Status
Checked out
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
William Morrow Paperbacks (2011), Edition: Reissue, 304 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: In Agatha Christie's classic murder mystery Sad Cypress, a woman damned by overwhelming evidence stands accused of murdering her romantic rival, and only Hercule Poirot stands between her and the gallows. Beautiful young Elinor Carlisle stood serenely in the dock, accused of the murder of Mary Gerrard, her rival in love. The evidence was damning: only Elinor had the motive, the opportunity, and the means to administer the fatal poison. Yet, inside the hostile courtroom, only one man still presumed Elinor was innocent until proven guilty. Hercule Poirot was all that stood between Elinor and the gallows.....
Media reviews
I had a lot of eyerolls at the romance. I often do, there’s something so cringy about Poirot generalizing about all these young girls and their emotions. Some of the dated gender attitudes, and British ideas about continental views, simply did not age well. Then again, I don’t really go for
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insta-love in modern romance novels either, so some of it’s just me.
Still, I think this is a good mystery because I spent the whole book trying to figure out how anyone could have committed the crime. This is the opposite of some of the Christie inheritance mysteries with so many possible suspects running around. Here, I felt like no one else had any motive or any opportunity! Actually, I wasn’t even sure that Elinor had motive and opportunity, she didn’t seem terribly into Rodney and it would be incredibly risky to poison food she was also eating. Plus, the whole investigation feels extra tense because Elinor has already been accused.
In general, the wild explanation of how the murder happened and then the convoluted explanation of why win out over the eye-rolling romantic plot. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member lyzard
Elinor Carlisle and Roderick Welman travel into the country to visit their aunt, Laura Welman, who is bed-ridden following a stroke. Mrs Welman is delighted to hear that the two are engaged; although privately she worries that Elinor cares too much, despite her self-controlled exterior. Along with
Elinor said dreamily: "There was a mark on Nurse's wrist. I mentioned it and she said it was a thorn from the rose trellis by the Lodge. The roses by the Lodge... Roddy and I had a quarrel once---long ago---about the Wars of the Roses. I was Lancaster and he was York. He liked white roses. I said they weren't real---they didn't even smell! I liked red roses, big and dark and velvety and smelling of summer... We quarrelled in the most idiotic way. You see, it all came back to me---there in the pantry---and something---something broke---the black hate I'd had in my heart---it went away---with remembering how we were together as children. I didn't hate Mary any more. I didn't want her to die... But later, when we went back into the morning-room, she was dying..."
She stopped. Poirot was staring at her very intently. She flushed and said: "Will you ask me---again---did I kill Mary Gerrard?"
Poirot rose to his feet. He said quickly: "I shall ask you---nothing. There are things I do not want to know..."
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two nurses, Mrs Welman is looked after by Mary Gerrard, the daughter of the estate's lodge-keeper, in whom she has always taken an interest, including paying for her education. And when a restless Roddy lays eyes on the lovely Mary, everything changes... Reeling from the breaking of her engagement, Elinor suffers a second blow when her aunt dies suddenly. As Mrs Welman made no will, the estate devolves upon Elinor, her blood relative; but with her dreams of life in the country with Roddy shattered, she makes plans to sell the house. As she takes the necessary action, Elinor is consumed by anger and a passionate desire for the death of Mary Gerrard. And Mary does die... Though it doesn't seem to get talked about much, this 1940 mystery by Agatha Christie is one of my favourites, featuring as it does one of Christie's most cold-blooded murders in the poisoning of Mary Gerrard, and one of her most complex characters in Elinor: cool, poised and self-contained; a woman of high principles, but strong passions; capable of murder, yes; but is she guilty? It is not Roderick Welman but the local doctor, Peter Lord, who calls in Hercule Poirot. Lord fell for Elinor at first sight, though he knows he is nothing to her; and as her trial approaches, he begs Poirot to find something, anything, that might help her in the face of the prosecution's open-and-shut case---and the discovery after exhumation that Mrs Welman died of an overdose of morphia. In the death of Mary, Elinor had means, motive and opportunity, while no-one else did; while either compassion or greed might explain her aunt's death. In fact, considers Poirot, there are altogether too many motives; so many, he begins to grow suspicious; but it is not until he notes a tiny, seemingly pointless lie from a witness that he begins to see the light...Elinor said dreamily: "There was a mark on Nurse's wrist. I mentioned it and she said it was a thorn from the rose trellis by the Lodge. The roses by the Lodge... Roddy and I had a quarrel once---long ago---about the Wars of the Roses. I was Lancaster and he was York. He liked white roses. I said they weren't real---they didn't even smell! I liked red roses, big and dark and velvety and smelling of summer... We quarrelled in the most idiotic way. You see, it all came back to me---there in the pantry---and something---something broke---the black hate I'd had in my heart---it went away---with remembering how we were together as children. I didn't hate Mary any more. I didn't want her to die... But later, when we went back into the morning-room, she was dying..."
