Misplaced Pages

#453546

98-755: The Hollow is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie , first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Co. in 1946 and in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November of the same year. The US edition retailed at $ 2.50 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6). A paperback edition in the US by Dell Books in 1954 changed the title to Murder after Hours . The novel

196-466: A Policeman . Twelve stories were then collated into a volume entitled Recollections of a Detective Police-Officer , published in London in 1856. Literary critic Catherine Ross Nickerson credits Louisa May Alcott with creating the second-oldest work of modern detective fiction, after Poe's Dupin stories, with the 1865 thriller "V.V., or Plots and Counterplots." A short story published anonymously by Alcott,

294-565: A blind match-seller and then places it in Poirot's hedge. Midge Hardcastle, a less affluent relative of the Angkatells, is also staying at the house. She is in love with Edward, but Edward has always been in love with Henrietta, who had refused several of his marriage proposals. Edward comes to the realisation that Henrietta is no longer the Henrietta he once loved. He looks at Midge and realises that she

392-698: A clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary . Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing large conclusions from the smallest observations. A brilliant London-based "consulting detective" residing at 221B Baker Street , Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess and is renowned for his skillful use of astute observation , deductive reasoning , and forensic skills to solve difficult cases . Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories featuring Holmes, and all but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend, assistant, and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson . The interwar period (the 1920s and 1930s)

490-399: A closed environment by one of a limited number of suspects. The most widespread subgenre of the detective novel became the whodunit (or whodunnit, short for "who done it?"). In this subgenre, great ingenuity may be exercised in narrating the crime, usually a homicide, and the subsequent investigation. This objective was to conceal the identity of the criminal from the reader until the end of

588-487: A complete round-up of the previous week's main news from Britain and around the world, and will also focus on more analysis and comment." In July 2021, Ofcom announced that The Guardian continued to be the UK's most widely used newspaper website and app for news and had increased its audience share by 1% over the preceding year. 23% of consumers, who used websites or apps for news, used The Guardian , which also hosts The Observer online content. This compared to 22% for

686-423: A criminal known to the audience, with the story unfolding in normal chronology and the criminal already known to the audience. The latter involves a climax where the titular detective protagonist Ali Khwaja presents evidence from expert witnesses in a court. Gong'an fiction ( 公案小说 , literally："case records of a public law court") is an early genre of Chinese detective fiction. Some well-known stories include

784-616: A detective story was " The Three Apples ", one of the tales narrated by Scheherazade in the One Thousand and One Nights ( Arabian Nights ). In this story, a fisherman discovers a heavy, locked chest along the Tigris river, which he then sells to the Abbasid Caliph , Harun al-Rashid . When Harun breaks open the chest, he discovers the body of a young woman who has been cut into pieces. Harun then orders his vizier , Ja'far ibn Yahya , to solve

882-460: A detective, Dr. Priestley , who specialised in elaborate technical devices. In the United States, the whodunit subgenre was adopted and extended by Rex Stout and Ellery Queen , along with others. The emphasis on formal rules during the Golden Age produced great works, albeit with highly standardized form. The most successful novels of this time included “an original and exciting plot; distinction in

980-465: A different free monthly magazine. These magazines had the titles Observer Sport Monthly , Observer Music Monthly , Observer Woman and Observer Food Monthly . Content from The Observer is included in The Guardian Weekly for an international readership. The Observer followed its daily partner The Guardian and converted to Berliner format on Sunday 8 January 2006. The Observer

1078-428: A gas oven but he is saved by Midge. With this dramatic proof of his despair at losing her, she relents and the wedding is on again. With the evidence apparently destroyed or suitably confused, the family believe they have saved Gerda. There is a final clue: the holster in which the murder weapon was kept. Gerda had cut this up and placed it in her workbag. Henrietta rushes to Gerda in an attempt to retrieve it and destroy

SECTION 10

#1732858483454

1176-401: A gradual reconstruction of the past. The main difference between Ja'far ("The Three Apples") and later fictional detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot , is that Ja'far has no desire to solve the case. The whodunit mystery is solved when the murderer himself confessed his crime. This in turn leads to another assignment in which Ja'far has to find the culprit who instigated

1274-459: A new type of narrative style. Western detective fiction that was translated often emphasized “individuality, equality, and the importance of knowledge”, appealing to China that it was the time for opening their eyes to the rest of the world. This style began China's interest in popular crime fiction , and is what drove Cheng Xiaoqing to write his own crime fiction novel, Sherlock in Shanghai . In

