Five Little Pigs
Encyclopedia
Five Little Pigs is a work of detective fiction
by Agatha Christie
and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company
in May 1942
under the title of Murder in Retrospect and in UK by the Collins Crime Club
in January 1943
although some sources state that publication occurred in November 1942. The UK first edition carries a copyright date of 1942 and retailed at eight shillings (8/-) while the US edition was priced at $2.00.
The book features Hercule Poirot
. The novel is notable as a rigorous attempt to demonstrate Poirot’s repeatedly stated contention that it is possible to solve a mystery purely by reflecting upon the testimony of the participants, and without access to the scene of the crime.
This was the last novel of an especially prolific phase of Christie's work on Poirot. She published thirteen Poirot novels between 1935 and 1942 out of a total of eighteen novels in that period. By contrast, she published only two Poirot novels in the next eight years, indicating the possibility that she was experiencing some frustration with her most popular character.
Five Little Pigs is unusual in the way that the same events are retold from several standpoints.
before it and Hickory Dickory Dock
after it, the novel is named for a nursery rhyme
usually referred to as This Little Piggy
that is used by Poirot to organise his thoughts regarding the investigation.
Carla's father, painter
Amyas Crale, was murdered with a poison, coniine
, which had been extracted from poison hemlock
by Meredith Blake but subsequently apparently stolen from him by Carla's mother, Caroline Crale. Caroline confessed to having stolen the poison, claiming that she had intended to use it to commit suicide. This poison ended up, however, in a glass from which Amyas had drunk cold beer, after complaining that 'everything tastes foul today'. Both the glass and the bottle of cold beer had been brought to him by Caroline. Her motive was clear: Amyas’s young model, and latest mistress Elsa Greer, had revealed that he was planning to divorce Caroline and marry her instead. This was a new development; though Amyas had frequently had mistresses and affairs, he had never before shown any sign of wanting to leave Caroline.
Poirot labels the five alternative suspects “the five little pigs”: they comprise Phillip Blake ("went to the market"); Philip’s brother, Meredith Blake ("stayed at home"); Elsa Greer (now Lady Dittisham, "had roast beef"); Cecilia Williams, the governess ("had none"); and Angela Warren, Caroline’s younger half-sister ("went 'Wee! Wee! Wee!' all the way home"). As Poirot learns from speaking to them during the first half of the novel, none of the quintet has an obvious motive, and while their views of the original case differ in some respects there is no immediate reason to suppose that the verdict in the case was wrong.
The differences are subtle. Phillip Blake’s hostility to Caroline is overt enough to draw suspicion. Meredith Blake mistrusts him, and has a very much more sympathetic view of her. Elsa seems emotionally stunted, as though her original passion for Amyas has left her prematurely devoid of emotion, except for hatred for Caroline Crale. Cecilia, the governess, gives some insight into both Caroline and Angela, but claims to have definite reason for believing Caroline guilty. Finally, Angela believes her sister to be innocent, but a letter that Caroline wrote to her after the murder contains no protestation of innocence, and makes Poirot doubt Caroline's innocence for perhaps the first time.
In the second half of the novel, Poirot considers five accounts of the case that he has asked the suspects to write for him. These establish the succession of events on the day of the murder, and establish a small number of facts that are important to the solution of the puzzle. In the first place, there is a degree of circumstantial evidence incriminating Angela. Secondly, Cecilia has seen Caroline frantically wiping fingerprints off the bottle of beer as she waited by Amyas’s corpse. Thirdly, there has been a conversation between Caroline and Amyas, apparently about Amyas 'seeing to her packing' for Angela's return to school. Fourthly, Elsa overheard a heated argument between Caroline and Amyas in which he swore that he would divorce her and Caroline said bitterly 'you and your women'.
In the denouement
, Poirot reveals the main emotional undercurrents of the story. Philip Blake has loved Caroline but his rejection by her has turned this to hatred. Meredith Blake, wearied by his long affection for Caroline, has formed an attachment to Elsa Greer, that is also unreciprocated. These are mere red herrings
, though. Putting together the case that would incriminate Angela (she had the opportunity to steal the poison on the morning of the crime, she had previously put salt in Amyas’s glass as a prank and she was seen fiddling with the bottle of beer before Caroline took it down to him; she was very angry with Amyas), he demonstrates that Caroline herself would have thought that Angela was guilty. Her letter to Angela did not speak of innocence, because Caroline believed that Angela must know for a fact that Caroline was innocent. This explains why, if Caroline was innocent, she made no move to defend herself in court. Moreover, many years ago Caroline had thrown a paperweight at Angela in a jealous rage, which had left a permanent disfiguring scar on Angela's face. Caroline had always felt deeply guilty about this and therefore felt that, by taking the blame for what she thought was Angela's crime, she could earn redemption.
