Agatha Christie: The Moving Finger (Geraldine McEwan)

Brother and sister Jerry and Joanna Burton seek a refuge to recuperate after a motorcycle accident that left him with two broken legs.  In this interpretation, the accident was self inflicted due to his post war psychological trauma.  This brings them to the peaceful village of Lymstock, but a village that is embroiled in a series of "poison pen" letters that has everybody on edge.  The story opens with the Colonel Appleton  committing suicide after having received such a letter and it is the talk of the town when the pair are invited around for tea and introductions.

(Joan Hickson's version has Jerry as a test pilot whose experimental plane crash landed.  It doesn't include the incident with Colonel Appleton.) 

With the initial introductions over, Mrs Symmington is next discovered murdered  A note, "I can't go on", is found on torn note paper beside her hand, and a poisoned pen letter in the fire grate.  Joanna and Jerry ask Meghan to come stay with them to take away the shock of her mother's death and while staying there a more serious relationship began to develop with Jerry.

Inspector Graves identifies the typewriter used to type the envelopes that the poisoned pen letters are sent in, one found in the Women's Institute and donated by Mr Symmington.   Meanwhile, Mrs Partridge and the maid Agnes have set up a chat for the afternoon, because something doesn't appear quite right to Agnes, but in the end Agnes doesn't show up. Meghan discovers the body of Agnes the next day, this time obviously murdered, no poison pen nonsense.  On the night when Mrs Symmington died, the two maids were supposed to be out, but Agnes came back early (due to a quarrel with her boyfriend).  Apparently, she knew something

By lying in wait, the Inspector observed Aimee Griffith type another envelope on the marked typewriter and arrests Aimee, but Marple doesn't believe she is the murderer.  Instead, she conspires with Megan to attempt to blackmail Megan's stepfather.  Falling for the bait, Mr Symmington drugs and attempts to murder Megan that evening but Marple springs the trap and he is detained by the police.

 

What Really Happened.

There were two authors of the poisoned pen letters, neither was working with the other.  The first was Aimee Griffith, the doctor's sister, who had done a similar thing in Wales where they lived previously.  It was she who wrote that letter to Colonel Appleton, prompting his suicide. That was a genuine event.

The other author, however, was Mr Symmington.  He was using the confusion of the poisoned pen kerfuffle as a cover for killing his own wife.  Taking the idea that the letters would lead to someone actually committing suicide, he wrote several of his own, spreading them about town. Then, he planted one on his wife, after killing her with real poison in her medicine.  

His hope was that the other letter writer would be blamed, as Aimee almost was. It became apparent that the Maid Agnes had actually been home when the letter to his wife was supposed to have been delivered, but she knew that no one had come by the house that day.  So how was this foul letter delivered to the Victim?  It could only have been planted by her master, Richard.   Mr Symmington knew that she would eventually reveal that detail, and so she had to be silenced, which he did with ruthless efficiency.

The motive for all this evil was that Mr. Symmington had fallen in love with his boy's governess, the young and beautiful Elsa Holland.  He simply wanted to be rid of his wife to be able to marry Elsa. 

 

Cast of Characters 

1.  The Energetic Young Woman.  Joanna Burton.  Taking her wayward and obviously troubled brother in hand, determined that he should make a full recovery.

2.  The Efficient Professional.  Aimee is Dr Griffith's sister and manages his medical practice, as well as looks with censure on the moral failings of the village residents.  She also runs the local Brownie troup.

3.  The Batty Eccentric.  While the Reverend Caleb Calthrop is the vicar, he also communicates almost entirely in Latin and is clearly pictured as so otherworldly that he's of no earthly good.  "A being more remote from every day life, I've yet to encounter." as Mr Pye puts it.

 3.5  The Cloud-headed Girl.   Megan Hunter, though an adult of 20 presents herself as if she were 12.  She is socially awkward, rides a bicycle as if she were a child, crashing into people and jumping on beds.  Her father was a criminal who was sent to jail and her mother re-married.

4.  The Doctor.  Doctor Owen Griffith is the local doctor taking care of Jerry's leg injuries, and also enamored with Joanna.