1372-422: A number of ideas that have established in the genre several classic features of the 20th century detective story: Although The Moonstone is usually seen as the first detective novel, there are other contenders for the honor. A number of critics suggest that the lesser known Notting Hill Mystery (1862–63), written by the pseudonymous "Charles Felix" (later identified as Charles Warren Adams ), preceded it by

1470-473: A number of years and first used techniques that would come to define the genre. Literary critics Chris Willis and Kate Watson consider Mary Elizabeth Braddon 's first book, the even earlier The Trail of the Serpent (1861), to be the first British detective novel. The Trail of the Serpent "features an innovative detective figure, Mr. Peters, who is lower class and mute, and who is initially dismissed both by

1568-578: A science and technology section which won the Grand Prix at the 2014 Newspaper Awards. Previously, the main paper had come with a larger range of supplements including Sport , Business & Media , Review , Escape (a travel supplement), The Observer Magazine and various special interest monthlies, such as The Observer Food Monthly , Observer Women monthly which was launched in 2006, Observer Sport Monthly and The Observer Film Magazine . The Observer and its sister newspaper The Guardian operate

1666-435: A visitor centre in London called The Newsroom. It contains their archives, including bound copies of old editions, a photographic library and other items such as diaries, letters and notebooks. This material may be consulted by members of the public. The Newsroom also mounts temporary exhibitions and runs an educational programme for schools. In November 2007, The Observer and The Guardian made their archives available over

1764-512: Is Voltaire 's Zadig (1748), which features a main character who performs feats of analysis. Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams (1794) by William Godwin portrays the law as protecting the murderer and destroying the innocent. Thomas Skinner Sturr 's anonymous Richmond, or stories in the life of a Bow Street officer was published in London in 1827; the Danish crime story The Rector of Veilbye by Steen Steensen Blicher

1862-485: Is a celebrated Bengali detective character who first appeared in the 1965 story Feludar Goyendagiri . His full name is Pradosh Chandra Mitra, and he is often referred to affectionately as Feluda . Feluda is characterized by his keen observational skills, sharp intellect, and a flair for deduction, which he employs to solve intricate mysteries. Feluda is often accompanied by his cousin, who is also his assistant, Tapesh Ranjan Mitter (affectionately called Topshe), who serves as

1960-450: Is a famous Russian writer of historical detective fiction in modern-day Russia. In the United States, detective fiction emerged in the 1920s, and flourished with stories in pulp magazines. The genre gained prominence in later decades, as the detective character was refined, and became familiar through movies. Detective fiction was also a way for authors to bring stories about various subcultures to mainstream audiences. One scholar wrote about

2058-406: Is a fictional Bengali female detective character created by Suchitra Bhattacharya . Colonel Niladri Sarkar is a fictional detective character created by Bengali novelist Syed Mustafa Siraj . Kottayam Pushpanath , a prolific writer, brought to life a vivid array of characters and mysteries. Pushpanath practiced teaching history for several years before becoming a full time writer. It

SECTION 20

#1732858483454

2156-547: Is a sister paper to The Guardian and The Guardian Weekly , having been acquired by their parent company, Guardian Media Group Limited , in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper . Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell

2254-458: Is an example of a "country house mystery" and was the first of her novels in four years to feature the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot —one of the longest gaps in the entire series. Agatha Christie, who often admitted that she did not like Poirot (a fact parodied by her recurring novelist character Ariadne Oliver ), particularly disliked his appearance in this novel. His late arrival, jarring, given

2352-410: Is carrying on an affair with Henrietta Savernake, a talented sculptor. The beautiful Veronica Cray, an old flame of Christow's, suddenly appears in the house on Saturday night to borrow a box of matches. She lives at a nearby cottage. Another cottage is occupied by Hercule Poirot, who has been invited for Sunday lunch. John walks Veronica back to her cottage, and returns home at 3 am. The next day, Poirot

2450-525: Is described as an "' Everyman ' detective meant to challenge the detective-as-superman that Holmes represented." By the late 1920s, Al Capone and the American mafia inspired not only fear, but piqued mainstream curiosity about the American criminal underworld . Popular pulp fiction magazines like Black Mask capitalized on this, as authors such as Carrol John Daly published violent stories that focused on

2548-578: Is generally referred to as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction . During this period, a number of very popular writers emerged, including mostly British but also a notable subset of American and New Zealand writers. Female writers constituted a major portion of notable Golden Age writers. Agatha Christie , Dorothy L. Sayers , Josephine Tey , Margery Allingham , and Ngaio Marsh were particularly famous female writers of this time. Apart from Marsh (a New Zealander), they were all British. Various conventions of

