Black Coffee (novel): Difference between revisions
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| publisher = [[HarperCollins]] |
| publisher = [[HarperCollins]] |
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| release_date = 2 November 1998 |
| release_date = 2 November 1998 |
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| media_type = Print |
| media_type = Print |
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| pages = 188 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| pages = 188 pp (first edition, hardback) |
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| isbn = 0-00-232662-0 |
| isbn = 0-00-232662-0 |
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Until the 1998 publication of the novel, the play on which it was based was one of the least known pieces in the Christie canon. The publication proved successful enough to warrant adaptations by Osborne of two other Agatha Christie plays, namely ''[[The Unexpected Guest (novel)|The Unexpected Guest]]'' in 1999 and ''[[Spider's Web (novel)|Spider's Web]]'' in 2000. |
Until the 1998 publication of the novel, the play on which it was based was one of the least known pieces in the Christie canon. The publication proved successful enough to warrant adaptations by Osborne of two other Agatha Christie plays, namely ''[[The Unexpected Guest (novel)|The Unexpected Guest]]'' in 1999 and ''[[Spider's Web (novel)|Spider's Web]]'' in 2000. |
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==Characters== |
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* Hercule Poirot – The protagonist. A detective known for his "little grey cells." |
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* Captain Arthur Hastings – A friend and assistant of Poirot. |
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* Chief Inspector James Japp- A Scotland Yard detective and another assistant of Poirot. |
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* Sir Claud Amory – A reclusive, rich scientist. He dies from hyoscine poisoning via his back coffee. |
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* Richard Amory – Sir Claud's only son. He had to quit the army and now lives with his father. He has tried several businesses and has failed to earn any real money. |
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* Lucia Amory – Richard's wife. Lucia is an Italian. She and Richard met an year ago, fell in love and got married. Her mother died before she met Richard and very little is known about her life. |
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* Caroline Amory – Sir Claud's spinster sister. Charlotte is a prudish woman who symbolizes Victorian ideals. She maybe under her brother's thumb, but is practically the matriarch of the household. |
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* Barbara Amory – Charlotte's niece. Barbara is polar opposite of her aunt and seldom thinks twice before saying something. |
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* Edward Raynor – Sir Claud's secretary. |
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* Dr Carelli – An acquaintance of Lucia, presumably an old Italian friend. Lucia and Carelli met after a long time some days ago, and now he is a guest at the Amory residence. His background is as vague as that of Lucia's. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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Hercule Poirot and his friend [[Arthur Hastings|Hastings]] are called upon to visit the home of the famous physicist Sir Claud Amory, who has devised the formula for a new type of explosive; but they learn that he has been poisoned (in his black coffee, hence the title) the night of their arrival. Poirot is now confronted with the challenge of figuring out which of the array of other people gathered at the Amory residence is the murderer. He questions every single person that was present at the night of the murder. He then concludes his investigation with the help of an old friend from Scotland Yard. |
Hercule Poirot and his friend [[Arthur Hastings|Hastings]] are called upon to visit the home of the famous physicist Sir Claud Amory, who has devised the formula for a new type of explosive; but they learn that he has been poisoned (in his black coffee, hence the title) the night of their arrival. Poirot is now confronted with the challenge of figuring out which of the array of other people gathered at the Amory residence is the murderer. He questions every single person that was present at the night of the murder. He then concludes his investigation with the help of an old friend from Scotland Yard. |
||
==Summary== |
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Sir Claud Amory calls Poirot and informs that a formula of a new explosive being developed by him has been stolen. He believes that somebody in his household is the thief and calls Poirot right away. Meanwhile, it is revealed that the Amory household is unaware of the development. In the household, Lucia excuses herself from the dinner claiming to be feeling a bit ill. |
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Caroline follows Lucia, but it is evident that the latter just wants to be left alone. As Richard arrives, Caroline leaves Lucia alone for some time with her husband. Richard calls on Lucia's lie and accuses her of cheating on him with Dr. Carelli. Lucia denies this, but also doesn't tell him what is really happening. |
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Some time later, Caroline rejoins the duo along with Barbara. As the ladies start talking, the conversation takes turn to the topic of a female relative of the Amory's, a doctor who resides in India. Barbara retrieves the doctor's box, which was kept over an almirah. The box is found to have certain powerful chemicals. |
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Dr. Carelli, who joins the group then, sees the box and starts explaining how harmful and toxic each of the chemical really is. He concentrates particularly on hyoscine hydrobromide. Later, Lucia secretly empties almost the whole vial of hyoscine, which is seen by Edward. Edward doesn't let her know the fact. |