5.  The Lawyer.  Mr. Richard "Dickie" Symmington, the local solicitor.  

6.  The Vicar.  Caleb Calthrop is the actual vicar of the village.

8.  The Policeman.  Inspector Graves.  Soon to be fast friends with Miss Marple.

9.  The Temptrix.  The Symmington's nanny/ governess Miss Elsa Holland.  She, herself, is not overtly flirty, but she attracts the attention of several of the men in the story, including Jerry and, of course, Mr Symmington

10.  The Rake and 11. The Rival.  Both Jerry and Richard are enchanted by the youth and appearance of Elsa Holland, the unwitting Temptrix of the piece.  At the same time, both men house the unfortunate Megan Hunter under their roofs as well.  Ultimately, Jerry behaves honorably to both, and Richard behaves dishonorably to both.

12. The Mirror.  Unexpectedly, we find that Dr Griffith is living with his sister Aimee.  They form a very interesting parallel with Jerry and Joanna, also brother and sister.

13.  The Loving/Lonely Wife.  While Caleb is the batty cleric, his wife Maud Dane-Calthrop is presented as clear-headed and effective in mitigating her husband's eccentricities.  His ministry, and no doubt the parish, would come to absolute ruin without her to guide it.  As Mr. Pye says, "She's not your average vicar's wife. Everyone is ever so slightly afraid of her."

14.  The Housekeeper   Miss Partridge

15.  The Maid.  Agnes, the maid for the Symmingtons.

16.  The Daughter.  The classic Daughter is young, less than 12 years old and there is no appropriately aged character here.  However, Megan is a type of Daughter, having arrested her development at the age when her father was sent to prison, which was about 10 years ago.  If you think of her as an eight year old, many of her behaviors are much more consistent.

17.  The Cantankerous Old Woman/ Cruel Old Man.   Mrs Barton, whom the Burtons rented the cottage from when they came to Lymstock.  We spend the early part of the story with her fretting about having to rent her house out, and to quietly resenting Jerry and Joanna.

21.  The Social Outcast.  Mr Pye is a delightful character but obviously presented as outwardly gay, even flirting with Jerry when they stopped by for tea.  He says, "no more hole and corner for me", always living in the shadows, and how he wishes he could come out of them.  "They'll just think you're a little queer." he says of Joanna's stylish makup. "And what, I ask, is wrong with that?"

A. The Time Gap. Very little of a time gap occurs, in that the Colonel's suicide happened only a few days prior to the Burton's arrival in the village.

B.  The Ominous Event.  The event in this case is the suicide of Colonel Appleton.  True to form, this was a catalyzing event that everyone in the village was talking about, and it was something that provoked even more gossip and rumor.  Of course, it also created an atmosphere that fostered a double murder.

C. The Obscure Relationship.

D. The Convoluted Will. 

E.  The House.  Jerry and Joanna Burton come to the village to stay in a house named "The Furze".  It is an odd name for a house, since a furze is a bush covered entirely by thorns and so is very unpleasant.  Its homonym, 'The Firs" would be a more suitable and expected name for an estate.  I think this was an intentional joke on Christie's part.

 

Questions:

This mystery seems to be lacking in the intricacy and clever plotting for which Christie is so justly famous.  It appears that she has substituted the My Fair Lady romance between Jerry and Megan for her usual plot twists and 11th hour revelations.  

The reader is supposed to be captivated by the many villagers who could be the potential letter writer.  For example, Christie points to Mrs. Barton, who own the house where the book was found from which the letters were cut.  And yet, she completely lacks any motive at all for slandering her neighbors.  The awkward Megan and the gossipy Mrs Symmington are possible suspects as well, but they are eliminated almost immediately by the sympathetic romance and by being murdered.

Ms Griffith is credibly presented as a potential suspect.  For example, she could have poisoned the sedatives that she prepared for the murder victim, and she is given a motive, albeit a weak one, in that she supposedly loved Mr Symmington.  However, the motive is never developed, since we never see her and Mr Symmington together for any meaningful exchange of feelings.  And her interactions are muddled by those a of a similar character, Mrs Guch, Mr Symmington's secretary who seems equally devoted to him, and interacts with him every day.  