Caroline’s actions, however, unwittingly proved her innocence. By wiping the fingerprints off the bottle, she showed that she believed that the poison had been placed in it, rather than in the glass. Moreover, seen to handle the bottle there was no reason to remove her own fingerprints; she can only have been removing those of a third party.
Angela, however, was not guilty. All the evidence incriminating Angela can be explained by the fact that she had stolen valerian
from Meredith’s laboratory that morning in preparation for playing another prank on Amyas. (Because she described the theft of the valerian in the future tense Poirot realised that she had never carried out this trick; Angela had completely forgotten that she had stolen the valerian on the morning of that fateful day).
The true murderer was Elsa. Far from being about to finish with Caroline, Amyas was entirely focused on completing his portrait of Elsa. Because Elsa was young she did not realize she was just another mistress, to be left as soon as she was painted. She took the promises 'to leave my wife' seriously. Amyas went along with her false belief, to the short term distress of his wife, so that Elsa wouldn't leave before the painting was finished. Thus the half overheard 'see to her packing' did not refer to Angela's packing (why should Amyas do her packing with a wife and governess to see to such 'woman's work'?), but to sending Elsa packing. Caroline, reassured that Amyas had no intention of leaving her, was distressed at such cruelty to Elsa. She remonstrated with Amyas on a second occasion. Though Elsa falsely reported the gist of this conversation, she did mention that Caroline had said to Amyas 'you and your women', showing Poirot that in fact Elsa was in the same category as all of Amyas's other, discarded mistresses. After a disillusioned and betrayed Elsa overheard this conversation, she recalled seeing Caroline help herself to the coniine the day before and, under the pretence of fetching a cardigan, stole some of that poison by drawing it off with a fountain pen filler. She poisoned Amyas in the first, warm beer, and was then pleased to find that Caroline implicated herself still more seriously by bringing him another. (When Caroline brought Amyas a beer and he exclaimed that everything tastes foul today,' this not only showed that he had already had a drink before the one Caroline brought him, but he had had one which had tasted foul as well.)
Amyas's last moments are spent working on his painting of Elsa, while she sits posing for it. In the beginning he does not realize he has been poisoned, but as he gradually weakens he apparently realizes it, because Meredith sees him give the painting a "malevolent glare". Poirot notes the unusual vitality in the face of the portrait and says, "It is a very remarkable picture. It is the picture of a murderess painted by her victim – it is the picture of a girl watching her lover die."
Poirot’s explanation solves the case to the satisfaction of Carla and, most importantly, her fiancé. But, as Elsa forces him to admit, it cannot be proven. Poirot states that though his chances of getting a conviction are slim, he does not intend to simply leave her to her rich, privileged life. Privately, however, she confides the full measure of her defeat. Caroline, having earned redemption, went uncomplainingly to prison, where she died soon after. Elsa has always felt that the husband and wife somehow escaped her, and her life has been empty since.
The last paragraph of the novel underlines this defeat. “The chauffeur held open the door of the car. Lady Dittisham got in and the chauffeur wrapped the fur rug around her knees.”
The “Five Little Pigs”
of January 16, 1943 concluded, "No crime enthusiast will object that the story of how the painter died has to be told many times, for this, even if it creates an interest which is more problem than plot, demonstrates the author's uncanny skill. The answer to the riddle is brilliant."
Maurice Richardson was pleased to see the return of Poirot to Christie's works when he reviewed the novel in the January 10, 1943 issue of The Observer
. He concluded, "Despite only five suspects, Mrs. Christie, as usual, puts a ring through the reader's nose and leads him to one of her smashing last-minute showdowns. This is well up to the standard of her middle Poirot period. No more need be said."
J.D. Beresford in The Guardian
s review of January 20, 1943 said, "Miss Agatha Christie never fails us, and her Five Little Pigs presents a very pretty problem for the ingenious reader." It concluded that the clue to who committed the crime was, "completely satisfying."
Robert Barnard
: "The-murder-in-the-past plot on its first and best appearance – accept no later substitutes. Presentation more intricate than usual, characterization more subtle."
All in all, it is a beautifully tailored book, rich and satisfying. The present writer would be willing to chance his arm and say that this is the best Christie of all."