She stopped. Poirot was staring at her very intently. She flushed and said: "Will you ask me---again---did I kill Mary Gerrard?"
Poirot rose to his feet. He said quickly: "I shall ask you---nothing. There are things I do not want to know..."
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LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
Sad Cypress opens in a court scene at the trial of Elinor Carlisle for the murder of Mary Gerrard. In the dock Elinor starts to reflect on events which have led up to this moment and readers are taken back to when she received an anonymous letter suggesting that a young lady is ingratiating herself
As usual with the best Christie tales the intricate plot is the standout feature of Sad Cypress. Although one always knows that the obvious answer cannot be the real solution everything points to Elinor’s guilt and I did wonder how Ms Christie (or M. Poirot) would work their way out of this particular corner. The resolution is clever and, at least by me, unexpected. The final portion of the book took readers back to the courtroom where the case for the defense is laid out and we see what Poirot made of all the odd little facts he has accumulated with his seemingly random conversations with all the players in the drama. I did find the ending a bit drawn out with several unnecessary repetitions of key information.
I’m struck once again by the themes that recur in Christie’s work including her observations of how different classes of English society rub along together and her depiction of the damage that old family secrets can do. Although I sometimes find her characterisations a bit dated and stereotypical here she does an above average job of depicting interesting and believable people and Poirot seemed to be at his best: egotistical but not over the top.
Finally, I’ll admit that though I alone think Peter Ustinov as the best Poirot (but only in Death on the Nile) I am myself smitten with David Suchet’s narration of Christie books. He makes reading them a delight (rating is 3.5)
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with Elinor’s bedridden Aunt Laura with the aim of being left the considerable fortune that Aunt Laura possesses. Elinor and her Aunt’s nephew by marriage, Roddy, to whom she has just become engaged leave London for Maidensford and find that Aunt Laura has become very fond of Mary Gerrard, the lodgekeeper’s daughter. Although they leave things unresolved for the moment a further stroke leads to another visit during which Aunt Laura dies. Activities involving the subsequent winding up of her estate ultimately lead to Mary Gerrard’s death and the arrest of Elinor for her murder. Hercule Poirot is called in by the village doctor, Peter Lord, who is somewhat smitten with Elinor and wants her acquitted.As usual with the best Christie tales the intricate plot is the standout feature of Sad Cypress. Although one always knows that the obvious answer cannot be the real solution everything points to Elinor’s guilt and I did wonder how Ms Christie (or M. Poirot) would work their way out of this particular corner. The resolution is clever and, at least by me, unexpected. The final portion of the book took readers back to the courtroom where the case for the defense is laid out and we see what Poirot made of all the odd little facts he has accumulated with his seemingly random conversations with all the players in the drama. I did find the ending a bit drawn out with several unnecessary repetitions of key information.
I’m struck once again by the themes that recur in Christie’s work including her observations of how different classes of English society rub along together and her depiction of the damage that old family secrets can do. Although I sometimes find her characterisations a bit dated and stereotypical here she does an above average job of depicting interesting and believable people and Poirot seemed to be at his best: egotistical but not over the top.
Finally, I’ll admit that though I alone think Peter Ustinov as the best Poirot (but only in Death on the Nile) I am myself smitten with David Suchet’s narration of Christie books. He makes reading them a delight (rating is 3.5)
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LibraryThing member riida
an unconventional telling of a poirot story, a fiendishly clever puzzle, and a master class in red herrings!
