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Some classic mysteries are admired more than they are read. "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" deserves better than that. In 2013 the members of the Crime Writers' Association voted it the best crime novel ever written, yet it is also simply a pleasure to spend time in: a small English village, a grand house at the edge of it, a sister who knows everyone's business, and Hercule Poirot, who has moved to the countryside to grow vegetables. This introduction covers only the opening chapters. Nothing here goes near the solution.
Who wrote it, and when
Agatha Christie was born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, Devon, and died on 12 January 1976 in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. Her books have sold more than two billion copies, which makes her the best-selling novelist of all time. Poirot, a former Belgian police officer, first appeared in her debut novel, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles," published in 1920. He went on to feature in 33 novels and more than 50 short stories.
"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is the third Poirot novel. It was first serialized in the London Evening News in 1925 under the title "Who Killed Ackroyd?", then published as a book in June 1926 by William Collins, Sons in Britain, with an American edition from Dodd, Mead and Company the same year.
Where the story begins
The setting is King's Abbot, an English village in the 1920s. Among its residents is Dr. James Sheppard, the village doctor, who shares a house with his unmarried sister, Caroline.
On a Friday morning in September, Sheppard is called to King's Paddock, the home of Mrs. Ferrars, a wealthy widow. She has died of an overdose of the sleeping drug she had been taking. By the time he returns for breakfast, Caroline already knows. In King's Abbot, news travels fast, and most of it seems to pass through Caroline first. She also has a theory of her own about Mrs. Ferrars, which her brother does his best to dismiss.
The village's other great house is Fernly Park, home of Roger Ackroyd, a prosperous and genial manufacturer and a widower. For some time the village has assumed that he and Mrs. Ferrars would eventually marry. Ackroyd has a stepson, Ralph Paton, a charming young man the village is fond of, despite his reputation for being unreliable.
Meanwhile, the house next door to the Sheppards has a new tenant: a reserved newcomer who says little about his past and devotes himself to growing vegetable marrows. Caroline is determined to work out who he is, and her best guess is that he is a retired hairdresser. He is, in fact, Hercule Poirot, who has given up detective work for a quiet life in the country.
On the day of Mrs. Ferrars's death, a visibly troubled Ackroyd asks Sheppard to dine with him at Fernly Park that evening. It is a dinner Ackroyd clearly wants Sheppard to attend. What follows is for you to discover.
What makes it worth reading
The first pleasure is the village. King's Abbot is the kind of place where everyone notices who spoke to whom, and the gossip gives the book a lively, comic texture. The second chapter is titled "Who's Who in King's Abbot," and that is exactly what it offers: a tour of the main households and their residents, so you can settle into the community before events gather speed.
The second is Caroline. Curious, confident, and usually one step ahead of her brother when it comes to local news, she is one of Christie's most enjoyable supporting characters. Her breakfast-table exchanges with the doctor set a warm, humorous tone from the very first chapter.
The third is the way Poirot enters the story. He does not arrive as a celebrated detective summoned to solve a case. He is first seen as an odd, secretive neighbor with a vegetable patch, and the third chapter is titled, simply, "The Man Who Grew Vegetable Marrows." Watching the village slowly realize who has been living among them is part of the fun, and it makes this a good first Poirot novel for anyone who has only met him on screen.
Who will enjoy it
This book suits readers who know Poirot from television or film and want to try the original novels. It is ideal for anyone who enjoys village mysteries, with their tangle of neighbors, relatives, and village talk. It is also a natural pick for anyone who wants to read one of the best-loved classics of English detective fiction. And if you like a book with a sharp sense of humor alongside its puzzle, Caroline Sheppard alone makes the trip to King's Abbot worthwhile.
Sit down at the Sheppards' breakfast table, let Caroline share the morning's news, and you will already be a resident of King's Abbot.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (UK and US first publication and publishers, serialization in the London Evening News as "Who Killed Ackroyd?", third Poirot novel, King's Abbot setting, the village doctor and his sister, opening setup, 2013 Crime Writers' Association vote) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Murder_of_Roger_Ackroyd
- Wikipedia, "Agatha Christie" (birth and death dates and places, first novel and Poirot's debut, number of Poirot novels and stories, total sales) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie
- Project Gutenberg, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie" (eBook #69087; chapter titles and contents of chapters 1-3 only; no text quoted) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69087