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Some time later, Edward takes a cup of coffee for Sir Claud, but is stopped by Lucia, who tells him that he has the wrong cup. He takes other cup and goes to his masters room. After some time, Sir Claud joins the room as well. Some seconds later, Richard proceeds to exit the room, but is unable to open the door. |
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At this point, Sir Claud announces that the door is locked from outside. He explains what has happened and plainly tells them that one of them is a thief. He offers a deal: after one minute, the lights will go off. Whoever stole the envelope containing the papers should put it on the table, following which no questions will be asked. But once the lights turn on, if the papers are not there, the matter will be out of their hands. |
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As the lights go off, a sound of something striking against metal is heard, followed by Lucia's frantic requests to release them. The noise of some fabric tearing is also heard. After the lights return, everyone is pleasantly surprised to see the envelope on the table. Just then, Poirot enters the scene. Richard greets Poirot and tells him that the matter is resolved. |
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However, everybody finds out that Sir Claud is dead in his chair and that the envelope is empty. Poirot starts investigating after Lucia implores him to do so. Richard gets angry at her, reminding her that his father commented that "the coffee tastes bitter." Realizing that this could implicate either or both of them, Lucia tries to dissuade Poirot, but in vain. |
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Later, when Poirot and Hastings are hiding in the room, Lucia enters and substitutes a cup for another. Poirot surmises that Sir Claud was poisoned via his coffee, which is confirmed by the family doctor Kenneth Graham. Sir Claud is found to be poisoned with hyoscine. As Poirot starts interrogating the family members, he senses that they are intent on hiding something. Also, he finds letters written to Sir Claud telling him to keep distance from the child of Selma Goetz. |
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From what happened, Poirot learns that Sir Claud learnt of the theft by accident. He establishes that Sir Claud was already poisoned when he had everybody locked in the room. A key is found beneath Dr. Carelli's chair, which is found to be the copy of the key of Sir Claud's safe. Poirot later calls Lucia again for questioning. |
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Here, Poirot exposes her to be the daughter of Selma Goetz, an international spy who died some years earlier. Lucia confesses that Carelli was blackmailing her and wanted her to steal the documents, but denies the theft or murder. She claims that she stole hyoscine for herself: she intended to commit suicide before Richard found out her secret. Poirot now reveals that he knows about the cup she has hidden. In a fit of hysteria, she admits to murdering Sir Claud. |
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Richard, believing that Lucia committed the murder, claims that she is taking his blame on her: ''he'' killed his father. Poirot points out that not only would anybody not believe him, but Lucia is innocent. Later, Poirot calls Hastings in the room and explains what happened: Carelli created a duplicate of the safe key. When the lights went off, he threw the key in such a way that anybody would think that the thief threw the key towards him. |
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Lucia did scream, but the important part of the crime was the "tearing of the dress". |
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==Film versions== |
==Film versions== |
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Revision as of 10:42, 7 December 2013
 Dust-jacket illustration of the first UK edition | |
| Author | Agatha Christie |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Andrew Davidson |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2 November 1998 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 188 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-00-232662-0 |
| OCLC | 40836795 |
Black Coffee is a novelisation by the Australian-born writer and opera expert Charles Osborne of the 1930 play of the same name by crime fiction author Agatha Christie.
The novelisation was first published in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins on 2 November 1998 and in the United States by St. Martin's Press on 31 December 1998. It features Christie's famous literary creation Hercule Poirot, a London-based Belgian private detective.
Until the 1998 publication of the novel, the play on which it was based was one of the least known pieces in the Christie canon. The publication proved successful enough to warrant adaptations by Osborne of two other Agatha Christie plays, namely The Unexpected Guest in 1999 and Spider's Web in 2000.
Characters
- Hercule Poirot – The protagonist. A detective known for his "little grey cells."
- Captain Arthur Hastings – A friend and assistant of Poirot.
- Chief Inspector James Japp- A Scotland Yard detective and another assistant of Poirot.
- Sir Claud Amory – A reclusive, rich scientist. He dies from hyoscine poisoning via his back coffee.
- Richard Amory – Sir Claud's only son. He had to quit the army and now lives with his father. He has tried several businesses and has failed to earn any real money.
- Lucia Amory – Richard's wife. Lucia is an Italian. She and Richard met an year ago, fell in love and got married. Her mother died before she met Richard and very little is known about her life.
- Caroline Amory – Sir Claud's spinster sister. Charlotte is a prudish woman who symbolizes Victorian ideals. She maybe under her brother's thumb, but is practically the matriarch of the household.
- Barbara Amory – Charlotte's niece. Barbara is polar opposite of her aunt and seldom thinks twice before saying something.
- Edward Raynor – Sir Claud's secretary.
- Dr Carelli – An acquaintance of Lucia, presumably an old Italian friend. Lucia and Carelli met after a long time some days ago, and now he is a guest at the Amory residence. His background is as vague as that of Lucia's.