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
This is a somewhat typical country house murder with a typical cast of characters – a wealthy invalid with stylish young relatives who live a bit above their means, a beautiful but penniless neighbor, a handsome young doctor, a couple of private duty nurses. There's also a love triangle (or is it
I don't think this structure suits Poirot very well. There's too much distance between Poirot, the evidence, and the suspects. Since a lot of the evidence is presented in the courtroom, the reader doesn't get the benefit of Poirot's cryptic comments on the significance of some apparently trivial clue or bit of information. He has to save it all for his summing up. While this doesn't rank among Christie's best, in my opinion, it's still better than the best of many other mystery authors. Readers who already have a few Poirot novels under their belts might enjoy the change of pace.
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a rectangle)? What's atypical for this series is that Poirot isn't called in until a trial is imminent. Since he wasn't at the scene of the crime, he has to rely more than ever on his little gray cells to sort out truth from falsehood as he interviews witnesses.I don't think this structure suits Poirot very well. There's too much distance between Poirot, the evidence, and the suspects. Since a lot of the evidence is presented in the courtroom, the reader doesn't get the benefit of Poirot's cryptic comments on the significance of some apparently trivial clue or bit of information. He has to save it all for his summing up. While this doesn't rank among Christie's best, in my opinion, it's still better than the best of many other mystery authors. Readers who already have a few Poirot novels under their belts might enjoy the change of pace.
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LibraryThing member BookAngel_a
An Agatha Christie courtroom drama - this is the first book of hers I've read that takes place mainly in a courtroom. And there is NOT the usual dramatic scene where Poirot speaks to all the suspects and reveals the killer. That was a surprise. This is one of my favorites so far. Poirot is his
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usual self. There is a damsel in distress of course. But the plot has dramatic twists and complexities. I did have a hunch as to who the killer was, but did not know how or why. The love story is more developed than in other works, which I liked. The depth and complexity made me enjoy the story more and I could not put it down. Show Less
LibraryThing member miyurose
This was the first Agatha Christie I’ve listened to with a courtroom portion. I thought it was quite good, and kept me guessing until the end. At the beginning, it’s really hard to believe that Elinor didn’t do it.
LibraryThing member riverwillow
This is one of my favourite Christie's and in it she explores one of her favoourite plots, as some one. who might just be innocent is tried for murder. Elinor Carlisle is an interesting character, not necessarily likeable, but complex. The revelation of the murderer is a shock and is not revealed
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in Poirot's usual grandstanding manner. Show Less
LibraryThing member Figgles
Another great Poirot read with everything hanging on a scrap of paper and seemingly meaningless lie. A heroine falsely accused but apathetic because she has condemned herself morally. Clever and tragic.
LibraryThing member DirtPriest
Here we have two Christie mysteries (Sad Cypress & Why Didn't They Ask Evans?), both written around the same time, both make use of telephones and license plates and both have similar poison by morphia murders. I thought both were, as expected, fine mysteries with interesting twists and turns.
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Neither are the absolute best of Agatha Christie but the contrast between the two highlights just how great of a character Hercule Poirot is. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? comes across as an afternoon movie plot with its cast of Bobby Jones and Lady Frances doing the solving (barely) and Sad Cypress has the magisterial air of Poirot to give it a fine luster. Show Less
LibraryThing member smik
This was an unusual case because on the face of it the charges of murder against Elinor Carlisle were supported by irrefutable evidence.
Hercule Poirot is brought into the case by Dr. Lord who is actually being called as a witness for the prosecution. He however has fallen in love with Elinore and
Hercule Poirot is amazed by the fact that everyone he talks to tells him lies. Some are just small lies and he can understand why the person has lied. But then he comes across a lie that seems unnecessary. The other thing that prompts his involvement is that he becomes convinced that the truth lies not in what he knows about Elinor Carlisle, but in what he does not know about Mary Gerrard.
SAD CYPRESS really has a very clever and intriguing plot. I liked also the way the reader gets to see things from Elinor's point of view, and is privy to her thoughts.