2646-518: Is investigated by Inspector Bucket of the Metropolitan police force. Numerous characters appeared on the staircase leading to Tulkinghorn's office that night, some of them in disguise, and Inspector Bucket must penetrate these mysteries to identify the murderer. Dickens also left a novel unfinished at his death, The Mystery of Edwin Drood . Dickens's protégé, Wilkie Collins (1824–1889)—sometimes called

2744-425: Is no longer "little Midge". Edward asks her to marry him. He goes for a walk with Midge, but coming to a spot where Edward has previously walked with Henrietta, Midge believes that he is still too deeply in love with Henrietta. So, she calls off the wedding. Edward does not understand that Midge loves him too much to hold him back from Henrietta. Misunderstanding her decision, he attempts suicide by putting his head in

2842-489: Is one of the most iconic characters in Indian detective fiction. First appearing in the story Pother Kanta in 1932, Byomkesh, who refers to himself as a "truth-seeker" or Satyanweshi, is known for his acute observational skills and logical reasoning abilities. His adventures typically unfold against the backdrop of Calcutta , tackling a range of crimes, from intricate murder mysteries to drug trafficking, reflecting societal issues of

2940-572: Is particularly interesting because it is a barely fictionalized account based on Poe's theory of what happened to the real-life Mary Cecilia Rogers . William Russell (1806–1876) was among the first English authors to write fictitious 'police memoirs', contributing an irregular series of stories (under the pseudonym 'Waters') to Chambers's Edinburgh Journal between 1849 and 1852. Unauthorised collections of his stories were published in New York City in 1852 and 1853, entitled The Recollections of

3038-565: Is the first major detective fiction in Persian , written by Kazim Musta'an al-Sultan (Houshi Daryan). It was first published in 1925. There was no biographical account of the author of the book for over 70 years until being identified after the book was reprinted in 2017. Edogawa Rampo is the first major Japanese modern mystery writer and the founder of the Detective Story Club in Japan . Rampo

The Hollow - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-404: Is witness to a scene that seems strangely staged. Gerda Christow stands with a gun in her hand next to John's body, as it bleeds into the swimming pool. Lucy, Henrietta, and Edward (a cousin of Lucy's and a second cousin of Henrietta) are also present at the scene. John utters a final urgent appeal, "Henrietta", and dies. It seems obvious that Gerda is the murderer. Henrietta steps forward to take

3234-460: The Daily Mail website. In September 2024, The Guardian revealed it was in talks to sell The Observer to news website Tortoise Media . Journalists at Guardian Media Group passed a vote to condemn the sale and passed a vote of no confidence in the newspaper’s owners, accusing it of betrayal amid concerns that the sale of the paper could harm the financial security of staff members. After

3332-607: The Conservative Jewish community of Massachusetts ; Walter Mosley , whose Easy Rawlins books are set in the African American community of 1950s Los Angeles ; and Sara Paretsky , whose V. I. Warshawski books have explored the various subcultures of Chicago . Martin Hewitt, created by British author Arthur Morrison in 1894, is one of the first examples of the modern style of fictional private detective . This character

3430-540: The Yuan dynasty story Circle of Chalk (Chinese: 灰 闌 記 ), the Ming dynasty story collection Bao Gong An (Chinese: 包 公 案 ) and the 18th century Di Gong An (Chinese: 狄 公 案 ) story collection. The latter was translated into English as Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee by Dutch sinologist Robert Van Gulik , who then used the style and characters to write the original Judge Dee series. The hero/detective of these novels

3528-559: The dénouement involving poisoned tea – are altered (Gerda instead deliberately commits suicide by injecting herself with potassium cyanide ). A French adaptation as part of the television series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie was broadcast in 2021 Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie#Series Three: 1970s France . The US serialisation of this story was a four-part shortened version in Collier's Weekly between 4 May (Volume 117, Number 18) and 25 May 1946 (Volume 117, Number 21) under

3626-470: The "grandfather of English detective fiction"—is credited with the first great mystery novel, The Woman in White . T. S. Eliot called Collins's novel The Moonstone (1868) "the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels... in a genre invented by Collins and not by Poe", and Dorothy L. Sayers called it "probably the very finest detective story ever written". The Moonstone contains

3724-637: The "social school" (社会派 shakai ha ) within the genre, which emphasized social realism , described crimes in an ordinary setting and sets motives within a wider context of social injustice and political corruption. Since the 1980s, a " new orthodox school " (新本格派 shin honkaku ha ) has surfaced. It demands restoration of the classic rules of detective fiction and the use of more self-reflective elements. Famous authors of this movement include Soji Shimada , Yukito Ayatsuji , Rintaro Norizuki , Alice Arisugawa , Kaoru Kitamura and Taku Ashibe . Created by famous Bengali novelist Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay , Byomkesh

