Appointment with Death

by Agatha Christie

An assorted group of travelers are staying at a Jerusalem hotel: Lady Westholme and her companion, a young English doctor and her French colleague, a debonair American and a pugnacious Lancashireman. Another guest, Mrs. Boynton, is a domineering American invalid with four stepchildren whose facade of devotion masks enough hatred to murder her as could the doctor whose affection for Raymond Boynton is being obstructed by the old lady. When Mrs. Boynton is found dead, all are suspects even though she was ill enough to die a natural death. Just when the tension becomes unbearable, the doctor discovers essential evidence about Mrs. Boynton's devilish plan to possess and torment the children in death as in life.

Genres: Plays, Mystery, Agatha Christie, Novella

112 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1945

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good but totally changed the end! Didn't see that coming, think I prefer the original ending!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this play. Interesting goings on and I totally called it. Boohyah @ Catherine Squire

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another play adaption from the novel. This one, as in previous play adaptions from Christie's novels, drops the famous detective (in this case, Poirot) as well as one of the Boynton daughters. The doctors put their heads together to solve the death of the evil ex-prison wardress, Mrs. Boynton, who delights in psychologically controlling & messing with her stepchildrens' lives. In this version, the reason for the death & outcome is totally different than the novel & different again from the ITV production. I am an Agatha purist &, while I understand changes need to be made in adapting her novels to plays & television productions, I do not like it when characters are changed, murderers are changed, & the story becomes almost unrecognizable. If I were a reader seeing these plays & tv programs before reading the book, I would have a completely incorrect impression of Agatha's works. This one wasn't as bad, I still enjoyed it much more than the awful ITV version.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too fun! Plays can delays reveal so much about more about an author and their opinions of their contemporary society. Appointment with Death gives us the real inside scoop on Agatha Christie’s view of tourist stock snd their manners and behaviors. Put your modern morality aside for a minute and try not to be offended by the vernacular of the period. Listen to the wonderfully well-spoken women characters! It’s a GAS! Give it a try!

[DaShannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Agatha book group read the novel Appointment with Death and I wanted to experience Agatha's play writing so I added this one. I had a copy in The Mousetrap and Other Plays. The play differs from the novel in many ways including leaving out Hercule Poirot and changing the murderer so it is a different read and worth enjoying. The novel, its adaptations, and not the play all differ significantly. It is fairly short even with the addition of stage directions. Agatha does write the play.

[LarissaP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of a book club thinking it would be close to the novel (which I couldn't get my hands on). Turns out it has a totally different ending! Made for some very interesting discussion after the fact, comparing the two. I think I liked this version better than I would have the original.

[Alexander Davidson · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bunch of whiny characters with first world problems complain a lot to set up the exposition. It’s not until page 75 that someone dies and the mystery finally begins. Then, as things wrap up, the death is solved in a very unsatisfying (and predictable) way.

[Priyanka Dixit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome narration of a story through a play! the surroundings , room, seating and characters were well defined, which helped readers to imagine and understand the whole scenario. storyline is good as well. mystery is kept till the end.

[Katya Voss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uncertain how to review this one since it is the creepiest Agatha Christie I've ever read....and that's saying something! The psychological tortures a stepmother inflicts on her adult stepchildren....very disturbing... but also I couldn't stop reading it because I had to know how it ended....

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting because it has a different finale than the original book but the dated racial stereotypes make this more awkward than anything else.

[Penelope Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weaker Christie play for me, I think that the ending has been changed quite dramatically too, so great character though, I particularly enjoyed Higgs.

[Bobby H · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. It would have been better with a different title. Too many changes from the book for my taste and no Hercule Poirot!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, need to read the novel now

[Chris Kenyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reasonably good stage version of the novel.

[Theodore · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is good but it’s not really great. Boring tbh and the characters were cool and the setup was awesome but the whole death part (seemingly important) was drab.

[Uri Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm impressed at how Christie's stage adaptation of her earlier novel (of the same title) not only removes Poirot completely, but completely changes the ending.

[Andy Kabanoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me Agatha Christie is an impressive plot-maker but an average writer. Too many of her plots involve almost Cluedo-style caricatures and depth is often lacking. This play is a dramatic exception to that pattern. Here Christie has created characters who have psychological complexity, many of whom are quite disturbed, and in doing so has moved away from the normal whodunit formula. looking forward to directing this play in a few months time.

[Taylor's♡Shelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Civilization has much to answer for."

I'll start off by saying that I was already a fan of the source material when I came across the stage adaptation of Appointment with Death.

Despite the complete submissiveness of the Boynton family, this story hosted some of my favourite Christie characters, particularly in the form of Sarah King. Other than Elinor Carlisle, Sarah King may be my favourite female Christie character. I've mentioned in past reviews that I don't believe Christie engenders realistic female characters compared to their male counterparts, however one of Christie's most polished archetypes is the self-spoken, no-nonsense woman who, at the same time, would do anything to protect the man she loves (Sad Cypress, Witness to the Prosecution, The Sittaford Mystery, etc.).

Then there's Alderman Higgs who adds this adorable side comedy to the story like some modern day Toby Belch. Even though the adaptation obviously condensed his role in the novel, he was still an incredibly enjoyable addition to the group.

And, because it's Christie, the ending of the stage play (including the culprit) has been completely changed. However, unlike the stage adaptation of And Then There Were None (God help me), I actually found the ending of the abridged story (play) far more interesting than the original ending. Though I suppose the altered ending made like half the characters in the story completely unnecessary.

Speaking of unnecessary, is it bad that it took me until Act III to realise that Poirot was a total no-show in this play? I wonder what scared him off.

Probably the mules.

Reread 2021: I'm so into the contrast between Sarah's strong-willed personality and Ray's obsessively subservient demeanor. It makes for such good reading.

Also I love how Lennox is always described as 'holding a book upside down pretending to read'. If there was ever a stage direction that symbolized a character perfectly it would be that one.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and enjoyable play by Agatha Christie. Not the most memorable story by her, probably because I haven’t actually read the novel and therefore there isn’t as much detail I could get my teeth into on a first reading. But it was a lot of fun and particularly fascinating because I read later that Agatha Christie had actually changed who the murderer was! After reading the play’s solution, I went online and read who the murderer is in the novel...what a surprise. I wasn’t expecting that character at all!
(Though the play’s ending was also incredibly surprising and satisfying.)

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had sort of mixed feelings about this play. The most obvious complaint might be that her depictions of Middle Eastern people does not age well. What was probably entertaining and funny back then now just seems racist.

I did enjoy the cast of characters for the traveling group. Higgs, in particular, was very funny. I thought the pacing seemed a little off. It took a long time for the mystery to actually happen, and then it seemed to be solved pretty quickly.

[Nitin De · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite Christie play. It is so unique even among her unique works. This play really shows how much a good premise impacts a mystery story. This absolutely chilling character of the mother is a masterpiece.

[kryppticbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the review at kryppticbooks.wordpress.com.