Hercule Poirot is brought into the case by Dr. Lord who is actually being called as a witness for the prosecution. He however has fallen in love with Elinore and
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believes she is innocent.Hercule Poirot is amazed by the fact that everyone he talks to tells him lies. Some are just small lies and he can understand why the person has lied. But then he comes across a lie that seems unnecessary. The other thing that prompts his involvement is that he becomes convinced that the truth lies not in what he knows about Elinor Carlisle, but in what he does not know about Mary Gerrard.
SAD CYPRESS really has a very clever and intriguing plot. I liked also the way the reader gets to see things from Elinor's point of view, and is privy to her thoughts.
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LibraryThing member FelicityWindmill
Poirot investigates the murder of a young woman. Another woman, the only person with the opportunity and motive to commit the crime, stands accused. This is one of the more complicated Christie plots with a lot of misdirection and twists - almost impossible to guess who did it.
LibraryThing member mounen
I liked it, it's a nice easy read, and kept me guessing til the end.
LibraryThing member Jiraiya
Until Poirot's late first appearance in the book, the latter played like a different story. I pretended that it was so. There were none of Poirot's "beloved" eccentricities. Not once did he talk in french. The entire story was a well imagined mystery with a somewhat nebulous solution. Since the
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denouement was not as explicit as the usual showdown, I didn't fully understand the details, but on the whole I've read what I believe to be a very satisfactory murder mystery. But why Sad Cypress? Show Less
LibraryThing member mstrust
Old Mrs. Welman doesn't have long to live, but she's surrounded by people who care for her- two nurses, a niece and nephew, a housekeeper and the young woman Mrs Welman put through school. When Mrs. Welman dies without having made a will, someone takes steps to ensure the money is theirs.
This has
This has
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much more emphasis on romantic relationships than most Christies, and Poirot doesn't pop his egg-shaped head in for nearly one hundred pages. Other than that, this one sits right in the middle for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member JeffreyMarks
One of Christie's best with a trial scene ending no less.
LibraryThing member RubyScarlett
Really good story but it wasn't really a Poirot novel, it opens and closes with the characters involved in the murder and Poirot makes but a passing appearance. The end revelation is rather spectacular I must say and I don't think anyone would guess at the method used. I liked Elinor a lot in this.
LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley
Come away, come away, death,
And in sad cypress let me be laid;
Fly away, fly away breath;
I am slain by a fair cruel maid.
My shroud of white, stuck all with yew,
O, prepare it!
My part of death, no one so true
Did share it.
(Act II, Scene IV of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night)
No. 21 in the Hercule Poirot
And in sad cypress let me be laid;
Fly away, fly away breath;
I am slain by a fair cruel maid.
My shroud of white, stuck all with yew,
O, prepare it!
My part of death, no one so true
Did share it.
(Act II, Scene IV of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night)
No. 21 in the Hercule Poirot
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series. Distant cousins Elinor Carlisle and Roddy Welman are engaged to be married when they receive an anonymous letter claiming that someone is 'sucking up' to their wealthy aunt, Laura Welman, putting their inheritance in jeopardy. Mary Gerrard, the lodgekeeper's daughter, has a close relationship with their aunt and is poisoned after Roddy in infatuated with her and calls off his engagement to Elinor. Poirot is persuaded to investigate the case, even though Elinor has already been arrested. Show Less
LibraryThing member pammykn
AUTHOR: Christie, Agatha
TITLE: Sad Cypress
DATE READ: 04/05/14
RATING: 5/A
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Mystery/1939/Putnam/271 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: SA
TIME/PLACE: 1930's/UK
CHARACTERS: Elinor Carlisle; Roderick Welman; Mary Gerrard
FIRST LINES: An anonymous letter! Elinor Carlisle stood
