Sparkling Cyanide
Encyclopedia
Sparkling Cyanide is a work of detective fiction
by Agatha Christie
and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company
in February 1945
under the title of Remembered Death and in UK by the Collins Crime Club
in the December of the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence
(8/6).
The book features the recurring character of Colonel Race
for the last time and was an expansion of a Hercule Poirot
short story entitled Yellow Iris which had previously been published in issue 559 of the Strand Magazine
in July 1937 and in book form in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories in the US in 1939. It was published in the UK in Problem at Pollensa Bay in 1991. The full-length novel omits the character of Poirot.
The novel uses the basics of the short story, including the method of the poisoning, but changes the identity of the culprit(s) - not for the first time, when Agatha Christie rewrote her own work.
His death would have been dismissed as suicide as well if not for the investigation of his friend Colonel Race. During the investigation it is revealed that the intended victim was Rosemary's young sister Iris. Due to a stipulation of her uncle's will as Rosemary died childless her inherited fortune passed to teenage sister when she died. If Iris had died at the table as intended the money in turn would have passed to her aunt Mrs. Drake. Mrs. Drake is very much at the mercy of her lazy son Victor, who often threatens to commit suicide when he needs money from his mother. Colonel Race and Iris's suitor, Anthony Browne, discover that Victor had planned the murder together with his lover Ruth Lessing, who was also George's secretary.
The plan failed because when the group went to dance Iris dropped her bag and the waiter that retrieved it placed it a seat away from where she was before she went to dance. When the companions returned to the table, George sat at Iris's original place and drank the poisoned champagne. In order to confirm the suicidal nature of the death Ruth had planted a pack of cyanide in Iris's bag and Victor had disguised himself as a waiter in order to poison the sparkling wine. When this failed, Ruth then attempted to run down Iris with a car.
Eventually, Colonel Race together with the police and Anthony Browne unravel the truth and save Iris from being gassed to death by Ruth, who had knocked her out, trying to stage her "suicide'. The anonymous letters to George were sent by Ruth in order to convince him to re-stage the dinner at Luxembourg so that Victor and Ruth could try to kill Iris.
.
Maurice Richardson, in the 13 January 1946 issue of The Observer
wrote, "Agatha Christie readers are divided into two groups: first, fans like me who will put up with any amount of bamboozling for the sake of the pricking suspense, the close finish, six abreast, of the suspect race, and the crashing chord of the trick solution; second, knockers who complain it isn't cricket and anyway there's nothing to it.
Fans, I guarantee will be quite happy with Sparkling Cyanide, a high income group double murder, first of wayward smarty Rosemary, second of dull husband George at his lunatic reconstruction-of-the-crime party. It is too forced to rank with her best Number One form, but the suspect race is up to scratch and readability is high. Making allowances for six years of spam and cataclysm, quite a credible performance."
An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star
of February 24, 1945 said, "Suspense is well maintained and suspicion well divided. While this mystery lacks Hercule Poirot, it should nevertheless please all Agatha Christie fans, especially those who like the murders in the fast, sophisticated set."
Robert Barnard
: "Murder in the past, previously accepted as suicide. Upper-class tart gets her come-uppance in smart London restaurant, and husband later suffers the same fate. Compulsively told, the strategies of deception smart as a new pin, and generally well up to 'forties standard. But the solution takes more swallowing than cyanided champagne."
adapted the book for television
, set in the modern day and starring Anthony Andrews
. This adaptation did not feature Colonel Race.
In late 2003 it was loosely adapted by Laura Lamson
for ITV1
, again in a modern setting, and involving a football
manager's wife's murder. In this adaptation Colonel Race was renamed Colonel Reece, and given a partner, his wife, Dr. Catherine Kendall. The byplay between Reece and Kendall was somewhat similar to Christie's characters Tommy and Tuppence
.
The novel's first true publication was the serialisation in The Saturday Evening Post
in eight instalments from 15 July (Volume 216, Number 3) to 2 September 1944 (Volume 217, Number 10) under the title Remembered Death with illustrations by Hy Rubin.
The novel was first serialised, heavily abridged, in the UK in the Daily Express
starting on Monday, 9 July 1945 and running for eighteen instalments until Saturday, 28 July. The first instalment carried an uncredited illustration.
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 February 1945
1945 in literature
The year 1945 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*November 1 - The magazine Ebony is published for the first time.*Noel Coward's short play, Still Life, is adapted to become the film, Brief Encounter....
under the title of Remembered Death 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 the December of the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence
British sixpence coin
The sixpence, known colloquially as the tanner, or half-shilling, was a British pre-decimal coin, worth six pence, or 1/40th of a pound sterling....
(8/6).
The book features the recurring character of Colonel Race
Colonel Race
Colonel Race is a fictional character created by British mystery novelist Agatha Christie.Race is a highly intelligent ex-Army Colonel who had a stint as a leader of the counter intelligence division of the British spy agency MI5. He is immensely rich, having inherited the fortune of "Sir Lawrence...
for the last time and was an expansion of a 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...
short story entitled Yellow Iris which had previously been published in issue 559 of the Strand Magazine
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
in July 1937 and in book form in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories in the US in 1939. It was published in the UK in Problem at Pollensa Bay in 1991. The full-length novel omits the character of Poirot.
The novel uses the basics of the short story, including the method of the poisoning, but changes the identity of the culprit(s) - not for the first time, when Agatha Christie rewrote her own work.