3822-500: The Bible and Herodotus are looking only for puzzles" and that these puzzles are not detective stories. In the play Oedipus Rex by Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles , Oedipus investigates the unsolved murder of King Laius and discovers the truth after questioning various witnesses that he himself is the culprit. Although "Oedipus's enquiry is based on supernatural, pre-rational methods that are evident in most narratives of crime until

3920-513: The Detective . In short, it is difficult to establish who was the first to write the English-language detective novel, as various authors were exploring the theme simultaneously. Anna Katharine Green , in her 1878 debut The Leavenworth Case and other works, popularized the genre among middle-class readers and helped to shape the genre into its classic form as well as developed the concept of

4018-474: The Golden Age were written by Agatha Christie. She produced long series of books featuring detective characters like Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple , among others. Her use of basing her stories on complex puzzles, “combined with her stereotyped characters and picturesque middle-class settings”, is credited for her success. Christie's best-known works include Murder on the Orient Express (1934), Death on

The Hollow - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-717: The Internet. The current extent of the archives available are 1791 to 2000 for The Observer and 1821 to 2000 for The Guardian . They will eventually go up to 2003. In 2023, copies from 2004 onwards and gaps were to be filled to latest edition. The paper was banned in Egypt in February 2008 for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed . The Observer was named the British Press Awards National Newspaper of

4214-600: The Nile (1937), Three Blind Mice (1950) and And Then There Were None (1939). Through China's Golden Age of crime fiction (1900–1949), translations of Western classics, and native Chinese detective fictions circulated within the country. Cheng Xiaoqing had first encountered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's highly popular stories as an adolescent. In the ensuing years, he played a major role in rendering them first into classical and later into vernacular Chinese . Cheng Xiaoqing's translated works from Conan Doyle introduced China to

4312-533: The Philip Marlowe character. James Hadley Chase wrote a few novels with private eyes as the main heroes, including Blonde's Requiem (1945), Lay Her Among the Lilies (1950), and Figure It Out for Yourself (1950). The heroes of these novels are typical private eyes, very similar to or plagiarizing Raymond Chandler's work. The Observer The Observer is a British newspaper published on Sundays . It

4410-580: The book, when the method and culprit are both revealed. According to scholars Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman , "The golden age of detective fiction began with high-class amateur detectives sniffing out murderers lurking in rose gardens, down country lanes, and in picturesque villages. Many conventions of the detective-fiction genre evolved in this era, as numerous writers—from populist entertainers to respected poets—tried their hands at mystery stories." John Dickson Carr —who also wrote as Carter Dickson—used

4508-457: The chief of secret service and his companions. After his death many other writers accepted Ali Imran character and wrote spy novels. Another popular spy novel writer was Ishtiaq Ahmad who wrote Inspector Jamsheed, Inspector Kamran Mirza and Shooki brother's series of spy novels. Stories about robbers and detectives were very popular in Russia since old times. A famous hero in the eighteenth century

4606-471: The country to weekend with friends, Christow allows his little daughter to tell his fortune with cards. When the death card is drawn, he pays no attention, but the appearance of an old flame at The Hollow seems to be the final link in a chain of fatal circumstances. The eccentric Lucy Angkatell has invited the Christows, along with other members of her extended family, to her estate for the weekend. John Christow

4704-411: The crime and to find the murderer within three days, or be executed if he fails in his assignment. Suspense is generated through multiple plot twists that occur as the story progressed. With these characteristics this may be considered an archetype for detective fiction. It anticipates the use of reverse chronology in modern detective fiction, where the story begins with a crime before presenting

4802-468: The detective genre were standardized during the Golden Age, and in 1929, some of them were codified by the English Catholic priest and author of detective stories Ronald Knox in his 'Decalogue' of rules for detective fiction. One of his rules was to avoid supernatural elements so that the focus remained on the mystery itself. Knox has contended that a detective story "must have as its main interest

4900-475: The detective novels of Tony Hillerman , set among the Native American population around New Mexico , "many American readers have probably gotten more insight into traditional Navajo culture from his detective stories than from any other recent books." Other notable writers who have explored regional and ethnic communities in their detective novels are Harry Kemelman , whose Rabbi Small series were set in

