Agatha Christie, Towards Zero

Amy Lee (The Open University)
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Towards Zero

adopts a play-like structure, beginning with a Prologue which is dated November 19th, in which a conversation among lawyers inevitably centres on crime and other related issues. Old Mr. Treves, a famous member of a solicitor firm, is sharing his experience and recollections with other members of the group. The content and direction of this conversation sets the frame for the rest of the story, which ends in “Zero Hour”.

In the conversation, one of the things raised by old Mr. Treves is the difference between a crime in fiction and a crime in reality. Whereas a murder story always begins with a murder and works towards the unravelling of that crime; in real life, things begin a long time before, and gradually converge towards a given point in time and place, ending with

2096 words

Citation: Lee, Amy. "Towards Zero". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 September 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8414, accessed 19 March 2024.]

8414 Towards Zero 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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