Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks

by John Curran

  Spider’s Web Premiere 14 December 1954

  When she discovers a murdered body in her drawing room shortly before her diplomat husband is due home with an important politician, Clarissa devises a plan to fool the police. She enlists the help of three houseguests, unaware that the murderer is closer to home than she thinks.

  There are 20 pages of notes for Spider’s Web, all contained in Notebook 12. The character of Clarissa, written specifically at the request of the actress Margaret Lockwood, is Christie’s finest comedy creation. The play itself is a comedy thriller with sufficient of both to make it a winning combination. It is also a successful blend of whodunit and will-they-get-away-with-it; a surprise killer is unmasked in the closing minutes, maintaining Christie’s reputation for shock revelations, and there are numerous unexpected twists in the subsidiary plot. The will-they-get-away-with-it scenario was not a regular feature of Christie’s output but it is also a feature, to a greater or lesser degree, in her next three plays—The Unexpected Guest, Verdict and The Rats.

  The first page of notes is headed:

  Act III Spiders Web Laura Finds a Body?

  Christie adopts her usual method of assigning letters to the various plot points that follow but, despite the heading, not all refer to Act III. Some of them, as marked, appear in Act II, Scene ii, leading to the suspicion that the acts were rearranged (perhaps in the course of the play’s production) and Act III originally included the previous scene. There are no surprises in the notes and no unexpected plot developments; those that remain reflect accurately the course of the play. With the exception of Sir Rowland Delahaye, who appears in the notes as Sir M, even the names remain the same. I assume that the disappearance of notes for the earlier acts is another casualty of the years.

  Spider’s Web is full of ideas from earlier works:

  Miss Peake hides the body across the top of the spareroom bed under the bolster, as does the villain in ‘The Man who was No. 16’, the final story in Partners in Crime.

  The missing playing card is a plot device of ‘The King of Clubs’.

  The idea of valuable stamps on an envelope appears in ‘Strange Jest’.

  Pippa’s creation of a wax doll is the same course of action as Linda Marshall followed in Evil under the Sun.

  Clarissa taking responsibility for the murder when it seems as if Pippa is responsible has echoes of Caroline Crale’s actions on behalf of her sister, Angela, in Five Little Pigs.

  ‘The Adventure of the Cheap Flat’ also has the ploy of a property made available at a discount price to the right person.

  There is also yet another clever variation on a clue involving names (see A Murder is Announced, Mrs McGinty’s Dead and Peril at End House).

  There are sly references to Ten Little Nigger Boys [sic] in Act II, Scene ii, and to a ‘body in the library’ in Act I.

  Points

  A. Miss Peake is on spare room bed

  B. Miss Peake appears—‘the body’s disappeared’—she winks

  C. Sir M says—‘never grown up’ [Act I]

  D. Inspector and Sir M—Latter puts forward idea of narcotics [Act II, Scene ii]

  E. Inspector suggests he had actually found something in desk [Act II, Scene ii]

  F. Clarissa (to Sir M) did one of you move it? No—all herded together in dining room

  G. CI. asks Sir M (or Hugo) name of antique dealers

  H. The book—Sir M says ‘What’s the Inspector consulting—Who’s Who’ [Act II, Scene ii]

  I. Sir M. says story about friend and stamps or envelope with autographs

  J. Clarissa asks Elgin about references [Act II, Scene ii]

  K. Pippa comes in—terrible yawns—hungry

  L. Clarissa accuses Miss Peake of being Mrs. Brown

  The main preoccupation for the scenes involving Pippa was the presence or absence, in retrospect for obvious reasons, of Jeremy. These scenes appear in Act I.

  The Pippa bits

  Recipe book candles, Can you eat it? Present (Sir M Jeremy? Clarissa?)