4998-459: The development of Enlightenment thought in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries", this narrative has "all of the central characteristics and formal elements of the detective story, including a mystery surrounding a murder, a closed circle of suspects, and the gradual uncovering of a hidden past." One Thousand and One Nights contains several of the earliest detective stories, anticipating modern detective fiction. The oldest known example of

SECTION 50

#1732858483454

5096-597: The eccentric and brilliant C. Auguste Dupin ". When the character first appeared, the word detective had not yet been used in English; however, the character's name, "Dupin", originated from the English word dupe or deception. Poe devised a "plot formula that's been successful ever since, give or take a few shifting variables." Poe followed with further Auguste Dupin tales: " The Mystery of Marie Rogêt " in 1842 and " The Purloined Letter " in 1844. Poe referred to his stories as "tales of ratiocination ". In stories such as these,

5194-517: The established atmosphere, led her to claim in her Autobiography that she ruined the novel by the introduction of Poirot. Agatha Christie's successful career foresaw the use of her eight owned houses as settings for her novels, which were Taken at the Flood , Dead Man's Folly , Five Little Pigs , A Pocket Full of Rye , and Crooked House . However, the setting for The Hollow was inspired by Francis L. Sullivan 's house. Francis Loftus Sullivan

5292-411: The final proof of Gerda's guilt. Poirot arrives, and rearranges the tea cups before Gerda returns from the kitchen. He suspects the cornered and suspicious Gerda would murder Henrietta. Gerda returns and drinks from the cup intended for Henrietta, and dies. Henrietta seeks closure and visits one of John's patients. John's death ended the hope of a cure but she is still showing a resilient spirit. Leaving

5390-507: The first detective story and as a direct influence on Edgar Allan Poe 's " The Murders in the Rue Morgue " (1841). Also suggested as a possible influence on Poe is 'The Secret Cell', a short story published in September 1837 by William Evans Burton . It has been suggested that this story may have been known to Poe, who worked for Burton in 1839. The story was about a London policeman who solves

5488-534: The genre is significant, as he represents a sophisticated blend of intellect and charm, setting a high standard for detective fiction in India. Hemendra Kumar Roy was an Indian Bengali writer noted for his contribution to the early development of the genre with his ' Jayanta-Manik ' and adventurist ' Bimal-Kumar ' stories, dealing with the exploits of Jayanta, his assistant Manik, and police inspector Sunderbabu. Mitin Masi

5586-474: The genre were women, inventing a subgenre of domestic detective fiction that flourished for several generations. These included Metta Fuller Victor 's two detective novels The Dead Letter (1867) and The Figure Eight (1869). The Dead Letter is noteworthy as the first full-length work of American crime fiction. Émile Gaboriau was a pioneer of the detective fiction genre in France. In Monsieur Lecoq (1868),

5684-532: The hospital, she reflects that there is no happy ending for her. She resolves to embark on a sculpture of herself as "Grief". Maurice Richardson, in the 1 December 1946 issue of The Observer , wrote: "Agatha Christie has staged, against her smartest, most hyperemotional background so far, the shooting of a philandering doctor. Solution by a rather subdued Poirot. Good double-bluff surprise." Robert Barnard : "Notable specimen, with more complex characterization than usual, and occasionally rising to wit (especially on

5782-472: The late 1910s, Cheng began writing detective fiction inspired by Conan Doyle's style, with Bao as the Watson-like narrator; a rare instance of such a direct appropriation from foreign fiction. Famed as the “Oriental Sherlock Holmes”, the duo Huo Sang and Bao Lang become counterparts to Doyle 's Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson characters. "Sadiq Mamquli, The Sherlock Holmes of Iran, The Sherriff of Isfahan"

5880-400: The mayhem and injustice surrounding the criminals, not the circumstances behind the crime. Very often, no actual mystery even existed: the books simply revolved around justice being served to those who deserved harsh treatment, which was described in explicit detail." The overall theme these writers portrayed reflected "the changing face of America itself." In the 1930s, the private eye genre

5978-517: The murder within three days or else be executed. Ja'far again fails to find the culprit before the deadline, but owing to chance, he discovers a key item. In the end, he manages to solve the case through reasoning in order to prevent his own execution. On the other hand, two other Arabian Nights stories, "The Merchant and the Thief" and "Ali Khwaja", contain two of the earliest fictional detectives , who uncover clues and present evidence to catch or convict

SECTION 60

#1732858483454

6076-419: The mystery of a kidnapped girl. Burton's fictional detective relied on practical methods such as dogged legwork, knowledge of the underworld and undercover surveillance, rather than brilliance of imagination or intellect. Detective fiction in the English-language literature is considered to have begun in 1841 with the publication of Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", featuring "the first fictional detective,

