Guide to the Archive: Agatha Christie

In the 1930s and ’40s, Agatha Christie’s work appeared frequently in The Saturday Evening Post.

Way back in 1933, the Post introduced her Belgian detective, Hercules Poirot, to America. Altogether Christie’s cerebral sleuth appeared in six Post issues during the 1930s. The Post also published six other mysteries by Christie, including “Endless Night,” a lesser known work that she included among her five favorite books.

Stories by Agatha Christie

“Murder in the Calais Coach, Part 1,” September 30, 1933, page 5

“Murder in the Calais Coach, Part 2,” October 7, 1933, page 20

“Murder in the Calais Coach, Part 3,” October 14, 1933, page 18

“Murder in the Calais Coach, Part 4,” October 21, 1933, page 20

“Murder in the Calais Coach, Part 5,” October 28, 1933, page 26

“Murder in the Calais Coach, Part 6,” November 4, 1933, page 26

“Murder in Three Acts, Part 1,” June 9, 1934, page 5

“Murder in Three Acts, Part 2,” June 16, 1934, page 20

“Murder in Three Acts, Part 3,” June 23, 1934, page 20

“Murder in Three Acts, Part 4,” June 30, 1934, page 20

“Murder in Three Acts, Part 5,” July 7, 1934, page 20

“Murder in Three Acts, Part 6,” July 14, 1934, page 26

“Death in the Air,” Part 1,” February 9, 1935, page 5

“Death in the Air,” Part 2,” February 16, 1935, page 20

“Death in the Air,” Part 3,” February 23, 1935, page 20

“Death in the Air,” Part 4,” March 2, 1935, page 26

“Death in the Air,” Part 5,” March 9, 1935, page 26

“Death in the Air,” Part 6,” March 16, 1935, page 24

“Murder in Mesopotamia, Part 1,” November 9, 1935, page 5

“Murder in Mesopotamia, Part 2,” November 16, 1935, page 20

“Murder in Mesopotamia, Part 3,” November 23, 1935, page 20

“Murder in Mesopotamia, Part 4,” November 30, 1935, page 20

“Murder in Mesopotamia, Part 5,” December 7, 1935, page 28

“Murder in Mesopotamia, Part 6,” December 14, 1935, page 28

“Cards on the Table, Part 1,” May 2, 1936, page 5

“Cards on the Table, Part 2,” May 9, 1936, page 22

“Cards on the Table, Part 3,” May 16, 1936, page 24

“Cards on the Table, Part 4,” May 23, 1936, page 24

“Cards on the Table, Part 5,” May 30, 1936, page 26

“Cards on the Table, Part 6,” June 6, 1936, page 28

“Poirot Loses a Client, Part 1,” November 7, 1936, page 5

“Poirot Loses a Client, Part 2,” November 14, 1936, page 24

“Poirot Loses a Client, Part 3,” November 21, 1936, page 24

“Poirot Loses a Client, Part 4,” November 28, 1936, page 20

“Poirot Loses a Client, Part 5,” December 5, 1936, page 20

“Poirot Loses a Client, Part 6,” December 12, 1936, page 20

“Poirot Loses a Client, Part 7,” December 19, 1936, page 31

“Death on the Nile, Part 1,” May 15, 1937, page 5

“Death on the Nile, Part 2,” May 22, 1937, page 22

“Death on the Nile, Part 3,” May 29, 1937, page 22

“Death on the Nile, Part 4,” June 5, 1937, page 28

“Death on the Nile, Part 5,” June 12, 1937, page 26

“Death on the Nile, Part 6,” June 19, 1937, page 26

“Death on the Nile, Part 7,” June 26, 1937, page 27

“Death on the Nile, Part 8,” July 3, 1937, page 27

“The Dream,” October 23, 1937, page 8

“Easy to Kill, Part 1,” November 19, 1938, page 5

“Easy to Kill, Part 2,” November 26, 1938, page 20

“Easy to Kill, Part 3,” December 3, 1938, page 20

“Easy to Kill, Part 4,” December 10, 1938, page 27

“Easy to Kill, Part 5,” December 17, 1938, page 26

“Easy to Kill, Part 6,” December 24, 1938, page 20

“Easy to Kill, Part 7,” December 31, 1938, page 38

“—And Then There Were None, Part 1,” May 20, 1939, page 5

“—And Then There Were None, Part 2,” May 27, 1939, page 18

“—And Then There Were None, Part 3,” June 3, 1939, page 27

“—And Then There Were None, Part 4,” June 10, 1939, page 29