  Priest’s Hole—Place to put a body. Present Jeremy and ? ? ? [sic]

  The autographs—Pippa shows them—puts them away in shell-box

  Then bit about stamps—Present not Jeremy—others ad lib

  One of the interesting items among Christie’s papers is a suggested screen treatment, dated 1956, for a possible film version of this play. It is not entirely certain that it is by Christie herself but it looks ‘unofficial’, i.e. as if done by someone not directly involved in the subsequent 1960 film. It sketches out the events that have taken place prior to the start of the play—Clarissa meeting Henry, Miranda desperate for drugs, the subsequent divorce and remarriage and Pippa’s acceptance of Clarissa; it also includes the sale of a stamped envelope to Mr Sellon…

  Dead Man’s Folly 5 November 1956

  Mrs Oliver organises a Murder Hunt in the grounds of Nasse House. When the ‘body’ turns out to be only too real, Hercule Poirot is on hand to discover who killed schoolgirl Marlene Tucker and what happened to Lady Folliat.

  Although it was published in November 1956, Dead Man’s Folly had a complicated two-year genesis. In November 1954 Christie’s agent wrote to the Diocesan Board of Finance in Exeter explaining that his client would like to see stained glass windows in the chancel of Churston Ferrers Church (Christie’s local church) and was willing to pay for them by assigning the rights of a story to a fund set up for that purpose. The Diocesan Board and the local church were both very happy with the arrangement and in a letter of 3 December 1954 Hughes Massie confirmed ‘Mrs Mallowan’s intentions to assign the magazine rights of a long short story to be entitled The Greenshore Folly’ to such a fund. The amount involved was reckoned to be in the region of £1,000 (£18,000 in today’s value).

  By March 1955 the Diocesan Board was getting restive and wondering about the progress of the sale. But for the first time in 35 years, much to everyone’s embarrassment, it proved impossible to sell the story. The problem was its length; it was a long novella, which was a difficult length, neither a novel nor a short story, for the magazine market. By mid-July 1955, the decision was made to withdraw the story from sale, as ‘Agatha thinks [it] is packed with good material which she can use for her next full length novel’. As a compromise, it was agreed that she would write another short story for the Church, also to be called, for legal reasons, ‘The Greenshore Folly’, ‘though it will probably be published under some other title’. So, the original and rejected novella ‘The Greenshore Folly’ was elaborated into Dead Man’s Folly and Christie wrote the shorter and similarly titled ‘Greenshaw’s Folly’ to swell the coffers of the Church authorities. ‘Greenshaw’s Folly’ was first published in 1956 and was collected in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding in 1960.

  Notes relating to Dead Man’s Folly are contained in Notebooks 45 and 47. As a result of its history, it is difficult to tell from the Notebooks whether the notes refer to the novella or the novel version, but it seems likely that Notebook 47 is the original novella and Notebook 45 the elaborated version—Notebook 47 is a discussion of basic points, which would not have been necessary if the story had already been written. In 15 pages Christie sketched the entire plot of ‘The Greenshore Folly’ so when it came to expanding it, she had only to elaborate actual scenes—the plot was already entire from the novella version.

  Notebook 47 outlines the basic situation and sketches some ideas, all of which, with minor changes—garden fete rather than ‘Conservation Fete’, Girl Guide victim rather than Boy Scout—were to be included in the story:

  Mrs Oliver summons Poirot—she is at Greenway—professional job—arranging a Treasure Hunt or a Murder Hunt for the Conservation Fete, which is to be held there

  ‘Body’ to be boy scout in boat house—key of which has to be found by ‘clues’

  or a real body is buried where tree uprooted and where Folly is to go

  Some ideas

  Hiker (girl?) from hostel

&
nbsp; Next door—really Lady Bannerman [Stubbs]

  It is significant that, right from the start, the story was to be set at Greenway. Perhaps because this was a personal project, written for her place of personal worship, Christie was anxious to retain a local flavour. Although she had used Greenway before for Five Little Pigs and would use the ferry at the bottom of the garden in a few years’ time in Ordeal by Innocence, Dead Man’s Folly represents an extended and detailed use of her beloved Greenway. Apart from the house itself, and its history as told by Mrs Folliat, also featured in the story are the Gate Lodge, Ferry Cottage, the Boathouse, the Battery, the Tennis Court and the Youth Hostel next door; and the internal geography of the house reflects reality even down to Poirot’s bedroom and the bathroom across the corridor. The magnolia tree near the front door where Mrs Folliat and Hattie stand to talk, the winding drive ending at the big iron gates, the winding and steep path connecting the Battery and the Boathouse—all these exist to this day.

