Agatha Christie, Mrs. McGinty's Dead

Amy Lee (The Open University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1952

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Crime and Detective
Novel

Resources

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Mrs McGinty’s Dead

may hold particular interest for Christie fans because it features Christie’s alter ego Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, the crime writer whose frank remarks about her books acquire additional meaning when read in the light of Christie’s own work. This novel also features the second co-operation between Mrs. Oliver and Hercule Poirot, another favourite of Christie’s creations (the first being

Taken at the Flood

, 1948.)

The story starts quite conventionally. Hercule Poirot’s quiet retired life is disturbed one day by the visit of an old friend, Superintendent Spence. The newspapers are just talking about the verdict of the McGinty Trial when Spence presents to Poirot his own dissatisfaction about the result. Old Mrs. McGinty lived alone in a small cottage in Broadhinny,

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2200 words

Citation: Lee, Amy. "Mrs. McGinty's Dead". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 September 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3399, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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