COMMENTS: Is there anyone better at the puzzle in mysteries? I have read Agatha Christie over the years. I think I read most years ago when I was in my 20's and still pick one up on occasion -- usually so many books so little time, I don't go back for re-reads-- I only get to one when chosen as a group read. And I am always glad to read a mystery by Agatha Christie -- they always hold my attention & I am always wondering who dunnit & usually have to wait until the final hour to be told who it is. I picked Sad Cypress because I had a copy I had gotten from library sale last year. Debated about giving it away/trading it but held on to it. At first I thought I had read this one recently because it had some similarities to The Crooked House I read 2+ years ago (in 2012) but then as I kept reading it became clear this was a different book. Not that I really remember all the details of Crooked House. In this book Elinor, Roderick & Mary knew each other as children. They have in common Aunt Laura -- Elinor's aunt, Roderick's aunt by marriage & Mary lived at the lodge nearby. Aunt Laura didn't have children & took a special interest in Mary so they grew up knowing each other. Now they are in their 20's. Elinor & Roddy are engaged and live in London. Mary has received an education thanks to Aunt Laura, altho' her father believes she is "moving beyond her station", and altho' is currently around to see to Aunt Laura while she is ill she is pondering what she shall do to support herself. Elinor & Roddy travel to the estate to visit Aunt Laura who takes a turn for the worse & dies rather suddenly. She died w/o leaving a will and since Elinor is the closest relative, she inherits. At the same time Roddy is fascinated w/ Mary and decides to break his engagment w/ Elinor. When Mary dies a month later, after having tea w/ Elinor -- almost everyone has presumed Elinor is accountable for the murder. However, there is one person who believes in Elinor, even if he is doubtful of her innocence & he calls in Hercule Poirot to ferret the facts from the lies.
TITLE: Sad Cypress
DATE READ: 04/05/14
RATING: 5/A
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Mystery/1939/Putnam/271 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: SA
TIME/PLACE: 1930's/UK
CHARACTERS: Elinor Carlisle; Roderick Welman; Mary Gerrard
FIRST LINES: An anonymous letter! Elinor Carlisle stood
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looking down at it as it lay open in her hand. She'd never had such a thing before. It gave one an unpleasant sensation. Ill-written, badly spelled, on cheap pink paper.COMMENTS: Is there anyone better at the puzzle in mysteries? I have read Agatha Christie over the years. I think I read most years ago when I was in my 20's and still pick one up on occasion -- usually so many books so little time, I don't go back for re-reads-- I only get to one when chosen as a group read. And I am always glad to read a mystery by Agatha Christie -- they always hold my attention & I am always wondering who dunnit & usually have to wait until the final hour to be told who it is. I picked Sad Cypress because I had a copy I had gotten from library sale last year. Debated about giving it away/trading it but held on to it. At first I thought I had read this one recently because it had some similarities to The Crooked House I read 2+ years ago (in 2012) but then as I kept reading it became clear this was a different book. Not that I really remember all the details of Crooked House. In this book Elinor, Roderick & Mary knew each other as children. They have in common Aunt Laura -- Elinor's aunt, Roderick's aunt by marriage & Mary lived at the lodge nearby. Aunt Laura didn't have children & took a special interest in Mary so they grew up knowing each other. Now they are in their 20's. Elinor & Roddy are engaged and live in London. Mary has received an education thanks to Aunt Laura, altho' her father believes she is "moving beyond her station", and altho' is currently around to see to Aunt Laura while she is ill she is pondering what she shall do to support herself. Elinor & Roddy travel to the estate to visit Aunt Laura who takes a turn for the worse & dies rather suddenly. She died w/o leaving a will and since Elinor is the closest relative, she inherits. At the same time Roddy is fascinated w/ Mary and decides to break his engagment w/ Elinor. When Mary dies a month later, after having tea w/ Elinor -- almost everyone has presumed Elinor is accountable for the murder. However, there is one person who believes in Elinor, even if he is doubtful of her innocence & he calls in Hercule Poirot to ferret the facts from the lies.
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LibraryThing member pussreboots
Usually Christie's books rate higher for me but Sad Cypress just didn't pull me in to the mystery as so many of her other ones have. I found myself having to reread passages and often looking for other books to read instead. The lengthy exposition of the crime which takes half of the book breaks
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the usual pacing of a Christie mystery and the book never seems to recover from it. Show Less
LibraryThing member lamour
This is a wonderful mystery by one of the greats. Elinor Carlisle is accused of killing Mary Gerrard because she will have to share an inheritance with her; or maybe because they are both in love with the same man. All evidence clearly indicates she is guilty and even when Hercule Poirot can see no
Slowly, he finds little lies being told by everyone including one about the real identity of the victim. Then there is the missing tube of morphine carelessly left unguarded by a nurse.