  The notes that follow, all from Notebook 47, form the basis of Dead Man’s Folly. Christie decided on a version of B below as the motivation and nobody called Lestrade features in either version:

  Who wants to kill who

  A. Wife wants to kill rich P Lestrade has lover—both poor

  B. Young wife recognised by someone who knows she is married already—blackmail?

  C. P Lestrade—has a first wife who is not dead—(in S. America?)—it is wife’s sister who recognises him

  Czech girl at hostel? P mentions meeting a hostel girl ‘trespassing’—angry colloquy between them seen (but not heard) by someone—he decides to kill her

  D. Mrs Folliat—a little balmy—or young Folliat at hostel?

  Mrs Folliat of original family who built it—now belongs to Sir George Stubbs with beautiful young wife—Chilean girl?—Italian mother—Creole?—Rich sugar people—girl is feeble minded. Spread about that Sir G made his money in Army Contracts—really Sir C (a pauper) is planning to kill wife and inherit her money

  The references to ‘Greenshore’ in the following extract would seem to confirm that Notebook 47 contains the original notes for the novella:

  Does Sir George marry Hattie Deloran—she is mentally defective—he buys place ‘Greenshore’ and comes here with his wife—the night a folly has been prepared—she is buried. The Folly goes up the next day—another Lady Dennison [Stubbs] takes her place—servants see nothing—they go out for a stroll—other girl comes back (from boathouse). Then for a year Sir George and Lady Dennison are well known for guests. Then the time comes for Lady D to disappear—she goes up and down to London—doubles part with pretending to be a student

  Sally Legge remains in the novel; the reason for the change of first name from Peggy was highlighted by Christie herself below. Definitely a good idea!

  Points to be decided

  A. Who first chosen for victim? Peggy Legge? Something about Old Peg Leg

  B. What did Maureen [Marlene] know or do—heard grandfather talk about body and Sir George really being James? Or

  Does she snoop? Intending to snoop on events? Really sees

  Lady S change into hiker?

  Or

  See Sir George and his partner together?

  What does Maureen write on Comic

  Mrs O’s clue?

  Boat house?

  House boat?

  Maureen’s scribble on the comic—G[eorge] S[tubbs] goes with a girl from the YHA

  The following extracts, from Notebook 45, have page references, presumably to the proofs of ‘The Greenshore Folly’. The accompanying remarks are reminders to Christie herself, as she expands the original story. She also experiments with the details of Mrs Oliver’s Murder Hunt and clarifies, for herself, the timetable of the fatal afternoon:

  P.119—Elaborate Mrs F’s remembering

  P.21—A much elaborated scene in the drawing room at tea

  P.24 Go on to Legges after ‘Hattie’

  Recast order of next events

  P.38 elaborate breakfast party—

  P.47 Perhaps an interview with Michael Weyman at tennis Pavilion

  Clear up point about Fortune teller’s tent

  p.61 much more detail after discovery of body

  Mrs Oliver’s plan

  The Weapons

  Revolver

  Knife

  Clothes Line

  Footprint (in concrete)

  Rose Gladioli or Bulb catalogue? Marked?

