C. Mrs M elderly middle-aged woman—lived with elderly husband James McGinty. Found killed—JM tells very peculiar story—(like Wallace) or is he nephew inherits money. Really young man cultivates her acquaintance— flatters her up—finally kills her in such a way J is bound to be suspected—Why?
Ideas for HP (Mrs McGinty)
4 or 5 people in household—one dangerous—P’s only clue—he is pushed at race meeting under horse’s hoof or train etc. by one of them. Mrs McGinty—(housekeeper?) leaves—is sent away—why? Later he finds her—she is dead
‘Wallace’ in item C above is a reference to the famous Julia Wallace murder case in Liverpool in 1931. Her husband, whose alibi could never be substantiated, was convicted of her murder but subsequently released. Like Mrs McGinty, Julia Wallace was found in her own sitting room with fatal head injuries.
All of the clues that appear in the book feature in Notebook 43—the bottle of ink and the letter, the newspaper cutting with its all-important mistake, the coffee cup, the sugar-cutter and Maureen Summerhayes’s very daring remark during the party:
Inkstain on the dead woman’s finger. Bought bottle of ink that afternoon at PO—no letter found. Newspaper—Daily Newshound or Evening Paper
Sugar cutter—Judge and wife brought them back—Vicarage sale of work
Real clue Robin
E. Kane changed her name to Hope—Evelyn Hope—girl—but not girl—boy. Robin’s ‘mother’ is not his mother—he got her name by deed poll—she was paid to give her name to him—later he kills her—does not want her to tell about past story
Robin’s method for second murder—has coffee cup with dregs and lipstick
The slip in paper—child not yet born—therefore sex not—known
Don’t like being adopted, do you? (A remark by Maureen Summerhayes at party)
And then she considers suspects…
Now consider each likely household
1. Married couple in late thirties—very vague—like R and A [Rosalind and Anthony, Christie’s daughter and son-in-law]—do market gardening—(he is son—or she is daughter of X) [possibly the Summerhayeses]
2. Invalid woman with son—son is artist—or does painted furniture or a writer—(detective stories?) [Mrs Upward and Robin]
3. Vaughans—unstable husband (banker or solicitor) quiet self-effacing wife—children?—one (son) hers by former marriage?
4. Rich woman wife very flashy—2 young men—live together—(one is son of X) has told stupid rich girl he is son of Russian Grand Duke
Not all of the previous cases which provide the motivation for a killer trying to conceal a criminal past appear in the Notebook as they do in the novel:
Edith Kane [Eva Kane/Evelyn Hope]
Went out that day—he poisoned Wife—a lot of gup in paper—all about that innocent child—betrayed—she and her child—the child born later—a daughter—the little daughter who never knew her father’s name. The new life for Edith Kane—went to Australia—or S. Africa—a new life in a new world.
She went—yes—but she came back 25 years ago
Janice Remington—acquitted of killing her husband or her lover like Madeleine Smith [Janice Courtland]
Little Lily Waterbrook—took chopper to aunt—detained—only fifteen—released later—Harris? [Lily Gamboll]
Greenwood Case—daughter—changed name—her evidence saved father—thirtyish
Newspaper suspects—Age now
55 Eva Kane (? changed name to Hope—went abroad—had s[on] or d[aughter]
45 Janice Crale—or The Tragic Wife—husband died of morphia—or bath—lover did it—unpleasant man— perverse—took drugs [Janice Courtland]
30 Lily Gamboll—killed aunt
The reference to ‘Madeleine Smith’ above relates to the case of a woman tried for poisoning her lover Emile L’Engelier in Glasgow in 1857. The verdict against Smith was ‘Not Proven’; in reality, it amounted to an acquittal. Like the Wallace case above, it is still the focus of keen speculation.
Appearing together on just one page of Notebook 43, the following would have been added when the plot was well advanced. With the exception of Point B, all these occur in Chapters 13 and 14:
Points to be worked in
A. Mrs Upward sees photo—familiar
B. Mrs Rendell came down to see Mrs Upward that night—couldn’t make her hear
C. Maureen talks about being adopted
D. Mrs O sums up Maureen’s age and appearance
E. Mrs Rendell asks P about anonymous letters—untrue
F. Poirot told by Mrs O—it was Dr Rendell
In particular, Point C is the main clue that incriminates the killer—although few readers will notice it, so subtly is it inserted. And Point A sets up the second murder in Broadhinny as Mrs Upward plays a very dangerous game with Poirot.
Jacko Argyle died in prison while serving a sentence for the murder of his stepmother. His assertion that he had an alibi for the fatal night was never substantiated—until now. Arthur Calgary arrives at the family home and confirms Jacko’s alibi. This means that the real killer is still living among the family and is ready to kill again.
Notebook 28 contains all of the notes for this novel, amounting to almost 40 pages. On 1 October 1957 Agatha Christie wrote to Edmund Cork, asking him to check on the legal situation if person A were to be tried and convicted of the murder of his stepmother despite his claim that he was with person B at the crucial time of the killing. Person B is never found and A dies in prison six months into his incarceration. Then B, who has been abroad for a year, turns up and approaches the police to confirm A’s story and provide the alibi. Christie wanted clarification on the situation with regard to a ‘free pardon’ and the possible reopening of the case. She assured Cork that an early reply would enable her to get to work ‘industriously on this projected new book’. The date ‘Oct 6th’ appears on page 20 of Notebook 28, confirming that the novel was planned and written the year before publication.
‘This is easily the best non-branded [Poirot or Marple] Christie we have had for some time…
The short story ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’ (see Chapter 4), collected in
