A Murder is Announced (play adaptation) by Agatha Christie

Title: A Murder is Announced (play adaptation)

Author: Agatha Christie (English, 1890-1976)
Adapted by: Leslie Darbon (Brittish, ?-?)

Originally published:  1950 (play adapted in 1977)
Page count: 102

Dates read: end of 8/19 through the end of 10/19 -
then our lines had to be memorized
2019 book goal progress: 35 out of 41
Back to the Classics category: Classic Play


Read my other book reviews for the challenge HERE.


Description on back of book:
An announcement in the local paper states the time and place when a murder is to occur in Miss Blacklock's Victorian house. The victim is not one of the house's several occupants, but an unexpected and unknown visitor. What follows is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, a second death, a determined Inspector grimly following the twists and turns, and Miss Marple on hand to provide the final solution at some risk to herself in a dramatic confrontation just before the final curtain.

First line(s):
MISS BLACKLOCK (MB): Good-bye.
JULIA (J): You really do make too much fuss of her, Aunt Letty...
MB: Well, Phillipa's been through rather a lot, Julia. And, tell me, what's wrong with trying to make life a bit more pleasant?
J: Nothing - I suppose...
MB: It's such a little thing - waving good-bye. But it helps. I'd do the same for you.

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 8.7 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters      - 9
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 8
Plot                - 9
Intrigue          - 10
Logic             - 7
Enjoyment     - 10
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

I read this through and then read it again... and again and again... until I had whole portions of it memorized. I mean... that is how acting is supposed to work anyway! I played Phillipa Haymes and had a great time with the rest of the cast. I recently moved, so it was nice to meet new people at a community theater. I also hadn't been in a play for 2 years, so it was a blast getting back on stage again! Overall, I think the show is great. Though I haven't read Christie's original book it's made me want to - even though I know who did it!

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Agatha Christia have the last words:

(Note: This is my favorite line in the play. It was probably added to the play by Leslie Darbon and not in Agatha Christie's original novel. It happens at the very end of the play - but doesn't give anything away.)

EDMUND (a struggling writer): I'm convinced somewhere in all this there is a fascinating novel to be written and if I don't write it, someone else will.