The other problem of plotting is that Mr Symmington, the murderer, is presented as having concocted the plot for a pre-meditated murder months in advance, typing addresses on letters and then donating the typewriter to the Women's Institute, but then when there is the slightest question about what Maid Agnes saw on her day off, he resorts to a brutal blow to the back of the head and stuffing her in a closet. When the first complication arises, he has no contingency plan in place. And it is this murder that convicts him more than the one he really needed.  We should have expected that the coldly calculating solicitor would have more presence of mind than that.  

Mr Symmington's motive is, perhaps, the least satisfying of any the possible suspects.  A young nanny has come to take care of his boys and he has no other thought than to murder his wife, the mother of his children, and then attempt some sort of romance with her.  What did he expect would have been the outcome of such a dalliance, since he had no indications of any sort of reciprocity from poor Elsa herself?  Again, the calculating solicitor becomes the foolish romantic and also maniacal lunatic with no other character development to justify it.   

Agatha Christie's Cast of Characters

 Agatha Christie had a very distinctive style of storytelling.  By viewing all of her stories, a notable set of characters emerges that Christie tends to use over and over again.  These are not identified by name, but instead tend to be of the same type.  By mixing and matching from among the stable, a new cast of characters is assembled for each story.  As an example, the Housekeeper is a prominent figure that appears often in Christie murder mysteries.  This "type" is usually an older woman who plays a prominent role in a early household, often developing a close relationship with some of the children.  This makes her a very versatile character who often sees events from a different perspective, but is a figure who isn't related to the principals.

The other novel innovation is that they character types can play different roles, depending on the needs of the story.   They can be heroic, supportive, corrupt, evil, each in turn as the story demands.  To return to our example,  The Housekeeper can be a totally supportive caretaker of the abandoned child, when the mother's career takes her away from the family.  Or, she could be an abusive tyrant who oppressed the lonely child while the mother was away.  Or she could be the real mother of the infant, who couldn't afford to raise it and so gave it to the wealthy family to adopt.  Three totally different characters when written, but sharing the same basic Type in the drama.

The same "Type" of character can take on different forms, while remaining essentially the same.  For example a character can be:

reversed and play against  type, so that the doctor in one story might be portrayed as being incompetent, instead of highly skilled. Or as neurotic instead of reassuring and stable.  

Doctors are usually highly moral and sympathetic, but can be reversed to be untrustworthy and out for their own personal glory at the expense of their patients.

Of course, any of these versions of character types can be the hero or the murderer. 

Another Christie element is having two characters who are mirrors of each other.  The most obvious is the Rake and the Rival, but you will find that same parallel in other characters as well.  Often one of them is the murderer, or the victim.  For example, two brothers - one goes off to war and is the hero while the other is the village shepherd.  One character is the garage mechanic, while the other tragically hangs himself after being wrongly accused of a murder.

1.  The Energetic Young Woman.  She has history that the story will explore, but enjoys current success, possibly financially or professionally.  She is often the initial instigator of the inciting action of the plot.  One of her main charms is that she is just so full of life, so full of action and motion.  She may be "less attractive", but she "has an intelligent face, and one can tell she's capable and energetic."  Her past may be catching up with her, however, in one way or another.  She can be an accomplished artist, or musician, or dancer, but she can also be a florist or another job that Christie views as suitable for an unmarried woman.

2.  The Efficient Professional.  This is usually a woman who is good in business, and is excellent in managing business affairs. Highly intelligent. Very smartly dressed but perhaps less warm or empathetic to those around her.  Excellent in conducting research, managing large databases.  A classic example is Miss Lemon. Devoted to and respected by her employer but who easily rebuffs the foolish attention of single men.  Where the Energetic Young Woman is full of creative flair and social grace, the Efficient Professional is full of practicality and attention to detail yet often content to work behind the scenes in the shadow of some larger personality.  While the EYW is effusive and often good with people, the EP is more introverted and reclusive. 