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hope based on what he sees, it takes some convincing by a doctor to have him look at the case.Slowly, he finds little lies being told by everyone including one about the real identity of the victim. Then there is the missing tube of morphine carelessly left unguarded by a nurse.
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LibraryThing member passion4reading
Elinor Carlisle and her fiancé Roderick Welman travel to see their aunt, who is recovering from a stroke, after receiving an anonymous letter alerting them that their inheritance may be in danger. They meet with Mary Gerrard, a young woman and Aunt Laura's companion, and Roderick becomes
This book is unusual in several aspects: Poirot doesn't get involved until nearly halfway through the book, Elinor Carlisle is one of Agatha Christie's most complex heroines, and several clues are deliberately repressed by the author, even if the rest of the novel is pure Christie, and the mystery quite ingenious, though as ever quite unlikely. The reason I enjoy reading Agatha Christie's books is because I enjoy picking up on the clues left by the author and trying to guess the identity of the culprit before the big reveal; if clues aren't revealed then half the joy is gone. An entertaining read but one I'll probably not re-read.
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infatuated with her, causing Elinor to call off the engagement. When Laura Welman dies intestate after suffering a second stroke, Elinor inherits her aunt's fortune. But then Mary dies suddenly and suspicion immediately falls on Elinor, and she is arrested and faces trial for murder. Hercule Poirot, at the request of Dr Lord, the family doctor, starts asking questions and soon discovers that several people have not been telling the truth about what has happened ...This book is unusual in several aspects: Poirot doesn't get involved until nearly halfway through the book, Elinor Carlisle is one of Agatha Christie's most complex heroines, and several clues are deliberately repressed by the author, even if the rest of the novel is pure Christie, and the mystery quite ingenious, though as ever quite unlikely. The reason I enjoy reading Agatha Christie's books is because I enjoy picking up on the clues left by the author and trying to guess the identity of the culprit before the big reveal; if clues aren't revealed then half the joy is gone. An entertaining read but one I'll probably not re-read.
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LibraryThing member ffortsa
A somewhat atypical Poirot in that half the story happens before he is ever involved. The rest is quite typical - upper class central characters, village supporting cast, inheritance, mysterious personal stories. David Suchet's reading made this a very enjoyable listen.
LibraryThing member davidabrams
Isn't it Romantic?
Apart from the novels she wrote under the pen name Mary Westmacott, Agatha Christie's 1940 mystery Sad Cypress may just be her most romantic book. It's the most unapologetically love-gushy of the 27 Christie mysteries I've read so far (which amounts to about one-third of her
Being the prim and proper product of the Victorian era that she was, Agatha usually kept her romantic subplots bound tighter than a laced-up corset. Yes, there was often a love interest in her mysteries, but she did her best to keep the hearts-and-roses stuff suppressed until the last chapter. Agatha once said, "I myself always found the love interest a terrible bore in detective stories. Love, I felt, belong to romantic stories. To force a love motif into what should be a scientific process went much against the grain."
That may be true in most cases, but Sad Cypress finds the Grand Dame of Mysteries chafing against the grain throughout the book.
Not that the romance trumps the mystery. Not by a long-shot. Those who are looking for murder, deceit and intrigue will find it in spades here in Sad Cypress. The plot revolves around an elderly dowager, Mrs. Welman who, contrary to her name, is not in the pink of health and suffers two strokes in the course of the book's early chapters.
When they get an anonymous letter warning them that a girl in the household is "sucking up" to the widowed invalid and might prevent their chances of an inheritance, niece Elinor Carlisle and nephew Roddy Welman make a quick trip to the woman's estate. They have plans for the old lady's money and it involves their eventual marriage. You see, Elinor and Roddy are literally kissing cousins, having maintained a cool, detached love affair for quite some time. They're lovers, but their feelings for each other run deep under a cool surface.