6174-477: The narrator of the stories and his friend Jatayu . , The trio embarks on various adventures that blend mystery with elements of Bengali culture and tradition. The stories often include a touch of humor, engaging dialogues, and philosophical musings, making them appealing to a wide audience. Ray's Feluda series not only captivated readers in literary form but also inspired numerous adaptations in film and television, showcasing Ray’s cinematic genius. Feluda’s impact on

6272-455: The new editor. Seven years later, the brothers sold The Observer to William Innell Clement , a newspaper proprietor who owned a number of publications. The paper continued to receive government subsidies during this period; in 1819, of the approximately 23,000 copies of the paper distributed weekly, approximately 10,000 were given away as "specimen copies", distributed by postmen who were paid to deliver them to "lawyers, doctors, and gentlemen of

6370-458: The newspaper and was content to leave Dicey as editor until 1889. Henry Duff Traill took over the editorship after Dicey's departure, only to be replaced in 1891 by Frederick's wife, Rachel Beer , of the Sassoon family . She remained as editor for thirteen years, combining it in 1893 with the editorship of The Sunday Times , a newspaper that she had also bought. Upon Frederick's death in 1903,

6468-442: The novel was broadcast as a television movie featuring David Suchet as Poirot, Sarah Miles as Lady Angkatell, Megan Dodds as Henrietta Savernake, Jonathan Cake as John Christow, Lysette Anthony as Veronica Cray and Edward Fox as Gudgeon, as part of the series Agatha Christie's Poirot . The character of David Angkatell and some details are omitted (for example, the drawing of the card representing death). Others – such as

6566-415: The other pistol in her hand, later proven not to be the murder weapon. Immediately, Henrietta understood that John's final appeal was for her to help Gerda. Instinctively, Henrietta assumed the responsibility by dropping the gun into the pool, and later goes back to retrieve the second weapon. She hides it in a clay sculpture of a horse in her workshop to avoid the police searches. Later, she gets it handled by

6664-538: The paper to Astor, who transferred ownership to his son Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor four years later. Astor convinced his father to purchase the paper, which William did on the condition that Garvin also agree to edit the Pall Mall Gazette , which was also a property of the Astor family. Garvin departed as editor in 1942. Ownership passed to Waldorf's sons in 1948, with David taking over as editor. He remained in

6762-406: The paper was purchased by the newspaper magnate Lord Northcliffe . In 1911, William Waldorf Astor was approached by James Louis Garvin , the editor of The Observer , about purchasing the newspaper from Northcliffe. Northcliffe and Garvin had a disagreement over the issue of Imperial Preference , and Northcliffe had given Garvin the option of finding a buyer for the paper. Northcliffe sold

6860-456: The paper was rejuvenated in early 2010, the main paper came with only a small number of supplements – Sport , The Observer Magazine , The New Review and The New York Times International Weekly , an 8-page supplement of articles selected from The New York Times that has been distributed with the paper since 2007. Every four weeks the paper includes The Observer Food Monthly magazine, and in September 2013 it launched Observer Tech Monthly ,

6958-488: The pistol was the wrong calibre . Henrietta is the next suspect, having left an unusual doodle in the pavilion around the time John was killed. When the murder weapon turns up in Poirot's hedge, it has fingerprints that match none of the suspects. The family had deliberately misdirected Poirot, as they each knew Gerda was the murderer, and were attempting to save her from imprisonment. Gerda had taken two pistols – shooting John with one, and then planning to be discovered with

7056-574: The position for 27 years, during which time he turned it into a trust-owned newspaper employing, among others, George Orwell , Paul Jennings and C. A. Lejeune . In 1977, the Astors sold the ailing newspaper to US oil giant Atlantic Richfield (now called ARCO) who sold it to Lonrho plc in 1981. It became part of the Guardian Media Group in June 1993, after a rival acquisition bid by The Independent

7154-410: The primary concern of the plot is ascertaining truth, and the usual means of obtaining the truth is a complex and mysterious process combining intuitive logic, astute observation, and perspicacious inference. "Early detective stories tended to follow an investigating protagonist from the first scene to the last, making the unravelling a practical rather than emotional matter." "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt"

7252-409: The revolver from her hand, but apparently fumbles and drops it into the swimming pool, destroying the evidence. However, the pistol that Gerda was holding was not the gun used to kill John. None of the witnesses has seen Gerda shoot John. It seems difficult to build a case against any of the other potential suspects. Lucy was the next suspect, as she kept a pistol concealed in her basket of eggs. However,