3.  The Batty Eccentric.  This is a character who is distinctly odd and unusual.  Their behaviors may be flighty and erratic or they may perceive the world in a non-standard way.  One might describe them as batty, or absent-minded.  Sometimes they are involved with the occult (seances, astral spirits, ghosts). Other versions are beset with alcoholism, or PTSD, or true mental illness. Many around them view them with amusement, or tolerance, or even irritation and sometimes they are dismissed and inconsequential by the murderer. 

 3.5  The Cloud-headed Girl.  This is often a female figure who is portrayed as slightly odd or eccentric and is universally acknowledged to have her head in the clouds.  She will often be described that way by other characters, being "queer" or "odd", or "living in her own world."  This peculiarity is sometimes the result of an incident in her childhood, or her odd parents, or her having been raised in isolation, but she sees the world in a different way and those around her view her as a kind of oddity.  She may legitimately suffer from mental illness, or may be the only person who truly sees reality for what it is.  

The Cloud-headed girl is a subset of the Eccentric, though the former is usually younger and presented as more serene and innocent, while the older version has more direct schemes and is more assertive. 

4.  The Doctor.  This man is a promising/ successful doctor but with a hint that something happened in his past that cast a shadow on his present situation.  Typically intelligent, sympathetic, good in a crisis, with a developed sense of professional ethics.  Can also appear as The Nurse.  

Doctors are repositories of village information about births, illnesses, deaths, parentage and various comings and going within their records.  Doctors are sometimes called upon to give cause of death. They can be sources of tension and secrets, first because they don't wish to get their diagnosis wrong, which they invariably do when older patients are murdered and they put it down to heart failure.  Second, their records often hold the truth about things like out of wedlock births, or lost pregnancies, or terminal illnesses which might give someone a motive for murder.

In a murder set in Christie's rural countryside, the population of her cherished remote village is universally divided into a rigid class structure.  Rude mechanicals, farmers, and vagrants are in the lowest class; these are country bumpkins and uneducated, superstitious folk.  Then we have shopkeepers and servants in the second class.  Finally, there is an upper class composed of the Well-educated, the wealthy, and the Well-bred.  One of the useful things about doctors is that a doctor is one of the characters that can be relied upon to be intelligent and well educated, not given to cults and rituals, and other nonsense.  Also found in this class are vicars, and lawyers, along with any landed gentry, wealthy industrialists, movie stars, and upper ranks of the military.  In a way, Christie needs this class to make her mysteries work.

One subset of the doctor character is the Harley Street Specialist.  When a character is mentioned in reference to being seen on Harley St. it is universally bad.  You see such doctors when looking for impossible cures for obscure diseases and maladies, and particularly when one is looking for a secret illness that is likely terminal.

5.  The Lawyer.  Frequently, Christie writes her stories to involve court proceedings, or to do with the execution of Wills, or the researching of family trees and marriages.  Whenever this happens, she brings in this character to be a reference to the researchers.   Always very intelligent, very methodical and logical, often hindered by how much information they can divulge.

6.  The Vicar.  In every village, you'll find the resident clergyman who spends his days visiting his parishioners and learning their gossip.  He is an invaluable source of information, history, and ancient artifacts. For example, he knows about all the births, marriages, deaths and those sorts of records that are kept in the church.  This is also the place where ancient objects would tend to end up, stuffed up the bell tower, or down in the basement.

 7.  The Specialist.  A botanist, a photographer, an engineer, a young government man.  Typically a young man who is technically gifted but socially awkward. Always an expert in his chosen field.  May love hopelessly from afar.  Used as a resource to supply any obscure poisons, technical gadgets, top secret plans that the plot may require. 

8.  The Policeman.  Christie's detectives operate within the shadow of the law, and so must operate within the protection of some official police presence.  For Poirot, that can be Chief Inspector Jap, and Miss Marple has Sir Henry Clithering.  But they are not always blessed with such patronage and sometimes the local law enforcement can be resentful of their "amateur" efforts and interfering suggestions.  

9.  The Temptrix.  This typically female character finds herself to be the object of a wide variety of male attention.  In some cases, this situation is entirely intentional and this character is motivated by using her feminine wiles to take what she wants or to steal another woman's husband, their achievements, their fame, their family, their property.  Could be rival sisters, or schoolmates.   She is a master manipulator and is typically utterly devoid of any scruples. 

