Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks

Alfred A man in mortal agony

Lydia Like a soul in hell

Harry Like killing a pig

David Like a soul in hell

Although the plotting follows closely the course of the novel with relatively few deviations, Christie did try a few variations, the main ones being the presence of a co-conspiring nurse or a criminal husband-and-wife. At this stage ‘Drew’ is the forerunner of Sugden, the investigating officer, but there is no mention of his being a policeman:

Who is murderer?

Nurse—a fairly good looking young woman of thirty (actually his daughter)—her desire for revenge

Drew is the man—Why? Illegitimate son—then Nurse is his sister—the two of them planned it

or—like Macbeth—a man and his wife do this—son of an earlier marriage?

Possibly his second marriage was illegal—he makes a will so worded that the children of his second marriage inherit even if not legitimate—that will is destroyed—a draft is prduced by Nurse leaving it to her.

A new idea—is Nurse married to one of the sons?—the gay prodigal?—he manages to pull a string at the right moment As suggested by her crossing-out of the idea here, Christie did not utilise the nurse in this novel. But the homicidal nurse was to resurface two years later in Sad Cypress.

  Evil under the Sun

9 June 1941

Beautiful vamp Arlena Marshall is murdered while staying at the same glamorous hotel on Smuggler’s Island where Hercule Poirot is holidaying. He investigates her murder, which involves a typewriter, a bottle of suntan lotion, a skein of wool and a packet of candles.

Evil under the Sun was written during 1938 and received, and read, by Edmund Cork by 17 February 1939. It had first appeared, in the USA, as a serial towards the end of 1940. At first glance Evil under the Sun and ‘Triangle at Rhodes’ (see Chapter 8) appear to be the same story. Both feature Hercule Poirot, a beach setting and two couples as the main protagonists. In each case, one couple consists of a vamp and a quiet husband, the other a charmer and a ‘mouse’ (in Christie’s own word). And both stories exemplify perfectly Christie’s fertility of plot invention because, despite these not insignificant similarities, the solutions and killers are completely different. In each case the triangle the reader is encouraged to envisage is completely wrong—and also completely different. In both cases clever stagemanagement forces the reader to look in the wrong direction despite, in the case of the novel, abundant clues to the truth.

There are 60 pages of Notebook showing its origins, and thanks to these we can see the detailed working-out that went into one of Christie’s most ingenious novels. The setting exists in reality as Burgh Island, off the coast of Devon, a venue well known to Christie as she stayed at the hotel there on a few occasions. The island is cut off from the mainland twice a day at high tide and is reached by a sea-tractor. She utilises its geography to suit her purposes in creating a perfect alibi.

That storehouse of plot devices, The Thirteen Problems, yet again provided the rough basis for this novel. ‘A Christmas Tragedy’ features two people, the murderer and a witness (in this case Miss Marple herself), ‘finding’ a dead body before it has been murdered, thereby providing the killer with an impeccable alibi. In the case of the short story the body is that of a natural death victim, conveniently dead two hours earlier, but in the novel it is the live body of the killer’s accomplice. Both plots feature a large and camouflaging hat (also a feature of Dead Man’s Folly). Many refinements were obviously possible in the course of a novel—a larger cast of suspects, the added complication of a triangle situation, a warm beach to confuse the time of death instead of a hotel room and a more elaborate alibi for the killer. But it is essentially the same plot.

Right from the first page of Notebook 39 Christie seems to have the plot, the main characters and the setting already well advanced. This may be because she was developing an earlier short story. Names were to change but this description was to form the basis of the book:

Seaside Mystery

H.P. is at seaside—comments on bodies everywhere—makes old-fashioned remarks. Main idea of crime—G an ordinary rather ‘simple’ man is apparently bowled over by a wellworn siren. His wife is very unhappy about it— shows distinct jealousy. He has alibi all morning (with H.P.) goes with a woman for a walk and discovers body of siren—distinctive bathing dress—Chinese ‘hat’—and red auburn curl. Suggest to woman to stay with body—she flinches—he finally says he will and she goes for police. Part of ‘dead woman’ is acted by (wife?) or (woman he really cares about?). Immediately after woman has gone for help—siren appears from other direction—he kills her (strangled?) and places her in same position

Therefore characters are:

George Redfern—quiet bank manager etc.

Mary Redfern—white skin / not (tanned) dark

Gloria Tracy—Siren very rich—mad on men

Edward Tracy—Husband

Rosemary Weston—in love with Edward

Scene Hotel on island—Bigbury [Burgh Island]

If the names were not exactly the same as those in the published novel—the first names of the Redferns became Patrick and Christine, while Gloria and Edward Tracy became Arlena and Kenneth Marshall, and Rosemary Weston is Rosamund Darnley—the differences are not significant enough to prevent recognition.

A few pages later, several details have been established:

Beginning

House—built by a sea captain sold first when bathing came in

Hercule Poirot—with whom?

The American in Appointment with Death [Jefferson Cope]

Major Blount [Barry] or Miss Tough [Brewster] looking at everyone

Arlena King—red haired lovely—husband—an author and playwright—Arlena left a fortune a year or two previously

Jean [Linda]—her daughter—athletic girl—hates stepmother

Middle aged spinster—sister of Arlena’s husband—says she’s a bad lot

People?

Kenneth Leslie Marshall

Arlena Leslie Marshall

Linda Leslie Marshall

Patrick Desmond Redfern—

Cristina “ or McGrane

Mr and Mrs Gardiner (Americans)

Or (Bev) (gone with Desmond) [Possibly Irene, the Gardiners’ far-off daughter]

Rosemary Darley

H.P.

Or Mrs Barrett [not used]

The Reverend Stephen Mannerton [Lane]