“—And Then There Were None, Part 5,” June 17, 1939, page 27

“—And Then There Were None, Part 6,” June 24, 1939, page 26

“—And Then There Were None, Part 7,” July 1, 1939, page 26

“The Body in the Library, Part 1,” May 10, 1941, page 9

“The Body in the Library, Part 2,” May 17, 1941, page 22

“The Body in the Library, Part 3,” May 24, 1941, page 26

“The Body in the Library, Part 4,” May 31, 1941, page 24

“The Body in the Library, Part 5,” June 7, 1941, page 26

“The Body in the Library, Part 6,” June 14, 1941, page 30

“The Body in the Library, Part 7,” June 21, 1941, page 30

“Remembered Death, Part 1,” July 15, 1944, page 9

“Remembered Death, Part 2,” July 22, 1944, page 28

“Remembered Death, Part 3,” July 29, 1944, page 28

“Remembered Death, Part 4,” August 3, 1944, page 32

“Remembered Death, Part 5,” August 12, 1944, page 32

“Remembered Death, Part 6,” August 19, 1944, page 32

“Remembered Death, Part 7,” August 26, 1944, page 32

“Remembered Death, Part 8,” September 2, 1944, page 32

“Endless Night, Part 1” February 24, 1968, page 59

“Endless Night, Part 2,” March 9, 1968, page 50

Video Image Credits

:07 Agatha Christie (National Archives, The Netherlands, CC0)

:17 Albert Finney Hercule Poirot: Alamy

:27 Murder on the Orient Express Promotional Photo: Alamy

:31 Lindbergh Kidnapping Poster (Wikimedia Commons. Published in the United States between 1924 and 1977 without a copyright notice.)

:55 David Suchet Hercule Poirot: Alamy

:59 Kenneth Branagh Hercule Poirot: Alamy

1:18 Endless Night Movie Photograph: Alamy

1:22 Endless Night Movie Photograph Funeral: Alamy

1:43 Ray Bradbury Photo (Wikimedia Commons. Published in the United States between 1924 and 1977 inclusive, without copyright notice.)

1:45 F. Scott Fitzgerald Photo (Wikimedia Commons. Publication occurred prior to January 1, 1924)

1:46 Dorothy Parker Photo (Wikimedia Commons. This image is available from the United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ggbain.05631)

Featured image: Illustration by Rubin, ©SEPS

Elementary Rules of the Detective Story

In 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle unwittingly changed world literature. At the time, he was a struggling doctor, trying to build a practice and make a little money on the side. When his novel, A Study in Scarlet, was published, he launched the modern detective genre and set the standard that mystery stories follow to this day.

Conan Doyle of course had a long, rich career as a mystery writer. He even wrote several stories that debuted in The Saturday Evening Post, including “The End of Devil Hawker,” published in 1930.

For those who wish to follow in Conan Doyle’s footsteps, in 1920, Ronald Knox wrote these rules for a group of mystery writers to help them avoid plot tricks and clichés.

• 1. The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.
• 2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
• 3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
• 4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
• 5. No Chinaman must figure in the story.
• 6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
• 7. The detective must not himself commit the crime.
• 8. The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.
• 9. The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
• 10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

In 1931, another British mystery writer added a few more rules of “respectable” mystery writing. In “Crime Fiction According to Hoyle,” Valentine Williams — another mystery writer — emphasizes that readers want a well-paced plot that is plausible, suspenseful, and finishes with a surprise.