The Mystery of the Blue Train
Review of the novel The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie.
Published by Collins Crime Club, 29th March 1928
Cost: 1s 6p 1949 [£2.50 1995]
ISBN: 0-00-675134-2 (Paperback Edition - 232 pages *starts on page 7)
Christie's dedication in the book reads:
"To the two distinguished members of the O.F.D. - Carlotta and Peter".
This is Hercule Poirot's sixth full-length story. The novel also features the first description of the fictional village of St. Mary Mead, the home of Christie's detective Miss Marple – introduced in December 1927 in the short story, The Tuesday Night Club.
The Mystery of the Blue Train is based around a murder that takes place on the fabulous Blue Train, officially known as the Calais–Paris–Nice Express. It is the train for the wealthy to travel from London to the French Riviera. The first time we are introduced to Poirot is on page 67, when he talks to Katherine Grey, who is having her first winter out of England, after having inherited a huge sum of money. They chat about the detective story Katherine is reading;
‘Perhaps they give one the illusion of living an exciting life,’ she suggested.
He nodded gravely.
‘Yes; there is something in that.’
‘Of course, one knows that such things don’t really happen,’ Katherine was continuing, but he interrupted her sharply.
‘Sometimes, Mademoiselle! Sometimes! I who speak to you – they have happened to me.’
She threw him a quick, interested glance.’
‘Some day, who knows, you might be in the thick of things,’ he went on. ‘It is all chance.’
A short while later, Katherine is helping the police with their enquiries regarding the death of Ruth Kettering, who has been strangled and the renowned ruby necklace known as ‘The Heart of Fire’ has been stolen.
There is an intrigue of lovers, rogues and a dealer who trades in priceless jewels. The French Police Commissioner believes the murder is a simple case of robbery by the dead girl’s lover, but Poirot is not convinced. Before long it is the husband of the dead woman who is tried and found guilty of the murder. Once again Poirot is not convinced and continues with his own investigation. With the help of Katherine and those around her, Poirot is able to solve the crime but has little interest in the finding of the necklace (although he declares where he has recently seen it).
The novel is based on the short story The Plymouth Express, which had previously been published in a periodical. Expanded into a full-length novel, five years later, The Mystery of the Blue Train, has a very similar plot, but with names and details changed.
Christie plays with the idea, which she uses in a number of her stories, that nobody takes looks at a servant. They are able to act discreetly in the background and carry out dastardly deeds!
The novel, The Mystery of the Blue Train, was written at a low point in Christie’s writing career; in 1926, the death of her mother, her husband's infidelity and her breakdown and ten-day disappearance. She felt she needed to start a new life on her own. She and her daughter, Rosalind, take a holiday, staying at the Hotel Oratava in Tenerife in the Canary Islands in 1927, and make significant progress with the full-length novel. Christie writes in her autobiography; ‘Really, how that wretched book came to be written I don’t know. … I was driven desperately on by the desire, indeed the necessity, to write another book and make some money.’ She suddenly became aware that to generate an income she would now have to become a professional writer for a living. Christie states: ‘I have always hated The Mystery of the Blue Train, but I got it written and sent it off to the publishers. [However] I cannot say I have ever been proud of it.’
I enjoyed reading the story, but with the tale of The Plymouth Express in my mind, this fuller story did not captivate me as I might have hoped. Christie gets into her stride with clues for the reader and some miss direction, but, as she states, it is not one of her best stories. The character of Poirot is not fully utilised to what we later welcome during his investigations. Other characters lack the full Christie detail, as does the Blue Train and its compartments. I feel the need to quickly get back into reading one of her more famous novels. Rating: 3 stars
Dr James Sheppard
11 May 2016
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