Plot summary
One year ago on 2 November, seven people sat down to dinner at the restaurant "Luxembourg". One of them, Rosemary Barton, never got up. She was thought to have committed suicide due to post-flu depression. Her husband, George Barton, received anonymous letters saying that Rosemary did not kill herself but was murdered. George started to investigate and decided to reconstruct the dinner at the same restaurant, inviting the same people as well as an actress that looked like his late wife. The actress did not arrive and that night George died at the table - poisoned, like his wife, by cyanide in his glass.His death would have been dismissed as suicide as well if not for the investigation of his friend Colonel Race. During the investigation it is revealed that the intended victim was Rosemary's young sister Iris. Due to a stipulation of her uncle's will as Rosemary died childless her inherited fortune passed to teenage sister when she died. If Iris had died at the table as intended the money in turn would have passed to her aunt Mrs. Drake. Mrs. Drake is very much at the mercy of her lazy son Victor, who often threatens to commit suicide when he needs money from his mother. Colonel Race and Iris's suitor, Anthony Browne, discover that Victor had planned the murder together with his lover Ruth Lessing, who was also George's secretary.
The plan failed because when the group went to dance Iris dropped her bag and the waiter that retrieved it placed it a seat away from where she was before she went to dance. When the companions returned to the table, George sat at Iris's original place and drank the poisoned champagne. In order to confirm the suicidal nature of the death Ruth had planted a pack of cyanide in Iris's bag and Victor had disguised himself as a waiter in order to poison the sparkling wine. When this failed, Ruth then attempted to run down Iris with a car.
Eventually, Colonel Race together with the police and Anthony Browne unravel the truth and save Iris from being gassed to death by Ruth, who had knocked her out, trying to stage her "suicide'. The anonymous letters to George were sent by Ruth in order to convince him to re-stage the dinner at Luxembourg so that Victor and Ruth could try to kill Iris.
Literary significance and reception
The book was not reviewed 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:...
.
Maurice Richardson, in the 13 January 1946 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,...
wrote, "Agatha Christie readers are divided into two groups: first, fans like me who will put up with any amount of bamboozling for the sake of the pricking suspense, the close finish, six abreast, of the suspect race, and the crashing chord of the trick solution; second, knockers who complain it isn't cricket and anyway there's nothing to it.
Fans, I guarantee will be quite happy with Sparkling Cyanide, a high income group double murder, first of wayward smarty Rosemary, second of dull husband George at his lunatic reconstruction-of-the-crime party. It is too forced to rank with her best Number One form, but the suspect race is up to scratch and readability is high. Making allowances for six years of spam and cataclysm, quite a credible performance."
An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
of February 24, 1945 said, "Suspense is well maintained and suspicion well divided. While this mystery lacks Hercule Poirot, it should nevertheless please all Agatha Christie fans, especially those who like the murders in the fast, sophisticated set."
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....
: "Murder in the past, previously accepted as suicide. Upper-class tart gets her come-uppance in smart London restaurant, and husband later suffers the same fate. Compulsively told, the strategies of deception smart as a new pin, and generally well up to 'forties standard. But the solution takes more swallowing than cyanided champagne."
Film, TV and theatrical adaptations
In 1983, CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
adapted the book for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, set in the modern day and starring Anthony Andrews
Anthony Andrews
-Life and career:Andrews was born in London, the son of Geraldine Agnes , a dancer, and Stanley Thomas Andrews, a musical arranger and musical conductor. He grew up in the North Finchley district of London...
. This adaptation did not feature Colonel Race.
In late 2003 it was loosely adapted by Laura Lamson
Laura Lamson
Laura Lamson was an American screenwriter and university lecturer who was based in England throughout her career. Her most successful work was her adaptation of The Men's Room for the BBC.-Biography:...
for ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
, again in a modern setting, and involving a football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
manager's wife's murder. In this adaptation Colonel Race was renamed Colonel Reece, and given a partner, his wife, Dr. Catherine Kendall. The byplay between Reece and Kendall was somewhat similar to Christie's characters Tommy and Tuppence
Tommy and Tuppence
Tommy and Tuppence are two fictional detectives, recurring characters in the work of Agatha Christie. Their full names are Thomas Beresford and Prudence Cowley....
.
Publication history
- 1945, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), February 1945, Hardback, 209 pp
- 1945, Collins Crime Club (London), December 1945, Hardback, 160 pp
- 1947, Pocket BooksPocket BooksPocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
(New York), Paperback (Pocket number 451) - 1955, 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, 159 pp (Pan number 345) - 1955, 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, (Great Pan 156) - 1960, 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, 160 pp - 1978, Ulverscroft Large-print Edition, Hardcover, 358 pp ISBN 0708902235
- 2010, HarperCollins; Facsimile edition, Hardcover: 160 pages, ISBN-13: 978-0007354702
The novel's first true publication was the serialisation in The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
in eight instalments from 15 July (Volume 216, Number 3) to 2 September 1944 (Volume 217, Number 10) under the title Remembered Death with illustrations by Hy Rubin.
The novel was first serialised, heavily abridged, in the UK in the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
starting on Monday, 9 July 1945 and running for eighteen instalments until Saturday, 28 July. The first instalment carried an uncredited illustration.
External links
- Sparkling Cyanide at the official Agatha Christie website