Appointment with Death

Appointment with Death is a mystery novel by the famous British writer Agatha Christie. It was first published in the United Kingdom on May 2, 1938, by the Collins Crime Club, and later that same year in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company. In the UK, the book cost seven shillings and sixpence, while in the US it was priced at $2.00.

The story features the well-known Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The book is inspired by Christie’s real-life travels in the Middle East with her husband, archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan. The main events of the story take place in the historic cities of Jerusalem and Petra. These locations add an exciting and mysterious backdrop to the tale of detection and intrigue.

Plot introduction

In Jerusalem, the detective Hercule Poirot hears a man named Raymond Boynton say to his sister, "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" Their stepmother, Mrs Boynton, is a strict and controlling person who dominates her family. When she is found dead during a trip to Petra, Poirot decides to solve the mystery within twenty-four hours, even though he does not yet know if it was a crime.

Plot summary

The story begins with the introduction of a strict and controlling woman named Mrs Boynton and her family. Mrs Boynton has been very harsh with her stepchildren and daughter, making their lives difficult.

Dr Sarah King, a new doctor, is drawn to one of the stepchildren, Raymond. Another person, Jefferson Cope, wants to help Nadine escape her husband, Lennox, but he doesn’t fully understand Mrs Boynton’s cruel plans. When they reach Petra, Mrs Boynton sends her family away for a while. Later, she is found dead with a small injury on her wrist.

The famous detective Hercule Poirot, who is visiting Baghdad, is asked to investigate. He quickly figures out that the timing of events makes it seem impossible for the family members to have done it. He suspects someone outside the family.

Poirot discovers that the person responsible is Lady Westholme. Before she got married, she had been in the same prison where Mrs Boynton once worked. Lady Westholme was afraid Mrs Boynton would reveal her past and ruin her political career. She disguised herself and committed the murder. After hearing Poirot’s explanation, Lady Westholme leaves the room and is later found to have taken her own life. The family, now free from Mrs Boynton’s control, finds happiness: Sarah marries Raymond, Carol marries Jefferson, and Ginevra becomes a successful actress and marries Dr Gerard.

Characters

This book has many interesting characters. The main detective is Hercule Poirot, a famous Belgian detective. Other important characters include Colonel Carbury, a senior figure in the Emirate of Transjordan, and Mrs Boynton, who is the victim of the story. Her family members appear in the book too, like her daughter Ginevra, stepson Raymond, stepdaughter Carol, and others. There are also friends and professionals involved, such as Jefferson Cope, a family friend, Dr Gerard, a French psychologist, Sarah King, a young doctor, Lady Westholme, a member of Parliament, and Miss Amabel Pierce, a former nursery governess.

Literary significance and reception

When Appointment with Death came out, reviewers had different thoughts. Simon Nowell-Smith in the Times Literary Supplement liked how the detective, Hercule Poirot, solved the mystery, even if the ending felt a bit simple.

Kay Irvin in the The New York Times Book Review thought it was not one of Agatha Christie’s best books. She said the story lacked a strong plot but still kept readers interested as Poirot examined the clues.

“Torquemada,” writing in The Observer, praised the book highly, saying it was very clever, especially with fewer suspects than usual. The Scotsman felt the solution was surprising but made sense based on the clues given. E. R. Punshon in The Guardian thought the book was one of Christie’s best, with a clever plot and interesting characters.

Mary Dell in the Daily Mirror warned that the story’s scary parts might give readers bad dreams. Robert Barnard praised the book’s setting and the tense family story, though he felt the detection part was a bit like another writer’s style from that time.

References to other works

In this book, the detective Hercule Poirot tells Colonel Carbury a story from another of his cases, Cards on the Table. Colonel Race, who appears in this investigation, is also mentioned. Nadine Boynton brings up what happened at the end of Murder on the Orient Express, with Poirot saying she heard it from someone involved in that case. Miss Pierce talks about The A.B.C. Murders and recognizes Poirot as a famous detective.

Publication history

The book Appointment with Death was first published in the UK on May 2, 1938, by the Collins Crime Club. In the same year, it was published in the US by Dodd Mead and Company. Over the years, the book was released in many different formats, including paperback editions by Dell Books in 1946, Penguin Books in 1948, Pan Books in 1957, and Fontana Books in 1960. A large-print edition was also published by Ulverscroft in 1975.

Before its official book release, the story appeared as a serial in magazines. In the US, it was published in nine parts in Collier's Weekly from August to October 1937. In the UK, it was published in twenty-eight parts in the Daily Mail from January to February 1938 under the title A Date with Death.

Adaptations

Stage

Agatha Christie turned her book into a play in 1945. This version changed the story a lot. The famous detective Hercule Poirot did not appear, and the person who did the crime was different. In the play, a sick woman named Mrs Boynton passed away and left clues to make her family suspect each other. Some characters were also changed or removed.

Film

The book was made into a movie in 1988 starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot. The movie kept the main idea but moved the setting from Petra to Qumran in Palestine. Many famous actors were in the film, including Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher, and Sir John Gielgud. Some character names were changed, and one character, Dr Gerard, was removed.

Television

United States

The first TV version was shown on the CBS series Danger on January 16, 1951.

British

The book was turned into an episode of the TV series Agatha Christie's Poirot in 2008, starring David Suchet as Poirot. It was filmed in Casablanca, El Jadida, and Morocco. The story was changed in several ways, including new characters and different motivations for some people.

French

The novel was made into an episode of the French series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie in 2019.

Japanese

In Japan, the story was turned into a special two-hour TV program called Shi to no Yakusoku (死との約束, meaning "Promise of Death") by Fuji Television.

Radio

The book was turned into a radio show for BBC Radio 4 by Michael Bakewell, with John Moffatt playing Poirot.