Charles Osborne
: "The solution of the mystery in Five Little Pigs is not only immediately convincing but satisfying as well, and even moving in its inevitability and its bleakness.
David Suchet
starred as Poirot in an adaptation of the novel shown during 2003 as part of the series Agatha Christie's Poirot
. There were a few major changes in this version. One was that Philip Blake's affections were not for Caroline, as in the book, but for Amyas, thus making Philip Blake gay. Caroline was executed in the adaptation, instead of being sentenced to life in prison and then dying a year into her jail sentence, as in the book. Carla's name was also changed to Lucy, and she does not have a fiancé in the film. Nor, in the film, does she fear she has hereditary criminal tendencies; she merely wishes to prove her mother innocent of the crime. Furthermore, after Poirot exposes Elsa as Amyas' murderer, Lucy aims at her with a pistol, with Elsa provoking Lucy to shoot her and Poirot urging Lucy to spare Elsa's life so that justice can truly be served. Eventually, Lucy lowers her pistol and Elsa leaves, broken and defeated.
The novel was first serialised in the US in Collier's Weekly
in ten instalments from September 20 (Volume 108, Number 12) to November 22, 1941 (Volume 108, Number 21) under the title Murder in Retrospect with illustrations by Mario Cooper.
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company
Dodd, Mead and Company
Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. Its history properly began in 1870, with the retirement of its founder, Moses Woodruff Dodd. Control passed to his son Frank...
in May 1942
1942 in literature
The year 1942 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*André Gide leaves France to live in Tunis.*Robertson Davies becomes editor of the Peterborough Examiner.*Thomas Mann emigrates to California....
under the title of Murder in Retrospect and in UK by the Collins Crime Club
Collins Crime Club
The Collins Crime Club was an imprint of UK book publishers William Collins & Co Ltd and ran from May 6, 1930 to April 1994. Customers registered their name and address with the club and were sent a newsletter every three months which advised them of the latest books which had been or were to be...
in January 1943
1943 in literature
The year 1943 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Orwell resigns from the BBC to become literary editor of Tribune.*Isaac Bashevis Singer becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States....
although some sources state that publication occurred in November 1942. The UK first edition carries a copyright date of 1942 and retailed at eight shillings (8/-) while the US edition was priced at $2.00.
The book features Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
. The novel is notable as a rigorous attempt to demonstrate Poirot’s repeatedly stated contention that it is possible to solve a mystery purely by reflecting upon the testimony of the participants, and without access to the scene of the crime.
This was the last novel of an especially prolific phase of Christie's work on Poirot. She published thirteen Poirot novels between 1935 and 1942 out of a total of eighteen novels in that period. By contrast, she published only two Poirot novels in the next eight years, indicating the possibility that she was experiencing some frustration with her most popular character.
Five Little Pigs is unusual in the way that the same events are retold from several standpoints.
Plot introduction
Sixteen years after Caroline Crale has been convicted of the murder of her husband, Amyas Crale, her daughter, Carla Lemarchant, approaches Poirot to investigate the case. Poirot embarks optimistically upon an unprecedented challenge, but soon fears that the case may be as cut and dried as it had first appeared.Explanation of the novel's title
Like One, Two, Buckle My ShoeOne, Two, Buckle My Shoe (novel)
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in November 1940 and in US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1941 under the title of The Patriotic Murders. A paperback edition in the US by Dell books...
before it and Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory Dickory Dock (novel)
Hickory Dickory Dock is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on October 31, 1955 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in November of the same year under the title of Hickory Dickory Death...
after it, the novel is named for a nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
usually referred to as This Little Piggy
This Little Piggy
"This Little Piggy" or "This little pig" is an English language nursery rhyme and fingerplay. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19297.-Lyrics:The most common modern version is:-Origins:...
that is used by Poirot to organise his thoughts regarding the investigation.
Plot summary
Carla is engaged to be married but she is afraid that the fact that her mother killed her father will poison her husband's love for her, as he may fear that she has inherited a husband-killing tendency. Moreover, Carla remembers that her mother would never lie to her to hide an unpleasant truth and her mother told her she was innocent through a letter. That is enough for Carla but she wants Poirot to prove her mother's innocence to her husband to be.Carla's father, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
Amyas Crale, was murdered with a poison, coniine
Coniine
Coniine is a poisonous alkaloid found in poison hemlock and the yellow pitcher plant, and contributes to hemlock's fetid smell. It is a neurotoxin which disrupts the peripheral nervous system. It is toxic to humans and all classes of livestock; less than 0.2g is fatal to humans, with death caused...
