Agatha Christie, Crooked House

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 1949

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Crime and Detective
Novel

Resources

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Agatha Christie stated in her autobiography that

Crooked House

was one of her favourite pieces of work, and in the forward to the novel Christie commented on how much she enjoyed writing it. It is also said that the publisher did not approve of the identity of the murderer in this story and asked Christie to change it, but she resisted this request and kept the original ending. The revelation of the truth at the end of

Crooked House

still has the capacity to shock readers today.

The title of the story is a reference to the nursery rhyme “There was a crooked man”, which ends with the phrase “and all lived together in a crooked house”. The "crooked man" here is Aristide Leonides, a Greek immigrant who is married to an English woman and runs a successful catering business. His wealth

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1487 words

Citation: Lee, Amy. "Crooked House". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5804, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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