A 1963 UK paperback issued by Fontana Books changed the title to Murder at the Gallop to tie in with the film version. The book features the author's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, but the Murder at the Gallop film adaptation instead featured her amateur sleuth, Miss Marple.
A wealthy man dies at home. His relatives gather after his funeral for the reading of his will, during which his sister states that he was murdered. The next day, she herself is found murdered. Poirot is called in to solve the mystery.
Plot summary
Following the funeral of Richard Abernethie, his family assembles at Enderby Hall for the reading of the will by his lawyer, Mr Entwhistle. His wealth is to be divided up between his surviving family: his brother Timothy Abernethie and his wife Maud; his sister Cora Lansquenet; his nephew George Crossfield; his first niece Rosamund Shane, and her husband Michael; his second niece Susan Banks, and her husband Gregory; and Helen Abernethie, the wife of his late brother Leo.
Although Richard died of natural causes and his death was expected, Cora makes the seemingly chance but potently disruptive comment that he was murdered. The day after the funeral, she is found dead, having been violently murdered in her sleep. No motive is obvious in Inspector Morton's investigations - while Cora's life income reverts to the Abernethie estate, her property goes to Susan, while her companion Miss Gilchrist receives a number of the paintings she made. However, doubts soon arise about Richard's death in the wake of her murder. Seeking help, Entwhistle contacts his friend, Hercule Poirot, to resolve the matter. Poirot contacts his old friend Mr Goby to investigate the family.
Each family member had their own reason for wanting Richard's wealth, and thus become a suspect in the murder. On the day of the inquest, Susan visits Cora's home to clean up her possessions for auction. She learns from Gilchrist that her aunt always painted from life, and that she collected paintings from local sales in the hopes of finding a valuable piece. The day after Cora's funeral, art critic Alexander Guthrie arrives to look through Cora's recent purchases as previously scheduled but finds nothing of value there. That evening, Gilchrist is poisoned with a slice of arsenic-laced wedding cake sent in the post; she survives, having only eaten a small portion. Gathering to select items from Richard's estate before its sale, the family are joined by Poirot and Gilchrist. During discussions, Helen comments about believing there was something odd on the day of the funeral, Gilchrist makes a remark about one of the decorations in Enderby, while Susan recalls finding a painting in Cora's possession, which she believed had been copied from a picture postcard and not painted from life, Cora's usual style.
Early the next morning, Helen telephones Entwhistle to inform him what she had realised was odd during Richard's funeral, but is struck savagely on the head before she can say more. Helen suffers a concussion and is taken away for her safety. As Inspector Morton prepares to ask each family member about their movements on the day of Cora's murder, Poirot startles everyone by revealing to them that her murderer was Miss Gilchrist. She had recognised a Vermeer amongst Cora's recent purchases that her employer had not, and knew it was her chance to rebuild her beloved tea shop that she lost in the war. She painted over the Vermeer painting with a scene of a pier from a postcard, unaware it had been destroyed in the war. Afterwards, she put a sedative in Cora's tea so she would be asleep, while Gilchrist posed as her at the funeral. None of the family had seen Cora for more than two decades, which made her deception easier. After leaving the false suggestion that Richard had been murdered, Gilchrist killed Cora the following day so that police would believe it was connected to Richard's death. To divert suspicion from herself, Gilchrist faked the attempt on her life.
Gilchrist had to copy Cora's characteristic turn of her head but failed to realise one of these was wrong when she rehearsed it in front of a mirror. Helen was attacked because she eventually realised this. Furthermore, Poirot knew she had posed as Cora because she made a reference to a piece of decoration, which could only have been seen within Enderby Hall on the day of Richard's funeral. The Vermeer was hidden by Gilchrist so Guthrie did not find it during his scheduled visit. Her claim that Cora painted the pier scene from life was countered by Susan finding a pre-war postcard of the pier in the cottage, along with Entwhistle recollecting that he smelt oil when he visited Cora's home after her murder when he contacted Poirot for help. Poirot then reveals that two nuns visited Cora's cottage on the day of the funeral, and believed someone was inside.
Once accused, Gilchrist breaks down into a flood of complaints about the hardships of her life but quietly goes with the police. During legal proceedings before her trial, she eventually becomes insane, planning one tea shop after another, though Poirot and Entwhistle have no doubt she was in full possession of her faculties during her crime.