, which had been extracted from poison hemlock
Conium
Conium is a genus of two species of highly poisonous perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to Europe and the Mediterranean region as Conium maculatum, and to southern Africa as Conium chaerophylloides....
by Meredith Blake but subsequently apparently stolen from him by Carla's mother, Caroline Crale. Caroline confessed to having stolen the poison, claiming that she had intended to use it to commit suicide. This poison ended up, however, in a glass from which Amyas had drunk cold beer, after complaining that 'everything tastes foul today'. Both the glass and the bottle of cold beer had been brought to him by Caroline. Her motive was clear: Amyas’s young model, and latest mistress Elsa Greer, had revealed that he was planning to divorce Caroline and marry her instead. This was a new development; though Amyas had frequently had mistresses and affairs, he had never before shown any sign of wanting to leave Caroline.
Poirot labels the five alternative suspects “the five little pigs”: they comprise Phillip Blake ("went to the market"); Philip’s brother, Meredith Blake ("stayed at home"); Elsa Greer (now Lady Dittisham, "had roast beef"); Cecilia Williams, the governess ("had none"); and Angela Warren, Caroline’s younger half-sister ("went 'Wee! Wee! Wee!' all the way home"). As Poirot learns from speaking to them during the first half of the novel, none of the quintet has an obvious motive, and while their views of the original case differ in some respects there is no immediate reason to suppose that the verdict in the case was wrong.
The differences are subtle. Phillip Blake’s hostility to Caroline is overt enough to draw suspicion. Meredith Blake mistrusts him, and has a very much more sympathetic view of her. Elsa seems emotionally stunted, as though her original passion for Amyas has left her prematurely devoid of emotion, except for hatred for Caroline Crale. Cecilia, the governess, gives some insight into both Caroline and Angela, but claims to have definite reason for believing Caroline guilty. Finally, Angela believes her sister to be innocent, but a letter that Caroline wrote to her after the murder contains no protestation of innocence, and makes Poirot doubt Caroline's innocence for perhaps the first time.
In the second half of the novel, Poirot considers five accounts of the case that he has asked the suspects to write for him. These establish the succession of events on the day of the murder, and establish a small number of facts that are important to the solution of the puzzle. In the first place, there is a degree of circumstantial evidence incriminating Angela. Secondly, Cecilia has seen Caroline frantically wiping fingerprints off the bottle of beer as she waited by Amyas’s corpse. Thirdly, there has been a conversation between Caroline and Amyas, apparently about Amyas 'seeing to her packing' for Angela's return to school. Fourthly, Elsa overheard a heated argument between Caroline and Amyas in which he swore that he would divorce her and Caroline said bitterly 'you and your women'.
In the denouement
Detective denouement
The detective dénouement is a variant on the literary dénouement common to mystery stories. It was first popularised by the Sherlock Holmes novels, but is present in many stories, such as the works of Agatha Christie or in Ellen Raskin's young adult novel The Westing Game.In detective stories, the...
, Poirot reveals the main emotional undercurrents of the story. Philip Blake has loved Caroline but his rejection by her has turned this to hatred. Meredith Blake, wearied by his long affection for Caroline, has formed an attachment to Elsa Greer, that is also unreciprocated. These are mere red herrings
Red herring (plot device)
Red herring is an idiomatic expression referring to the rhetorical or literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item of significance...
, though. Putting together the case that would incriminate Angela (she had the opportunity to steal the poison on the morning of the crime, she had previously put salt in Amyas’s glass as a prank and she was seen fiddling with the bottle of beer before Caroline took it down to him; she was very angry with Amyas), he demonstrates that Caroline herself would have thought that Angela was guilty. Her letter to Angela did not speak of innocence, because Caroline believed that Angela must know for a fact that Caroline was innocent. This explains why, if Caroline was innocent, she made no move to defend herself in court. Moreover, many years ago Caroline had thrown a paperweight at Angela in a jealous rage, which had left a permanent disfiguring scar on Angela's face. Caroline had always felt deeply guilty about this and therefore felt that, by taking the blame for what she thought was Angela's crime, she could earn redemption.
Caroline’s actions, however, unwittingly proved her innocence. By wiping the fingerprints off the bottle, she showed that she believed that the poison had been placed in it, rather than in the glass. Moreover, seen to handle the bottle there was no reason to remove her own fingerprints; she can only have been removing those of a third party.