In another form, she may be a complete innocent, mostly unaware of or even annoyed by the interest she generates.  While amoral, she isn't always the main evil of the story, and is sometimes presented with sympathy in that she's just doing what she must to get by.

10.  The Rake.  A young man who indulges one or more vices.  Often is very successful at it, but it may catch up with him eventually.  He may be a womanizer, or a gambler, or an addict but always with extreme flair and charisma.  Usually he is brilliant in other ways, or is unreasonably charming, which hides or excuses his flaws to others.  This may be a ne'er-do-well pilot, or a race car driver, or a wealthy man about town.

11. The Rival.  A young man who is in competition with the main male character.  Often not quite as successful, never did quite as well in school or on the sports field.  This sometimes makes him bitter about life. He may have a failing that he doesn't manage well, such as drugs, gambling, alcoholism, that holds him back.

12. The Mirror.  A classic Christie element is having two characters who are mirrors of each other. These are characters who are roughly the same age, same gender and possibly social position, but choices made earlier in life have set them on wildly differing paths.  In this way, they have a number of characteristics that are parallels and opposites.  The most obvious is the Rake and the Rival, but you will find that same parallel in other characters as well.  It may be that the parallels are not immediately obvious because the characters are so different, until one goes looking for them. 

Often, one of them is the murderer, or the victim.  For example, two brothers - one goes off to war and is the hero while the other is the village shepherd.  One character is the garage mechanic, while the other tragically hangs himself after being wrongly accused of a murder. 

13.  The Loving/Lonely Wife.  In many stories, a prominent husband can often be stubborn and prideful.  In these cases, a genuinely concerned wife can take her own initiative to try to make a situation better, often by consulting our resident detective.  Often not possessed of all the facts, nevertheless she feels compelled to act, seemingly motivated entirely by concern for her husband and family. 

She is often presented as being very caring, but her attention is not always appreciated.  For example, her loyalty is not always returned and she can take on the characteristic of the long-suffering spouse, who's husband is often called away to the office, spends long hours on his research, spends more time with his parishioners or patients than he does with his family.

14.  The Housekeeper.  or The Butler.  Often devoted to the Lady of the house, or to the neglected children.  Fiercely loyal to someone, but from her position and perspective in the household can often see details that others miss.  Presented as a "salt of the earth" character, very practical and level-headed.  Can sometimes appear as The Cook, or the Butler, or The Gardener.  Sometimes Russian or a Gypsy, or French;  and if so her spoken English is not fluent.

15.   The Maid.  With similar characteristics to the housekeeper, often realized as a subset.  Ever present in the house, she lurks behind curtains, appears at odd hours to turn down bedclothes, or freshen up the fire.  Can go anywhere without comment but sometimes gets scolded.  Typically an audience favorite.  A similar character to the Footman, the Assistant Gardener, the Stable Boy, depending on the needs of the story.

16.  The Daughter.  a young girl of between 7 and 12 years old.  May age into another character after the Time Gap.  Usually the object of affection by another character (a mother or father, Nanny or Housekeeper).  May be unusually precocious and/or may die tragically and be felt as a memory or a photograph.  

17.  The Cantankerous Old Woman/ Cruel Old Man.  This is the older character who is past the social niceties and practices being as unpleasant as possible to everyone around them, except possibly their favorites.  This may be because she is very old, or possibly with a lingering terminal illness but she is past caring what other people think.  For Christie, this is usually a female character, because her female characters tend to be more vividly drawn.  When the character is male, it is usually because they have far too much money and are used to always getting what they want, never having to answer to anybody.  This could be the owner of a factory who bosses everybody around or an arrogant lord of the manor who owns all the property in the village.  Frequently the victim of murder.

18.  The Industrialist.  Usually a wealthy older man who is the head of a business, or a engineering company developing fighter airplanes, or working on some breakthrough chemical formula, or involved in shipping and importing goods from Japan.  Sometimes plays the Cruel Old Man, but could also be the benevolent benefactor, or the foolish old man with the protege.