As always when she saw Roddy, Elinor was conscious of a slightly giddy feeling, a throb of sudden pleasure, a feeling that it was incumbent upon her to be very matter-of-fact and unemotional. Because it was so very obvious that Roddy, although he loved her, didn't feel about her the way she felt about him. The first sight of him did something to her, twisted her heart round so that it almost hurt. Absurd that a man—an ordinary, yes, a perfectly ordinary young man—should be able to do that to one! That the mere look of him should set the world spinning, that his voice should make you want—just a little—to cry…Love surely should be a pleasurable emotion—not something that hurt you by its intensity…
This passage comes from Chapter One. Normally, Agatha would save something like this for Chapter Twenty-Eight—if, indeed, she included such heart-throbbing, light-headed language at all. This is the stuff of Norah Lofts or Barbara Cartland, not Agatha Christie. The mere presence of passages like that stands in sharp contrast to Hercule Poirot, who enters the scene after two of the characters have died (at the risk of spoiling your enjoyment of Sad Cypress, I won't reveal the victims).
Romantic complications ensue after Elinor and Roddy arrive at Mrs. Welman's estate. We already know that Roddy is clinically detached in how he views their relationship:
Elinor, he thought judicially, was really quite perfect. Nothing about her ever jarred or offended. She was delightful to look at, witty to talk to—altogether the most charming of companions.
But then Mary comes into view.
She is the young girl who is allegedly "sucking up" to old Mrs. Welman. Mary is the lodgekeeper's daughter and has gotten quite close to the ailing woman and, yes, there is the chance she could be written into the will.
After receiving the anonymous letter and rushing to Mrs. Welman's bedside, Roddy is out wandering through the woods, thinking about the pleasant way in which Elinor never jars nor offends, when…suddenly…she appears:
A girl came through the trees toward him—a girl with pale, gleaming hair and a rose-flushed skin.
He thought, "How beautiful—how unutterably beautiful."
Something gripped him; he stood quite still, as though frozen into immobility. The world, he felt, was spinning, was topsy-turvy, was suddenly and impossibly and gloriously crazy!
And so, Agatha sets up a deliciously tense love triangle which eventually proves to be central to the novel's mystery plot. Here, she integrates and intertwines love and murder as she rarely has before.
I notice that I've given scant mention to Monsieur Hercule Poirot. He's part of the love story, too. He's in love with himself—and supremely confident in his abilities to sort out all the pieces of the puzzle. Never fear—everything is easy to Hercule Poirot. This comes from the mouth of the Belgian himself. He will find the killer and the true lovers will eventually find each other by the close of the book.
Apart from the novels she wrote under the pen name Mary Westmacott, Agatha Christie's 1940 mystery Sad Cypress may just be her most romantic book. It's the most unapologetically love-gushy of the 27 Christie mysteries I've read so far (which amounts to about one-third of her
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canon).Being the prim and proper product of the Victorian era that she was, Agatha usually kept her romantic subplots bound tighter than a laced-up corset. Yes, there was often a love interest in her mysteries, but she did her best to keep the hearts-and-roses stuff suppressed until the last chapter. Agatha once said, "I myself always found the love interest a terrible bore in detective stories. Love, I felt, belong to romantic stories. To force a love motif into what should be a scientific process went much against the grain."
That may be true in most cases, but Sad Cypress finds the Grand Dame of Mysteries chafing against the grain throughout the book.
Not that the romance trumps the mystery. Not by a long-shot. Those who are looking for murder, deceit and intrigue will find it in spades here in Sad Cypress. The plot revolves around an elderly dowager, Mrs. Welman who, contrary to her name, is not in the pink of health and suffers two strokes in the course of the book's early chapters.
When they get an anonymous letter warning them that a girl in the household is "sucking up" to the widowed invalid and might prevent their chances of an inheritance, niece Elinor Carlisle and nephew Roddy Welman make a quick trip to the woman's estate. They have plans for the old lady's money and it involves their eventual marriage. You see, Elinor and Roddy are literally kissing cousins, having maintained a cool, detached love affair for quite some time. They're lovers, but their feelings for each other run deep under a cool surface.