7350-416: The series detective. In 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes , arguably the most famous of all fictional detectives. Although Sherlock Holmes is not the first fictional detective (he was influenced by Poe's Dupin and Gaboriau's Lecoq ), his name has become synonymous for the part. Conan Doyle stated that the character of Holmes was inspired by Dr. Joseph Bell , for whom Doyle had worked as

7448-419: The story concerns a Scottish aristocrat who tries to prove that a mysterious woman has killed his fiancée and cousin. The detective on the case, Antoine Dupres, is a parody of Auguste Dupin who is less concerned with solving the crime than he is in setting up a way to reveal the solution with a dramatic flourish. Ross Nickerson notes that many of the American writers who experimented with Poe's established rules of

7546-488: The subject of cooking). Illustrates vividly one dilemma of the detective writer: if you establish characters of some psychological complexity, how do you prevent the routine detection stuff coming as an anticlimax? Christie records that her daughter protested against her decision to dramatize the book, and the instinct was probably right: most of the interest here, unusually, is internal, and difficult to present via Christie's rather old-fashioned stage techniques. Definitely among

7644-402: The text and its characters." Braddon's later and better-remembered work, Aurora Floyd (printed in 1863 novel form, but serialized in 1862–63 ), also features a compelling detective in the person of Detective Grimstone of Scotland Yard. Tom Taylor 's melodrama The Ticket-of-Leave Man , an adaptation of Léonard by Édouard Brisbarre and Eugène Nus, appeared in 1863, introducing Hawkshaw

7742-413: The time. Accompanied by his loyal friend and chronicler, Ajit Kumar Banerjee, the stories are written in a blend of formal and colloquial Bengali, making them accessible to a wide audience. The character's legacy continues to influence contemporary detective fiction in India, highlighting the genre's evolution and its cultural significance. Feluda , created by renowned filmmaker and author Satyajit Ray ,

7840-401: The title character is adept at disguise, a key characteristic of detectives. Gaboriau's writing is also considered to contain the first example of a detective minutely examining a crime scene for clues. Another early example of a whodunit is a subplot in the novel Bleak House (1853) by Charles Dickens . The conniving lawyer Tulkinghorn is killed in his office late one night, and the crime

7938-730: The title of The Outraged Heart with illustrations by Mario Cooper. Detective fiction Some scholars, such as R. H. Pfeiffer, have suggested that certain ancient and religious texts bear similarities to what would later be called detective fiction. In the Old Testament story of Susanna and the Elders (the Protestant Bible locates this story within the apocrypha ), the account told by two witnesses broke down when Daniel cross-examines them. In response, author Julian Symons has argued that "those who search for fragments of detection in

8036-455: The title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine , Francis Burdett and Joseph Priestley . In 1807, the brothers decided to relinquish editorial control, naming Lewis Doxat as

8134-400: The top ten, in spite of the falling-off in the second half." Modern French novelist Michel Houellebecq , an admirer of the book, described it in his 2001 novel Platform as "a strange, poignant book; these are deep waters [she writes about], with powerful undercurrents." Christie adapted the book into a highly successful stage play in 1951 but omitted Poirot from the narrative. In 2004,

8232-456: The town." Clement maintained ownership of The Observer until his death in 1852. After Doxat retired in 1857, Clement's heirs sold the paper to Joseph Snowe, who also took over the editor's chair. In 1870, wealthy businessman Julius Beer bought the paper and appointed Edward Dicey as editor, whose efforts succeeded in reviving circulation. Though Beer's son Frederick became the owner upon Julius's death in 1880, he had little interest in

8330-548: The unemotional eyes of new hero-detectives, these stories were an American phenomenon." In the late 1930s, Raymond Chandler updated the form with his private detective Philip Marlowe , who brought a more intimate voice to the detective than the more distanced "operative's report" style of Hammett's Continental Op stories. Chandler's stories were noted for their evokations of the American criminal underworld, including dark alleys and tough thugs, rich women and powerful men. Several feature and television movies have been made about

8428-419: The unravelling of a mystery; a mystery whose elements are clearly presented to the reader at an early stage in the proceedings, and whose nature is such as to arouse curiosity, a curiosity which is gratified at the end." Another common convention in Golden Age detective stories involved an outsider–sometimes a salaried investigator or a police officer, but often a gifted amateur—investigating a murder committed in

8526-418: The writing, a vivid sense of place, a memorable and compelling hero and the ability to draw the reader into their comforting and highly individual world.” Agatha Christie is not only the most famous Golden Age writer, but also considered one of the most famous authors of all genres of all time. At the time of her death in 1976, “she was the best-selling novelist in history.” Many of the most popular books of