  Shoe

  Snap shot

  Who? Victim

  Why? Weapon

  How? Motive

  Where? Time

  When Place

  Scheme of afternoon—

  4 pm P[eggy] L[egge] leaves tent

  4.5 pm H [attie] tells Miss B to take tea

  4.10 pm H goes into tent—out of back into hut—dresses as girl—goes to boat house

  4.20 Calls to Marlene—strangles her then back and arrives as herself Italian girl—talks to young man with turtles [turtle-shirted competitor]

  4.30 leaves with Dutch girl and pack on back or with turtle—Dutch girl goes to Dartmouth—Italian girl to Plymouth

  Exhibit D: True Crime in the Notebooks

  ‘I have occupied myself of late in reading various real life unsolved mysteries. I apply to them my own solutions.’

  The Clocks, Chapter 14

  Agatha Christie wrote on two true-life murder cases, both of them very similar to her own fiction. ‘The Tragic Family of Croydon’ in the Sunday Chronicle of 11 August 1929 is an article about the then current and still unsolved Croydon poisoning case in which three members of the Sidney family were murdered, almost certainly by a member of their own household, in the space of a few months; and in October 1968 a short article by Christie appeared in the Sunday Times about the Charles Bravo murder, another domestic poisoning drama. And apart from fictional crime and its practitioners, Christie also refers in the Notebooks to a few real-life murder cases. Some are very well known but others are quite obscure:

  Lizzie Borden

  In Notebooks 5, 17 and 35 the infamous Lizzie Borden is mentioned during the plotting of Elephants Can Remember, They Do it with Mirrors and Five Little Pigs respectively. In 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts, Mr and Mrs Andrew Borden were brutally murdered in their own home. Although their daughter Lizzie was tried for the murders, she was acquitted and to this day her guilt or innocence is a matter of intense speculation. In each case, as can be seen, it is the possibility of using a set-up similar to the Borden case—a domestic crime with the killer, in all likelihood, a member of the family—that attracts Christie:

  Or Lizzie Borden family—father and mother killed—2 daughters—devoted sister in law—boy (nephew)—Harriet Irish maid

  ambitious woman—rich (really a Lizzie Borden) married to 3rd husband

  If not guilty who was? 4 (or 5) other people in house (a little like Bordens?)

  Constance Kent

  Notebooks 5 and 6, during the plotting of Elephants Can Remember and Nemesis respectively, refer to this notorious case. Constance Kent served 20 years for the murder of her three-year-old half-brother on 13 June 1860. She was released in 1885.

  Constance Kent type of story—girl Emma—adored governess—mother dies. Governess who had apparently adored Emma now turns against her

  Case of Constance Kent—had governess she adored—mother died. Governess married Father. She had a little boy—Constance very fond of him—he is found in earth closet—killed

  Crippen and Le Neve

  In Notebook 43 Eva Crane from Mrs McGinty’s Dead is compared to Ethel Le Neve, the partner of the notorious Dr Crippen. The reference to Crippen himself, in Notebook 56, appears during the planning of an unwritten book based on the discovery of a body some years after the commission of the crime. Crippen was hanged in 1910 for the murder of his wife Cora, whose body was discovered, buried in the cellar of their home—although recent forensic developments have cast some doubt on this verdict.
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br />   Janice [Eva in the book] Crane—former Ethel Le Neve—husband—Crane a bloodless lawyer whom she adores

  Murder discovered afterwards—(5 years) (2 years) like Crippen?

  Charles Bravo

  In Notebooks 27 and 36, during the plotting of Third Girl and By the Pricking of my Thumbs, there is reference to this still unsolved murder. In April 1876, four months after marrying Florence Ricardo, Charles Bravo died an agonising death from antimony poisoning. A subsequent Coroner’s inquest found that there was insufficient evidence to identify his murderer. Again, Christie was using the basic situation as a starting point:

  Arthur (innocent husband)—Katrina—suspicious, passionate for money—looks after old boy—she has boy friend…chemical research—or doctor—Bravo framework

  The Bravo idea—would entail woman (widow) having affair with a doctor. She gives up liaison—he goes back to wife—she marries again