Characters
Mr Entwhistle - the Abernethie family's solicitor, he is also an assistant in the case and one of the friends of Inspector Morton.
Inspector Morton - the investigating officer for the Berkshire County's police investigation into Cora's murder.
Hercule Poirot - The Belgian detective called in by Entwhistle to aid Morton and the family.
Mrs Cora Lansquenet - the victim of the case. An amateur painter and the youngest sister of Richard Abernethie. One of the heirs to Richard's fortune, before her murder.
Richard Abernethie - a wealthy widower, recently deceased and cremated before the start of the novel. Lost one brother in World War II, and another brother and two sisters to other causes. His only surviving son Mortimer died six months ago.
Timothy Abernethie - only surviving brother of Richard. A grumpy invalid, and one of the heirs to his brother's fortune.
Maude Abernethie - Timothy's wife, a strong, healthy woman who tends to her husband's needs.
Susan Banks - Richard's first niece, daughter of his brother Gordon, and one of the heirs to his fortune. She is a woman with a drive for business, and Cora's heir.
Gregory Banks - Susan's husband. A chemist, who inadvertently gave a non-lethal overdose to one of his customers in the past.
George Crossfield - Richard's nephew, son of his sister Laura. A solicitor for a stock broker's office, and one of the heirs to Richard's fortune.
Rosamund Shane - Richard's second niece, daughter of his sister Geraldine. She is an aspiring actress, and one of the heirs to Richard's fortune.
Michael Shane - Rosamund's husband; like her, he is an aspiring actor.
Helen Abernethie - widow of Richard's brother Leo, and one of the heirs to Richard's fortune.
Miss Gilchrist - Cora's paid companion. She owned a tea shop until it was lost in the war.
Lanscombe - butler at Enderby Hall
Janet - kitchenmaid at Enderby Hall
Marjorie - cook at Enderby Hall
Mrs Jacks - Enderby Hall's cleaning lady.
Mrs Jones - Timothy and Maude Abernethie's cleaning lady.
Alexander Guthrie - an old friend of Cora Lansquenet, and an expert on artwork.
Miss Entwhistle - spinster sister of Mr Entwhistle.
Themes
Unlike in Taken at the Flood, in which there is a strong sense of post-war English society re-forming along the lines of the "status quo ante", After the Funeral is deeply pessimistic about the social impact of war. A pier on a postcard has been bombed and not yet rebuilt, which fact is pivotal to the plot. Richard Abernethie is devastated that his only son died abruptly from polio, an epidemic of that time. The son was fit, healthy, about to marry, and then gone. Richard sees no other single heir worthy of succeeding to his estate entire. The Abernethie drive and talent for business are found in his niece Susan, but he cannot consider her as sole heir because she is female. Rather, he reacts to her by being disappointed in her husband. Not finding any one person to take over his fortune and business, he divides the money among family members who seem likely to waste it on gambling and theatrical ventures.
One person he valued was his sister-in-law, now widowed by the war. She had a child in a war time affair. She never told Richard of the child, aware of his Victorian views, telling others she has a nephew she helps. She is grateful for his kindness in including her in his will, as she can now raise her son on faraway Cyprus with a proper education. The child is loved, but his mother feels he cannot be accepted in post war England. The last name chosen for Cora's husband, the much disliked painter with some claim to being French, is Lansquenet. It is unusual as a last name, as mentioned in the story. The word is the name of a card game, and it is the term for the German mercenary foot soldier with a lance or lancer of the 15th and 16th centuries, who may have played that card game.[3]
Food rationing in England came to an end in the year of publication, but its effect is still felt in the egg shortages that are mentioned in the novel. Throughout, there is a strong sense of the hardships of the post-war period, including the conniving Miss Gilchrist's heartache at losing her cherished teashop due to food shortages, and being forced into a life of dependence, in which she is regarded as little more than a servant. There are also comments on the increased burden of taxation associated with Clement Attlee's government.
Literary significance and reception
Robert Barnard said of this novel that it had "A subject of perennial appeal – unhappy families: lots of scattered siblings, lots of Victorian money (made from corn plasters). Be sure you are investigating the right murder, and watch for mirrors (always interesting in Christie). Contains Christie's last major butler: the 'fifties and 'sixties were not good times for butlers."[4]
References or allusions
References to other works
In chapter 12, Poirot mentions the case handled in Lord Edgware Dies as being one in which he was "nearly defeated".