19.  The Politician.  A "stuffed shirt" more concerned about himself than anyone else.  His public image and the scandal of the situation often takes precedence over personal feelings and empathy for his fellow humans.

20.  The Dubious Man from India - The Overseas Connection.  In the cosmopolitan world of Great Britain, our characters often have occasion to travel abroad. Christie loves to include characters who have connections to "exotic" or far flung outposts of the British Empire. And while what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, this is not so for former travelers who come across people they met while in India, or Kenya, or Hong Kong, or Argentina, or Singapore or on the steamship home.  Our protagonist might be running from an unfortunate past, but these dubious travelers are there to bring it all back up again.  Sometimes a blackmailer, or simply a source of information.  This character could be a retired Colonel in the army, or a Archaeologist from Egypt, or a back ally underworld figure from the streets of Bangkok, or a movie producer from Hollywood.

21.  The Social Outcast.  This is the communist or socialist or temperance zealot that has very strong beliefs and attends "meetings" and distributes pamphlets but are really just misunderstood by society and no one takes them or their ideas seriously. Could also be a new age spiritualist, who practices meditation and astrology.  These are often brooding and keeping to themselves because they can't get anyone to really listen.  Bonus points if they suddenly change their philosophy when they come into money or find a lovely girlfriend.

Christie sometimes includes gay characters whose flamboyance slightly separates them from the rest of society in the same way.

22.  The Shopkeeper.  A favorite is the local postmaster, who also runs a general store in the small town.  They know the comings and goings of everyone because they all shop there and we read their mail, and may operate the local switchboard.  As such, they are tremendous sources of information, but typically are hard for the detective to interview because they are used to keeping secrets.  They also often are involved in a shady business of their own, because of their position of privilege.   

Tropes

A. The Time Gap.  This is not a character but is a prominent and recurring element.   Its very rare to have an Agatha Christie story that does not span over at least two generations.  The entire story may be related in extended flashbacks, or we might see the protagonists as children and then as grown adults.  Typically, there is an obvious jump in time between the "child" and the "adult" phase.  Sometime this time gap is wider and involved historical figures. 

B.  The Ominous Event.  This is some event that happened in the past, some instigating action who's ramifications have cast a pall over all those involved, often an extended family or the entire population of a village where it took place.  Because of this event, fortunes have been lost, careers have been scuttled, marriages have been broken, the road signs have been defaced.  Because of this cloud of doom, the villagers never speak of it and it must be kept a deadly secret.  Everyone knows, but nobody says anything.  Except that they talk about it constantly, behind closed doors, in the nook of the snug, when they think that outsiders can't hear them. Poirot calls it a polichinelle secret. And emotions run deep just below the surface.

 C. The Obscure Relationship. There is one person whose history appears to be completely transparent,  but when our hero takes the time to investigate, discovers an obscure connection to someone else related to the case.  This could be a long-lost mother from before the war, or an aunt who went to live in Canada, or the young man who fell in love with the house maid when the family was living in Cairo, but then he was recalled to military service, and the family had to evacuate because of the war, and when she turned up pregnant every body suspected but no one said anything, but what they didn't know was that the maid was the concealed grand daughter of King Farouk in hiding to escape the coup.

D. The Convoluted Will.  A great uncle whose will at his death left a great fortune to one of the other cast, unbeknownst to them, but only if he died before Tuesday and she remained unmarried until her 28th birthday.  There could be an Old will and a New will.  Extra points if one or both is currently missing, possibly destroyed, and also possibly forged.  Witnesses to the signing are often crucial to the proving of the will, but alas, they have moved to Australia.

E.  The House.  Agatha likes creating a house as a member of the cast of characters.  Very often it has a name.  Often, it has an ancient lineage, possibly an unsavory past full of tragedy.  Often associated with a family, or associated with a particular place in history.  Possibly full of secret rooms and passages, or hidden treasure, or portraits on the wall.  Some rooms may have been reclaimed by the elements or have dodgy plumbing, or unfortunate rats in the wall.  Look for the odd folly or a tower or a boat dock or a turret or spire or two where odd relatives may have taken up residence.