8624-414: The “puzzle” approach in his writing which was characterized by including a complex puzzle for the reader to try to unravel. He created ingenious and seemingly impossible plots and is regarded as the master of the " locked room mystery ". Two of Carr's most famous works are The Case of Constant Suicides (1941) and The Hollow Man (1935). Another author, Cecil Street —who also wrote as John Rhode—wrote of

8722-696: Was Ivan Osipov (1718–after 1756), nicknamed Ivan Kain. Other examples of early Russian detective stories include: "Bitter Fate" (1789) by M. D. Chulkov (1743–1792), "The Finger Ring" (1831) by Yevgeny Baratynsky , "The White Ghost" (1834) by Mikhail Zagoskin , Crime and Punishment (1866) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880) by Fyodor Dostoevsky . Detective fiction in modern Russian literature with clear detective plots started with The Garin Death Ray (1926–1927) and The Black Gold (1931) by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy , Mess-Mend by Marietta Shaginyan , The Investigator's Notes by Lev Sheinin . Boris Akunin

8820-434: Was adopted wholeheartedly by American writers. One of the primary contributors to this style was Dashiell Hammett with his famous private investigator character, Sam Spade . His style of crime fiction came to be known as " hardboiled ", a genre that "usually deals with criminal activity in a modern urban environment, a world of disconnected signs and anonymous strangers." "Told in stark and sometimes elegant language through

8918-562: Was an English film and stage actor who portrayed Hercule Poirot in the plays Black Coffee (1930) and Peril at End House (1932) and also played the lead in The Witness for the Prosecution (1953), for which he won a Tony Award in 1955. Dr John Christow is a successful physician and leading researcher, although very tired and irritated by his current life. On the morning that he and his downtrodden wife, Gerda, are due to travel down to

9016-461: Was an admirer of western mystery writers. He gained his fame in the early 1920s, when he began to bring to the genre many bizarre, erotic and even fantastic elements. This is partly because of the social tension before World War II . In 1957, Seicho Matsumoto received the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for his short story The Face ( 顔 kao ). The Face and Matsumoto's subsequent works began

9114-599: Was awarded the National Newspaper of the Year at the British Press Awards 2007. Editor Roger Alton stepped down at the end of 2007, and was replaced by his deputy, John Mulholland . In early 2010, the paper was restyled. An article on the paper's website previewing the new version stated that "The News section, which will incorporate Business and personal finance, will be home to a new section, Seven Days, offering

9212-567: Was closer to the Western literary style and more likely to appeal to non-Chinese readers. A number of Gong An works may have been lost or destroyed during the Literary Inquisitions and the wars in ancient China. In traditional Chinese culture, this genre was not prestigious, and was therefore considered less worthy of preservation than works of philosophy or poetry. One of the earliest examples of detective fiction in Western literature

9310-412: Was in the last 1960s that he made his literary debut with Chuvanna Manushyan . Pushpanath authored more than 350 detective novels. Ibn-e-Safi is the most popular Urdo detective fiction writer. He started writing his famous Jasoosi Dunya Series spy stories in 1952 with Col. Fareedi & Captain. Hameed as main characters. In 1955 he started writing Imran Series spy novels with Ali Imran as X2

9408-576: Was rejected. Farzad Bazoft , a journalist for The Observer , was executed in Iraq in 1990 on charges of spying. In 2003, The Observer interviewed the Iraqi colonel who had arrested and interrogated Bazoft and who was convinced that Bazoft was not a spy. On 27 February 2005, The Observer Blog was launched. In addition to the weekly Observer Magazine colour supplement which is still present every Sunday, for several years each issue of The Observer came with

9506-538: Was typically a traditional judge or similar official based on historical personages such as Judge Bao ( Bao Qingtian ) or Judge Dee ( Di Renjie ). Although the historical characters may have lived in an earlier period (such as the Song or Tang dynasty ) most stories are written in the later Ming or Qing dynasty period. These novels differ from the Western tradition in several points as described by Van Gulik: Van Gulik chose Di Gong An to translate because in his view it

9604-504: Was written in 1829; and the Norwegian crime novel Mordet paa Maskinbygger Roolfsen ("The Murder of Engine Maker Roolfsen") by Maurits Hansen was published in December 1839. " Das Fräulein von Scuderi " is an 1819 short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann , in which Mlle de Scudery establishes the innocence of the police's favorite suspect in the murder of a jeweller. This story is sometimes cited as

#453546