As always when she saw Roddy, Elinor was conscious of a slightly giddy feeling, a throb of sudden pleasure, a feeling that it was incumbent upon her to be very matter-of-fact and unemotional. Because it was so very obvious that Roddy, although he loved her, didn't feel about her the way she felt about him. The first sight of him did something to her, twisted her heart round so that it almost hurt. Absurd that a man—an ordinary, yes, a perfectly ordinary young man—should be able to do that to one! That the mere look of him should set the world spinning, that his voice should make you want—just a little—to cry…Love surely should be a pleasurable emotion—not something that hurt you by its intensity…
This passage comes from Chapter One. Normally, Agatha would save something like this for Chapter Twenty-Eight—if, indeed, she included such heart-throbbing, light-headed language at all. This is the stuff of Norah Lofts or Barbara Cartland, not Agatha Christie. The mere presence of passages like that stands in sharp contrast to Hercule Poirot, who enters the scene after two of the characters have died (at the risk of spoiling your enjoyment of Sad Cypress, I won't reveal the victims).
Romantic complications ensue after Elinor and Roddy arrive at Mrs. Welman's estate. We already know that Roddy is clinically detached in how he views their relationship:
Elinor, he thought judicially, was really quite perfect. Nothing about her ever jarred or offended. She was delightful to look at, witty to talk to—altogether the most charming of companions.
But then Mary comes into view.
She is the young girl who is allegedly "sucking up" to old Mrs. Welman. Mary is the lodgekeeper's daughter and has gotten quite close to the ailing woman and, yes, there is the chance she could be written into the will.
After receiving the anonymous letter and rushing to Mrs. Welman's bedside, Roddy is out wandering through the woods, thinking about the pleasant way in which Elinor never jars nor offends, when…suddenly…she appears:
A girl came through the trees toward him—a girl with pale, gleaming hair and a rose-flushed skin.
He thought, "How beautiful—how unutterably beautiful."
Something gripped him; he stood quite still, as though frozen into immobility. The world, he felt, was spinning, was topsy-turvy, was suddenly and impossibly and gloriously crazy!
And so, Agatha sets up a deliciously tense love triangle which eventually proves to be central to the novel's mystery plot. Here, she integrates and intertwines love and murder as she rarely has before.
I notice that I've given scant mention to Monsieur Hercule Poirot. He's part of the love story, too. He's in love with himself—and supremely confident in his abilities to sort out all the pieces of the puzzle. Never fear—everything is easy to Hercule Poirot. This comes from the mouth of the Belgian himself. He will find the killer and the true lovers will eventually find each other by the close of the book.
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LibraryThing member sensitivemuse
This is my second Agatha Christie novel, but my first one featuring Poirot. My first one was with Miss Marple and I found it an ok mystery with nice cozy elements to it. But this one was surprisingly good as I was expecting more or less the same.
The characters here had more personality and more
My guess was completely wrong in this mystery, but the little twist and how it all came together was well thought out. You didn't really know what Poirot was thinking as he was putting the pieces together and you can feel just as exasperated as the characters felt when Poirot tries to explain his methods of thinking (he likes to draw out his conclusions)
My next Christie book for the ReadChristie2021 challenge will feature Poirot again, so I hope I will enjoy it as much as this one!
The characters here had more personality and more
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depth to them, the plot itself was much more involved and definitely had more tension. I enjoyed the courtroom scenes especially (haha you can definitely picture the audience with audible gasps during these scenes)My guess was completely wrong in this mystery, but the little twist and how it all came together was well thought out. You didn't really know what Poirot was thinking as he was putting the pieces together and you can feel just as exasperated as the characters felt when Poirot tries to explain his methods of thinking (he likes to draw out his conclusions)
My next Christie book for the ReadChristie2021 challenge will feature Poirot again, so I hope I will enjoy it as much as this one!
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LibraryThing member Matke
The clues in this one are hidden well. A woman standing trial for murder seems to be the obvious, indeed the only possible killer. Maybe xer motives, mysterious pasts, and red herrings abound. Not the best Poirot, but certainly not the worst.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1940
Physical description
304 p.; 5.31 inches
ISBN
006207394X / 9780062073945