Angela, however, was not guilty. All the evidence incriminating Angela can be explained by the fact that she had stolen valerian
Valerian (plant)
Valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers which bloom in the summer months. Valerian flower extracts were used as a perfume in the sixteenth century....
from Meredith’s laboratory that morning in preparation for playing another prank on Amyas. (Because she described the theft of the valerian in the future tense Poirot realised that she had never carried out this trick; Angela had completely forgotten that she had stolen the valerian on the morning of that fateful day).
The true murderer was Elsa. Far from being about to finish with Caroline, Amyas was entirely focused on completing his portrait of Elsa. Because Elsa was young she did not realize she was just another mistress, to be left as soon as she was painted. She took the promises 'to leave my wife' seriously. Amyas went along with her false belief, to the short term distress of his wife, so that Elsa wouldn't leave before the painting was finished. Thus the half overheard 'see to her packing' did not refer to Angela's packing (why should Amyas do her packing with a wife and governess to see to such 'woman's work'?), but to sending Elsa packing. Caroline, reassured that Amyas had no intention of leaving her, was distressed at such cruelty to Elsa. She remonstrated with Amyas on a second occasion. Though Elsa falsely reported the gist of this conversation, she did mention that Caroline had said to Amyas 'you and your women', showing Poirot that in fact Elsa was in the same category as all of Amyas's other, discarded mistresses. After a disillusioned and betrayed Elsa overheard this conversation, she recalled seeing Caroline help herself to the coniine the day before and, under the pretence of fetching a cardigan, stole some of that poison by drawing it off with a fountain pen filler. She poisoned Amyas in the first, warm beer, and was then pleased to find that Caroline implicated herself still more seriously by bringing him another. (When Caroline brought Amyas a beer and he exclaimed that everything tastes foul today,' this not only showed that he had already had a drink before the one Caroline brought him, but he had had one which had tasted foul as well.)
Amyas's last moments are spent working on his painting of Elsa, while she sits posing for it. In the beginning he does not realize he has been poisoned, but as he gradually weakens he apparently realizes it, because Meredith sees him give the painting a "malevolent glare". Poirot notes the unusual vitality in the face of the portrait and says, "It is a very remarkable picture. It is the picture of a murderess painted by her victim – it is the picture of a girl watching her lover die."
Poirot’s explanation solves the case to the satisfaction of Carla and, most importantly, her fiancé. But, as Elsa forces him to admit, it cannot be proven. Poirot states that though his chances of getting a conviction are slim, he does not intend to simply leave her to her rich, privileged life. Privately, however, she confides the full measure of her defeat. Caroline, having earned redemption, went uncomplainingly to prison, where she died soon after. Elsa has always felt that the husband and wife somehow escaped her, and her life has been empty since.
The last paragraph of the novel underlines this defeat. “The chauffeur held open the door of the car. Lady Dittisham got in and the chauffeur wrapped the fur rug around her knees.”
Characters in “Five Little Pigs”
- Hercule Poirot, the Belgian Detective
- Carla (Caroline) Lemarchant, the daughter of Caroline Crale
- Sir Montague Depleach, Counsel for the Defence in the original trial
- Quentin Fogg, K.C., Junior for the Prosecution in the original trial
- George Mayhew, son of Caroline’s solicitor in the original trial
- Caleb Jonathan, family solicitor for the Crales
- Superintendent Hale, investigating officer in the original case
The “Five Little Pigs”
- Phillip Blake, a stockbroker (“went to market”)
- Meredith Blake, a reclusive former amateur herbalist (“stayed at home”)
- Elsa Greer (Lady Dittisham) , a spoiled society lady ("had roast beef”)
- Cecilia Williams, the devoted governess ("had none”)
- Angela Warren, a disfigured archaeologist (“cried 'wee wee wee' all the way home”)
Literary significance and reception
Maurice Willson Disher's review in The Times Literary SupplementThe Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
of January 16, 1943 concluded, "No crime enthusiast will object that the story of how the painter died has to be told many times, for this, even if it creates an interest which is more problem than plot, demonstrates the author's uncanny skill. The answer to the riddle is brilliant."
Maurice Richardson was pleased to see the return of Poirot to Christie's works when he reviewed the novel in the January 10, 1943 issue of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
. He concluded, "Despite only five suspects, Mrs. Christie, as usual, puts a ring through the reader's nose and leads him to one of her smashing last-minute showdowns. This is well up to the standard of her middle Poirot period. No more need be said."