Plot
Hercule Poirot and his friend Hastings are called upon to visit the home of the famous physicist Sir Claud Amory, who has devised the formula for a new type of explosive; but they learn that he has been poisoned (in his black coffee, hence the title) the night of their arrival. Poirot is now confronted with the challenge of figuring out which of the array of other people gathered at the Amory residence is the murderer. He questions every single person that was present at the night of the murder. He then concludes his investigation with the help of an old friend from Scotland Yard.
Summary
Sir Claud Amory calls Poirot and informs that a formula of a new explosive being developed by him has been stolen. He believes that somebody in his household is the thief and calls Poirot right away. Meanwhile, it is revealed that the Amory household is unaware of the development. In the household, Lucia excuses herself from the dinner claiming to be feeling a bit ill.
Caroline follows Lucia, but it is evident that the latter just wants to be left alone. As Richard arrives, Caroline leaves Lucia alone for some time with her husband. Richard calls on Lucia's lie and accuses her of cheating on him with Dr. Carelli. Lucia denies this, but also doesn't tell him what is really happening.
Some time later, Caroline rejoins the duo along with Barbara. As the ladies start talking, the conversation takes turn to the topic of a female relative of the Amory's, a doctor who resides in India. Barbara retrieves the doctor's box, which was kept over an almirah. The box is found to have certain powerful chemicals.
Dr. Carelli, who joins the group then, sees the box and starts explaining how harmful and toxic each of the chemical really is. He concentrates particularly on hyoscine hydrobromide. Later, Lucia secretly empties almost the whole vial of hyoscine, which is seen by Edward. Edward doesn't let her know the fact.
Some time later, Edward takes a cup of coffee for Sir Claud, but is stopped by Lucia, who tells him that he has the wrong cup. He takes other cup and goes to his masters room. After some time, Sir Claud joins the room as well. Some seconds later, Richard proceeds to exit the room, but is unable to open the door.
At this point, Sir Claud announces that the door is locked from outside. He explains what has happened and plainly tells them that one of them is a thief. He offers a deal: after one minute, the lights will go off. Whoever stole the envelope containing the papers should put it on the table, following which no questions will be asked. But once the lights turn on, if the papers are not there, the matter will be out of their hands.
As the lights go off, a sound of something striking against metal is heard, followed by Lucia's frantic requests to release them. The noise of some fabric tearing is also heard. After the lights return, everyone is pleasantly surprised to see the envelope on the table. Just then, Poirot enters the scene. Richard greets Poirot and tells him that the matter is resolved.
However, everybody finds out that Sir Claud is dead in his chair and that the envelope is empty. Poirot starts investigating after Lucia implores him to do so. Richard gets angry at her, reminding her that his father commented that "the coffee tastes bitter." Realizing that this could implicate either or both of them, Lucia tries to dissuade Poirot, but in vain.
Later, when Poirot and Hastings are hiding in the room, Lucia enters and substitutes a cup for another. Poirot surmises that Sir Claud was poisoned via his coffee, which is confirmed by the family doctor Kenneth Graham. Sir Claud is found to be poisoned with hyoscine. As Poirot starts interrogating the family members, he senses that they are intent on hiding something. Also, he finds letters written to Sir Claud telling him to keep distance from the child of Selma Goetz.
From what happened, Poirot learns that Sir Claud learnt of the theft by accident. He establishes that Sir Claud was already poisoned when he had everybody locked in the room. A key is found beneath Dr. Carelli's chair, which is found to be the copy of the key of Sir Claud's safe. Poirot later calls Lucia again for questioning.
Here, Poirot exposes her to be the daughter of Selma Goetz, an international spy who died some years earlier. Lucia confesses that Carelli was blackmailing her and wanted her to steal the documents, but denies the theft or murder. She claims that she stole hyoscine for herself: she intended to commit suicide before Richard found out her secret. Poirot now reveals that he knows about the cup she has hidden. In a fit of hysteria, she admits to murdering Sir Claud.
Richard, believing that Lucia committed the murder, claims that she is taking his blame on her: he killed his father. Poirot points out that not only would anybody not believe him, but Lucia is innocent. Later, Poirot calls Hastings in the room and explains what happened: Carelli created a duplicate of the safe key. When the lights went off, he threw the key in such a way that anybody would think that the thief threw the key towards him.
Lucia did scream, but the important part of the crime was the "tearing of the dress".
Film versions
The play on which Osborne's novelisation is based was filmed in England as Black Coffee in 1931, less than a year after its premiere staging in London. It was released on 19 August 1931 by Twickenham Film Studios and has a running time of just under 80 minutes. Julius S. Hagan produced it and Austin Trevor played the role of Poirot. Trevor had also appeared as Poirot in the 1931 film Alibi, which was made by the same studio a few months before Black Coffee. (Alibi was the first screen version of Christie's famous story The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.)
The Black Coffee play was filmed for a second time, this time in France, by Les Établissements Jacques Haïk. It was released as Le Coffret de laque on 15 July 1932, and internationally as The Lacquered Box.
