate. He is carrying on a secret romance with Susan/Susannah; on the day after the funeral they had a secret tryst in Lytchett St Mary. Also, Richard was George's real father: Richard had told him this, but George refused to accept it and quarrelled violently with Richard (which Poirot and Entwhistle learn from Lanscombe), and in his disgust forged a will disinheriting himself in favour of the other relatives.
* As in several other episodes, the time has been changed to the 1930s – in this case, from the post-World War II years.
** The pier in the painting found by Susan/Susannah was destroyed by a fire, not the war.
** Miss Gilchrist lost her tea-shop due to a
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
tea-house opening nearby, not due to
wartime rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...
.
* When Miss Gilchrist is arrested and taken away, she pauses to repeat her imitation of Cora. Poirot suggests she could be committed for insanity. There is no further discussion.
* Susan/Susannah and Rosamund are sisters instead of cousins, both of them being the daughters of Richard's sister Geraldine.
* In the book, Rosamund's secret alibi is seeing a doctor to confirm that she was pregnant. In the episode, Rosamund knew she was pregnant and was going to get an
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
, but changed her mind after arriving.
In this production, as is common to the ITV-produced Poirot adaptations, as well as fleshing out plot and relationships there are character developments inserted which are atypical to Christie's writing:
* Cousins have an illicit encounter.
* A wife with an unfaithful husband, goes for abortion but decides against it.
* A woman and her brother-in-law have an affair and conceal the parentage of their child.
Radio
Michael Bakewell
Michael Bakewell (born 1931) is a British television producer.
Bakewell was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire in England.
He is best known for his work during the 1960s, when he was the first Head of Plays at the BBC, after Sydney Newman divid ...
adapted
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
''After the Funeral'' for
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
, featuring
John Moffatt as Poirot with
Frank Thornton
Frank Thornton Ball (15 January 192116 March 2013), professionally known as Frank Thornton, was an English actor. He was known for playing Captain Peacock in ''Are You Being Served?'' and its sequel ''Grace & Favour'' (''Are You Being Served? ...
as Mr. Entwistle.
Publication history
* 1953, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), March 1953, Hardback, 243 pp
* 1953, Collins Crime Club (London), 18 May 1953, Hardback, 192 pp
* 1954,
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.
History
Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...
(New York), Paperback, 224 pp
* 1956, Fontana Books (Imprint of
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
), Paperback, 191 pp
* 1968, Ulverscroft
Large-print
Large-print (also large-type or large-font) refers to the formatting of a book or other text document in which the typeface (or font) are considerably larger than usual to accommodate people who have low vision. Frequently the medium is also increa ...
Edition, Hardcover, 237 pp
* 1978, Ulverscroft Large-print Edition, Hardcover, 422 pp
The novel was first serialised in the US in the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' in forty-seven parts from Tuesday, 20 January to Saturday, 14 March 1953. In the UK the novel was first serialised in the weekly magazine ''
John Bull
John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...
'' in seven abridged instalments from 21 March (Volume 93, Number 2438) to 2 May 1953 (Volume 93, Number 2444) with illustrations by William Little.
[Holdings at the ]British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
(Newspapers – Colindale). Shelfmark: NPL LON LD116.
References
External links
''After the Funeral''at the official Agatha Christie website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:After The Funeral
1953 British novels
Hercule Poirot novels
Novels first published in serial form
Works originally published in the Chicago Tribune
British novels adapted into films
Novels set in England
Dodd, Mead & Co. books
British novels adapted into television shows