 

The Hollow:  

1.  The Energetic Young Woman.  Henrietta is the Energetic Young Woman, a successful artist and an independent woman who loves John Cristow but refuses to marry him for his own good.

3.  The Batty Eccentric.  Lady Lucy Angketell is the Batty Eccentric, constantly talking too much and saying the most inappropriate and inane things at the worst times.

 3.5  The Cloud-headed Girl.   Gerda Cristow, John's wife, is the Cloud-Headed Girl, a successful wife and the mother of two children, but continually beset with lack of self confidence, comic scenes of learning how to drive a car, and an obsequious devotion to her husband, whom she seems to constantly annoy.  Often, the cloud-headed girl is portrayed as amusing, but here she is tragic.  Distinct overtones of the Lonely Wife.

4.  The Doctor.  While John Cristow is the Rake, he is also a doctor by profession and clothes himself in an unwarranted halo of morality.

7.  The Specialist.   Sir Henry Angketell plays the role of the Specialist, only his fascination is for guns.  As is typical, this character supplies the murder weapon.  At the same time, he is also the Industrialist with ample funds that keeps the house running.

8.  The Policeman.   Poirot is aided by the generous Inspector Grange, who values Poirot's input and brings him into the entire investigation.

 

9.  The Temptrix.  Veronica Cray is the obvious Temptrix, a movie starlet with a history with John Cristow some 12 years ago (the Time Gap) who's not above trying to seduce him away from his wife and family. She knew John when she worked in Hollywood, California (The Overseas Connection). 

10.  The Rake.  The victim, Dr. John Cristow, is clearly the Rake, plagued by his wife, his mistress, and his former mistress, and he can't keep his hands off any of them.  And yet he is also noble, researching cures for intractable diseases and admired by all.

11. The Rival.  Edward is the Rival with John, in this case for Henrietta's affections, whom she dismisses as "inadequate." 

12. The Mirror.   Edward finds success with Midge Hardcastle, the classic Mirror who is living in the shadow of the more forceful Henrietta.  Edward knew Henrietta and Midge when they were young (The Time Gap) but could only see her as "Little Midge," the scrawny girl.  Now he recognizes her for the mature young woman she has become.  While Henrietta is presented as the more desirable and more successful young woman, it is Midge who marries Edward and in the end will become the future Lady of the Angketells and rule over The Hollow.

13.  The Loving/Lonely Wife.  

14.  The Housekeeper Gudgeon, the classic Butler, with deep loyalty to the family

15.  The Maid.  We even get a short cameo of Doris, The Maid, who reports to the police that she saw Gudgeon carrying the revolver, and gets soundly scolded for her impertinence.

A. The Time Gap.  Throughout the story we have ongoing references to the main characters when they were twelve years younger, and how they have now matured.  John Cristow knew Veronica in Hollywood, while Edward made a play for Henrietta; both efforts came to nothing.

E.  The House.  Of course we have the title of the piece, The Hollow, named for the house where the murder takes place, and the main residence of the Angketells, with a bonus discussion about who is in line to inherit the place and is responsible for its maintenance.

Cast of Characters

1.  The Energetic Young Woman.  

2.  The Efficient Professional.

3.  The Batty Eccentric.  

 3.5  The Cloud-headed Girl.   

4.  The Doctor.  

5.  The Lawyer.  

6.  The Vicar. 

7.  The Specialist.   

8.  The Policeman.   

 

9.  The Temptrix.  

10.  The Rake.  

11. The Rival.  

12. The Mirror.   

13.  The Loving/Lonely Wife.  

 

14.  The Housekeeper 

15.  The Maid.  

16.  The Daughter.  

17.  The Cantankerous Old Woman/ Cruel Old Man.   

18.  The Dubious Man from India - The Overseas Connection.  

 

19.  The Politician.  

20.   The Industrialist.

21.  The Social Outcast.

22.  The Shopkeeper.  

A. The Time Gap. 

B.  The Ominous Event.  

C. The Obscure Relationship.

D. The Convoluted Will. 

E.  The House.  

Twenty Rules For Writing Detective Stories   ca. 1928.