In Chapter 13, Poirot's valet is referred to in the narrative as Georges. His actual name is George, but Poirot always addresses him directly as Georges. This is the first (and only?) time that he is referred to by the French version in narration.
References to actual history, geography and current science
This is the first of the Poirot novels in which lesbianism (between a woman and her companion) may be discussed as a possible motive.[citation needed] However, the possible references are sparse, veiled and euphemistic: Inspector Morton calls it "feverish feminine friendship" in chapter 13.
Adaptations
Film
In 1963, a film adaptation entitled Murder at the Gallop was released by MGM. It was the second of George Pollock’s four popular Christie adaptations. The film holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews.[5]
This version replaced Poirot with the character of Miss Marple, played by Margaret Rutherford. The film makes a number of other changes to the novel:
A change in setting: the majority of the film's action is set in a riding establishment,
The addition of film character 'Mr Stringer' (played by Stringer Davis, Margaret Rutherford's real-life husband),
The addition of a third death,
The alteration and omission of a number of characters,
Cora is the divorced wife of an Italian artist named Gallaccio, whose surname she kept (interestingly, the producer of many episodes of the BBC's Miss Marple series was George Gallaccio). Gallaccio replaces the character of Mr. Guthrie as the art expert that Poirot relies upon.
Miss Gilchrist's teashop in the novel was named the Palm Tree; the adaption renamed it the Willow Tree, all the china was willow pattern. (In the book, this is the name of the tea shop she kept before the war.)
The painting revealed at the end is a Rembrandt instead of a Vermeer.
Entwhistle does not investigate following the funeral and will-reading, but only after Cora's death, though in a minor capacity.
The character of Mr Goby is omitted. Poirot appears solely under his own name, and interviews the family members himself.
Timothy's ability to walk is only shown at the end, unlike in the book where it is known from the start, while Maude is presented as slightly foolish and participates in a flirtation with Gallaccio.
Susan Banks is renamed Susannah Henderson. She is unmarried, and devoted to missionary works in Africa (specifically, Bechuanaland).
George is Helen's son, Richard's favoured nephew, and expected heir to the bulk of the estate. He is carrying on a secret romance with Susan/Susannah; on the day after the funeral they had a secret tryst in Lytchett St Mary. Also, Richard was George's real father: Richard had told him this, but George refused to accept it and quarrelled violently with Richard (which Poirot and Entwhistle learn from Lanscombe), and in his disgust forged a will disinheriting himself in favour of the other relatives.
As in several other episodes, the time has been changed to the 1930s – in this case, from the post-World War II years.
The pier in the painting found by Susan/Susannah was destroyed by a fire, not the war.
Miss Gilchrist lost her tea-shop due to a Lyons tea-house opening nearby, not due to wartime rationing.
When Miss Gilchrist is arrested and taken away, she pauses to repeat her imitation of Cora. Poirot suggests she could be committed for insanity. There is no further discussion.
Susan/Susannah and Rosamund are sisters instead of cousins, both of them being the daughters of Richard's sister Geraldine.
In the book, Rosamund's secret alibi is seeing a doctor to confirm that she was pregnant. In the episode, Rosamund knew she was pregnant and was going to get an abortion, but changed her mind after arriving.
In this production, as is common to the ITV-produced Poirot adaptations, as well as fleshing out plot and relationships there are character developments inserted which are atypical to Christie's writing:
Cousins have an illicit encounter.
A wife with an unfaithful husband, goes for abortion but decides against it.
A woman and her brother-in-law have an affair and conceal the parentage of their child.[6]
The novel was first serialised in the US in the Chicago Tribune in forty-seven parts from Tuesday, 20 January to Saturday, 14 March 1953. In the UK the novel was first serialised in the weekly magazine John Bull in seven abridged instalments from 21 March (Volume 93, Number 2438) to 2 May 1953 (Volume 93, Number 2444) with illustrations by William Little.[7]
^ abPeers, Chris; Spurrier, Ralph; Sturgeon, Jamie; Foord, Peter; Williams, Richard (March 1999). Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions (Second ed.). Dragonby Press. p. 15. ISBN978-1871122138.