J.D. Beresford in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s review of January 20, 1943 said, "Miss Agatha Christie never fails us, and her Five Little Pigs presents a very pretty problem for the ingenious reader." It concluded that the clue to who committed the crime was, "completely satisfying."
Robert Barnard
Robert Barnard
Robert Barnard is an English crime writer, critic and lecturer.- Life and work :Born in Essex, Barnard was educated at the Colchester Royal Grammar School and at Balliol College in Oxford....
: "The-murder-in-the-past plot on its first and best appearance – accept no later substitutes. Presentation more intricate than usual, characterization more subtle."
All in all, it is a beautifully tailored book, rich and satisfying. The present writer would be willing to chance his arm and say that this is the best Christie of all."
Charles Osborne
Charles Osborne
Charles Osborne hiccupped continuously for 68 years .Osborne was from Anthon, Iowa, U.S., and he was entered in Guinness World Records as the man with the Longest Attack of Hiccups. The hiccups started in 1923 and persisted for a total of 68 years...
: "The solution of the mystery in Five Little Pigs is not only immediately convincing but satisfying as well, and even moving in its inevitability and its bleakness.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
In 1960, Christie adapted the book into a play, Go Back For Murder, but edited Poirot out of the story. His function in the story is filled by a young lawyer named Justin Fogg, son of the lawyer who lead Christine Crale's defence. During the course of the play, it is revealed that Carla's fiancé is an obnoxious American who is pressuring her into revisiting the case, and in the end, she leaves him for Fogg.David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
starred as Poirot in an adaptation of the novel shown during 2003 as part of the series Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
. There were a few major changes in this version. One was that Philip Blake's affections were not for Caroline, as in the book, but for Amyas, thus making Philip Blake gay. Caroline was executed in the adaptation, instead of being sentenced to life in prison and then dying a year into her jail sentence, as in the book. Carla's name was also changed to Lucy, and she does not have a fiancé in the film. Nor, in the film, does she fear she has hereditary criminal tendencies; she merely wishes to prove her mother innocent of the crime. Furthermore, after Poirot exposes Elsa as Amyas' murderer, Lucy aims at her with a pistol, with Elsa provoking Lucy to shoot her and Poirot urging Lucy to spare Elsa's life so that justice can truly be served. Eventually, Lucy lowers her pistol and Elsa leaves, broken and defeated.
Publication history
- 1942, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), May 1942, Hardback, 234 pp
- 1943, Collins Crime Club (London), January 1943, Hardback, 192 pp
- 1948, Dell Books, Paperback, 192 pp (Dell number 257 [mapbackMapbackMapback is a term used by paperback collectors to refer to the earliest paperback books published by Dell Books, beginning in 1943. The books are known as mapbacks because the back cover of the book contains a map that illustrates the location of the action. Dell books were numbered in series...
]) - 1953, Pan BooksPan BooksPan Books is an imprint which first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers owned by German publishers, Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group....
, Paperback, 189 pp (Pan number 264) - 1959, Fontana Books (Imprint of HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
), Paperback, 192 pp - 1982, Ulverscroft Large-print Edition, Hardcover, 334 pp ISBN 0-70-890814-4
- 2008, Agatha Christie Facsimile Edition (Facsimile of 1943 UK First Edition), HarperCollins, April 1, 2008, Hardback, ISBN 0-00-727456-4
The novel was first serialised in the US in Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
in ten instalments from September 20 (Volume 108, Number 12) to November 22, 1941 (Volume 108, Number 21) under the title Murder in Retrospect with illustrations by Mario Cooper.
International titles
- Catalan: Cinc porquets (Five Little Pigs)
- Danish: Fem smågrise (Five Little Pigs)
- Dutch: Vijf kleine biggetjes (Five Little Pigs)
- French: Cinq Petits Cochons (Five Little Pigs)
- German: Das unvollendete Bildnis (The Unfinished Portrait)
- Japanese: 五匹の子豚 (Five Little Pigs)
- Hungarian: Öt kismalac (Five Little Pigs)
- Italian: Il ritratto di Elsa Greer (Elsa Greer's Portrait)
- Japanese: 五匹の子ぶた (Five Little Pigs)
- Polish: Pięć małych świnek (Five Little Pigs)
- Portuguese: Poirot Desvenda o Passado (Poirot Unravels the Past)
- Spanish: Cinco Cerditos (Five Little Pigs)
External links
- Five Little Pigs at the official Agatha Christie website