The Big Four is a detective and spy novel by Agatha Christie , published in 1927 by William Collins & Sons . The novel talks about the investigation of Hercule Poirot , Captain Hastings and Inspector Jepp .
| The big four | |
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| The big four | |
| Genre | detective |
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Original language | English |
| Date of writing | 1927 |
| Date of first publication | and |
| Publishing house | Eksmo, M |
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The novel is a chain of interconnected short stories that feature the so-called members of the Big Four, an international organization that Poirot suspects of a conspiracy.
Content
Story
Previously, the novel consisted of 12 stories:
- 1. Lee Chang Yen
- 2. The riddle of a lamb leg
- 3. Woman on the steps
- 4. In the camp of the enemy
- 5. The Secret of Yellow Jasmine
- 6. Chess challenge
- 7. The bait trap
- 8. Colored blonde
- 9. The dying Chinese
- 10. The identity of the fourth
- 11. The death of Hercule Poirot
- 12. Victory over the Big Four
Hastings, long living in Argentina , travels to England to meet with Poirot. Poirot is going to move to Argentina, where he was offered a very good fee for the investigation. Poirot reports that his investigation is connected with a certain Big Four. At the time of the conversation, a barely alive person who raves with a four enters into Poirot’s apartment. From a steep tale of an uninvited guest, Poirot and Hastings learn that the Big Four consists of four people: a Chinese - the organization's think tank, an American - a financial tycoon, a French woman - a vamp, and a mysterious number four - an executor.
Leaving the young man in the care of the landlady, Poirot and Hastings rush to the train. However, on the train, Poirot realizes that his trip to Argentina is a way to remove him away from events. They hastily return to Poirot’s apartment and find the young man dead. He was poisoned with cyanide . At this moment, a certain orderly appears, claiming that the young man escaped from the mental hospital. As it turned out later, the orderly was fake, and in the psychiatric institution Poirot was assured that they had never had such a patient.
Poirot and Hastings go to the man who knows most about the Chinese in England. They want to find out everything about the organization’s think tank.
Poirot and Hastings are at the center of a chain of mysterious events. More than once they face death face to face: Poirot try to eliminate.
In the novel, Achilles Poirot, Hercule's twin brother, later turned out to be Poirot himself, working undercover.
Characters
Highlights
- Hercule Poirot is a Belgian detective risking his life to stop the Big Four
- Captain Hastings is a friend of Poirot who came from Argentina.
- Inspector Japp (Chief Inspector Japp) - a policeman, officially conducting business
The Big Four
- Li Chang Yen - Chinese, brain organization
- Abe Ryland - American, Big Four money
- Madame Olivier - Frenchwoman, brilliant scientist, female vamp
- Claude Durrell - Englishman, “killer”
Victims
- Flossie Monro (Flossie Monro) - a young actress
- Ivan Savaranoff - Russian Grandmaster
- Stephen Paynter - Scientist
- Mr. Wally - an old man
- Several Chinese in Chinatown
Others
- Countess Vera Rossakoff (Countess Vera Rossakoff) - Poirot's old love
- Inspector Meadows Inspector Meadows
- Achilles Poirot - fictional twin brother of Poirot
- John Ingles (John Ingles) - a retired government official, a friend of Poirot and Hastings
Literary criticism
The novel was written during the difficult period of life of Agatha Christie. Her mother recently died, her first marriage was already on the verge of a divorce. Critics who accepted the novel rather coolly associate this with events in the writer's personal life.
- The book review of The Times newspaper dated February 3, 1927 gave the following assessment of the novel: “ ... this story is not so much a solution to the riddle as listing Poirot’s clashes with one of those recognizable groups of international fraudsters that have unlimited power and strive for world domination . " Hastings was described as “ dumb, as always ” [1] .
- In a book review of The New York Times, on October 2, 1927, a review of the novel was published: Number Four remains a mystery almost to the very end. This, of course, complicates the detective’s investigation and prevents him from defending himself from attacks, which gives the story a nervous expectation [2] .
- The newspaper The Scotsman March 17, 1927 wrote that “ Poirot ’s activities should not be taken seriously. The book is more reminiscent of a hypertrophied parody of popular detective novels than a serious work in this genre. But the novel, of course, will provide a lot of pleasure to those readers who expect fun. If this was the goal of the writer, then she achieved it ” [3] .
Links
Notes
- ↑ " ... indeed the present story is not so much the clearing up of a mystery as a recital of Poirot's encounters with one of those familiar groups of international crooks of almost unlimited power who seek to dominate the world ." Hastings was described as " dense as ever . " The Times Literary Supplement, February 3, 1927 (Page 78)
- ↑ “Number Four remains a mystery almost to the end. This, of course, makes it more difficult for the detective to guard against attack and to carry on his investigation, and it provides most of the thrills of the story . " The New York Times Book Review, October 2, 1927 (Page 30)
- ↑ " „ The activities of Poirot himself cannot be taken seriously ... The book, indeed, reads more like an exaggerated parody of popular detective fiction than a serious essay in the type. But it certainly provides plenty of fun for the reader who is prepared to be amused. It that was the intention of the authoress, she has succeeded to perfection “ ”, The Scotsman March 17, 1927 (Page 2)