Agatha Christie – The Queen of Crime – has not received her title without being one. She, with her knack for surprises, had taken the world by storm, with mind-bending plot twists. By early 1926, however, she went a step forward and declared the genre of crime-thrillers & detective fiction as hers and hers alone – with the birth of the book ‘A Murder of Roger Ackroyd’. This is a book that every Mad-over-Christie fan would certify as the world’s best. One may ask, “What makes The Murder of Roger Ackroyd stand out in the world of crime fiction?”, and here we have the answer. Readers of this book have often reported to have altered brain chemistry due to the climax that no one has ever been able to predict. Speaking of which, one wonders how she could even conjure this up for it is so sudden!
Born in 1890 as Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller, she taught herself to read at the age of 5 and then entertained herself with her mother Clara’s made-up imaginative stories and children’s fiction. She was most interested in hearing classic children’s tales like Edith Nesbit (The Story of the Treasure Seekers, The Railway Children) and Louisa May Alcott (Little Women) and poetry & thrillers from America. She worked as a wartime nurse until 1915 when she was challenged by her sister Madge to write a detective story. Her inspiration for Hercule Poirot – the infamous Belgian detective protagonist of this book – was drawn from the situation of refugees feeling from the war in Belgium to England. Hence was Hercule Poirot born. Quaint, polite, intelligent, and undeniably Belgian – Poirot, with his classic mustache became the face of Christie Classics soon enough, playing a monumental role in the peaks that her books reached. In Murder of Roger Ackroyd, he is a retired famous detective who looks forward to spending his time in tranquility. Nevertheless, his precious peace is proved to be temporary.
The little county of King’s Abbot in Cranchester, England, is alarmed by the suicide of Mrs. Ferrars, triggering a wave of rumors. The book opens up with Dr. James Sheppard, the narrator, talking to his sister Caroline – who is an expert at “gossips” – about the results of his examination of Mrs. Ferrars’ body. While, his sister expresses her opinion that Mrs. Ferrars killed herself due to her remorse for allegedly poisoning her husband, on the other hand, Dr. Sheppard voices his contempt for her noisy and judgemental behavior; all the same, wallowing in the same doubts. When going to his practice, Dr. Sheppard comes across their next-door neighbor, a Mr. Porrott, who apologizes for throwing a marrow squash over the fence in a fit of frustration. And the time moves on. Next instance, one realizes that the wealthy widow Roger Ackroyd – living at Fernly Park with his late brother Cecil’s widow, Mrs. Ackroyd, and her daughter, Flora Ackroyd – wants to dig for information on Mrs. Ferrars’ death for he had loved her. Nonetheless, his mission is short-lived as he is found dead in his study, leaving a trail of suspects, doubts, stolen money, secret relationships, and illegal drugs.
With such dynamic characters, Christie explores themes that are universally resonant. Her story masterfully captures human nature through themes like deception, trust, and morality without compromising on suspense. Though the plot and the setting could be slightly not so uncommon in hindsight – a rich man murdered in his mansion- it affected neither the quality of the story nor the twists and turns the book took. The story is set in a way that connects to the readers with its simplicity and bluntness, pointing out the flaws in human nature, taking them deeper and deeper till they get embroiled in the ifs and buts, finally presenting them with the backstory and truth no one expected to see. By the end of the story, one may feel a little “back-stabbed”- that’s hyperbole – because readers are thoroughly and cleanly distracted from what is important. Christie’s clear planning misleads people and makes sure they jump over the given foreshadowing as well.
Tuning into the most interesting and mind-blowing part of the writing, we reach the climax. One could safely say that this is one of the best climaxes in one’s life, for readers will never see it coming. Christie breaks all reader expectations with a groundbreaking revelation that redefines the entire narrative. Avoiding all the spoilers, the execution of the unreliable narrator has been perfected; so much so that one should learn from Christie’s work on how to use this technique. It makes the read entirely worthwhile, giving you an experience that not many other books do. It is truly shocking, that once the reader gets to the last few pages, their perception of the whole story and its characters changes drastically, always leaving the readers restless, because it is such an emotional rollercoaster. This plot twist gets imprinted on the readers’ minds easily. Even habitual crime thriller readers and fans have admitted that they find The Murder of Roger Ackroyd extraordinary.
This book, as previously mentioned has numerous round characters and three major main leads – Poirot, Dr. Sheppard, and Roger Ackroyd. Hercule Poirot and Dr. Sheppard take the spotlight, with their dialogues and the answers they uncover together. Poirot remains this intellectual and highly skilled investigator, who doesn’t think twice before getting his hands dirty to solve a case. He – his “little grey cells” – have an iron grip on the fundamentals of human psychology that helps him unravel each mystery in a unique way that has never been thought of before. With Dr. Sheppard aiding him all the way through, though unreliable, they take apart the people’s alibis and character and put them back together in a way that answers the questions the duo asks. Dr. Sheppard undoubtedly was particularly intriguing. His reports and additions to the story were insightful because he was the only person to have witnessed many events first-hand.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a classic and it serves as an icon to all the modern novels. Today authors look up to Christie and her works, especially the Murder of Roger Ackroyd, for inspiration. Personally, this book was a breakthrough as it introduced me to the Agatha Christie Universe and turned me into a die-hard fan. One could surely pass as a lifelong fan of her work after reading this story! She has brewed an immaculate recipe for an entertaining thriller that keeps the readers on the edge of their seats throughout the reading session. But, most certainly, one will be glued to their chairs for the whole time for it assuredly lures everyone in!!
By: Jennifer Leslie
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