Overview
In Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a seemingly straightforward tale of murder in an idyllic English village takes a shockingly twisted turn, forever redefining the landscape of detective fiction.
The mystery novel, featuring Christie’s iconic detective Hercule Poirot, is far from a typical whodunit. Throughout the investigation, Poirot uncovers a web of secrets, betrayals and hidden motives, each layer further entangling the seemingly innocent villagers. The novel’s final twist shattered the conventions of detective fiction, leaving readers stunned and questioning everything they thought they knew about the story.
Like most of Christie’s works, the novel couples her masterful storytelling with her unparalleled knack for misdirection and red herrings. It remains a cornerstone of the mystery genre, still enthralling readers nearly a century after its release.
Author: Agatha Christie
Year published: 1926
Genre: Mystery & Crime
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Did you know?
The publication of the book in the spring of 1926 catapulted Christie into the top ranks of mystery writers, where she remained for nearly 50 years. However, this was an unhappy and turbulent period in her life, with her marriage on the rocks. Later that same year, in December 1926, she created her own real-life mystery by disappearing for nearly two weeks and then being found again. She claimed that she had been suffering from amnesia and it was never revealed what really happened during the 12 days that she was missing.
This was the first of Agatha Christie’s novel to be turned into a play. It was adapted by Michael Morton and the name changed to Alibi. Although the play was successful (with Charles Laughton playing Hercule Poirot), Christie greatly disliked the adaptation and decided that from then on she would write her own plays. Her first was based on an original story (Black Coffee), but she later adapted several of her novels into plays as well.
Additional Information
Many interesting details about the book and the events surrounding it can be found in The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie by Charles Osborne (1999).
A graphic novel by Bruno Lachard based on the book was published in 2007, to mixed reviews.