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Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: In Agatha Christie's classic, Five Little Pigs, beloved detective Hercule Poirot races to solve a case from out of the past. Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, but just like the nursery rhyme, there were five other "little pigs" who could have done it: Philip Blake (the stockbroker), who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist), who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcée), who had her roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess), who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister), who cried all the way home. Sixteen years later, Caroline's daughter is determined to prove her mother's innocence, and Poirot just can't get that nursery rhyme out of his mind.… (more)
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Agatha Christie
Illustrated by Andrew Davidson
Agatha Christie is at the peak of her crime-writing powers in this cracking case. A new addition to the Folio Society’s Poirot collection, Five Little Pigs is vividly illustrated by series artist Andrew Davidson.
There are things I know without having to be told.
As a trained apothecary’s assistant who worked for the Red Cross during the First World War, it’s no coincidence that Agatha Christie chose poisoning as the cause of death for many of her fictional victims. This time it’s the turn of artist and serial philanderer Amyas Crale, and his long-suffering wife Caroline is convicted of his murder. When the case is revisited sixteen years later, Poirot’s instinct for injustice is piqued and he gathers fresh testimonies from the only other possible suspects – the Five Little Pigs. Widely regarded as one of Christie’s greatest murder mysteries and one of Poirot’s most compelling cases, in this gorgeous new Folio edition Five Little Pigs is illustrated by award-winning artist Andrew Davidson, including a striking silhouette binding design that offers a tantalising clue to the case. A must-have for Poirot fans and the literary partner-in-crime of recent Folio creation The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, this is the finest edition through which to rediscover, or enjoy a first encounter with, the best of Christie’s page-turning detective fiction.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Bound in blocked buckram
Set in Monotype Bell with Kabel Heavy as display
224 pages
Frontispiece and 6 full page colour illustrations
Plain slipcase
9˝ x 5¾˝
AWARD-WINNING ILLUSTRATOR ANDREW DAVIDSON IS BACK ON THE CASE
Originally titled Murder in Retrospect, this hidden gem in the Queen of Crime’s repertoire was renamed and joined Christie’s collection of books inspired by well-known nursery rhymes. Published by the Folio Society in series with our popular edition of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, this new addition to Folio’s Poirot books is also illustrated by award-winning artist Andrew Davidson. His striking use of light and shadow, vivid colours and brilliantly portrayed characters is the perfect fit for the twists and tension of Christie’s narrative, and, of course, for the astonishing final revelation.
WHO ARE THE FIVE LITTLE PIGS?
As each of the five suspects revisits the crime through hazy memories, the inimitable Poirot pieces together events, motives and alibis in his search for the truth. Amyas Crale’s lifelong friend Philip Blake is the stockbroker who went to market; herbalist Meredith Blake stayed at home; Crale’s young mistress Elsa Greer had roast beef, while loyal governess Cecilia Williams had none. And finally, Caroline’s physically scarred half-sister Angela Warren cried ‘wee wee wee’ all the way home. All had the opportunity to commit the crime, but who had the audacity?
ABOUT AGATHA CHRISTIE
Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and is the author of over 80 works, including detective novels and short stories, 19 plays, and six novels published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920 and introduced the world to Hercule Poirot, who would become one of the most popular fictional detectives since Sherlock Holmes (as would another of Christie’s sleuths, the amateur detective Miss Marple). In 1952 her play The Mousetrap premiered in London’s West End and has run continuously ever since. Christie’s books have sold more than two billion copies in over 100 languages (said to be outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare), and have been adapted many times for film and television. She was made a dame in 1971, and died in Oxfordshire in 1976. In 2013, she was voted the greatest crime writer of all time by the Crime Writers’ Association.
ABOUT ANDREW DAVIDSON
Andrew Davidson studied graphic design at Norwich School of Art and then at the Royal College of Art. He is known for his use of traditional engraving and printing methods. Davidson also paints traditionally, using gouache, and prints block-colour illustrations with wood blocks. He works with French or Japanese paper, engraving on English boxwood and printing the blocks on an 1859 Albion hand press. He has worked with publishers including HarperCollins, Transworld, Faber and Faber, Random House, Penguin Books and Oxford University Press, and also with Shell, BP, Rolex, the All England Lawn Tennis Association, Amtrak, Railtrack, Cunard, Mitchell and Butler, Shepherd Neame, Highland Distillers and the National Museums of Scotland.