They Do It with Mirrors

"For the novel of the same name see Robert A. Heinleininfobox Book |
name = They Do It with Mirrors
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Dust-jacket illustration of the US (true first) edition. See "Publication history" (below) for UK first edition jacket image.
author = Agatha Christie
illustrator =
cover_artist = Not known
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Crime novel
publisher = Dodd, Mead and Company
release_date = 1952
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 187 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = NA
preceded_by = Mrs McGinty's Dead
followed_by = A Daughter's a Daughter

"They Do It With Mirrors" is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1952 under the title of "Murder with Mirrors" [John Cooper and B.A. Pyke. "Detective Fiction - the collector's guide": Second Edition (Pages 82 and 87) Scholar Press. 1994. ISBN 0-85967-991-8] [http://home.insightbb.com/~jsmarcum/agatha45.htm American Tribute to Agatha Christie] ] and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 17 in the same yearChris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. "Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions". Dragonby Press (Second Edition) March 1999 (Page 15)] under Christie's original title. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at ten shillings and sixpence (10/6). The book features her detective Miss Marple.

Plot summary

As the story opens, Miss Jane Marple is paying a visit to her old friend Ruth Van Rydock. Miss Marple, Ruth, and Ruth's sister Carrie Louise were all friends together at the same school in Italy when they were girls. Ruth is worried that something is very wrong at Stonygates, the Victorian mansion where Carrie Louise lives with her husband Lewis Serrocold. She can't explain any real reason for these worries, but she fears that Carrie Louise may be in danger of some kind. Ruth asks Miss Marple to visit her and find out what is going on.

Carrie Louise is delighted to have Jane for a visit at Stonygates. The old Victorian mansion, though owned outright by Carrie Louise, has been converted into a home for delinquent boys which is, run by Carrie Louise's husband, Lewis Serrocold. Lewis Serrocold is actually Carrie Louise's third husband; she was also once widowed and once divorced. Carrie Louise has always been attracted to men who had their minds on noble causes. Her first husband, Mr. Gulbrandsen, was a great philanthropist, and Mr. Serrocold is devoted to the idea of reforming juvenile delinquents and teaching them how to contribute to society. The boys are involved in theatrical productions and many other activities around the estate during the day, but at night they are confined to their own quarters. The family has the central block of the house to themselves.

The family includes many people who are connected to each other only through Carrie Louise. Mildred Strete is the only blood relative of Carrie Louise who is resident at Stonygates. She is Carrie Louise's daughter by her first marriage. Carrie Louise also had an adopted daughter, Pippa, who died after giving birth to her own daughter, Gina. Now an adult, Gina is married to an American named Walter Hudd and has recently returned to Stonygates. Juliet Bellever, a long time companion, caretaker, and friend of Carrie Louise is also a permanent fixture at the mansion. Stephen and Alex Restarick, Carrie Louise's stepsons from her second marriage, are also frequent visitors.

Also frequently present at Stonygates is Lewis Serrocold's assistant, Edgar Lawson. Edgar is an awkward young man who the others dismiss as pompous and half-mad. He seems to suffer from both a persecution complex and delusions of grandeur. On several occasions he confides to others that he is the illegitimate son of a great man, and claims that powerful enemies are conspiring to keep him from his rightful position.

Christian Gulbrandsen, a member of the Stonygates Board of Trustees and the son of Carrie Louise's first husband from his previous marriage, arrives unexpectedly to see Lewis Serrocold. Everyone assumes he is there on business, but no one is sure exactly why. After dinner Mr. Gulbrandsen retires to the guest room to type a letter. Miss Marple and the others gather in the Great Hall. A fuse blows out, and Walter goes to repair it.

Edgar Lawson bursts into the darkened room, screaming that Lewis Serrocold is his real father. Edgar and Mr. Serrocold go into the study and Edgar locks the door behind him. Everyone in the Great Hall listens intently as Edgar screams accusations at Mr. Serrocold, then they hear multiple gunshots. When the door is finally opened, they are surprised but relieved to see that Mr. Serrocold is alive and well, Edgar in tears, and several bullet holes in the walls.

Yet there has been a murder at Stonygates that night after all. When Juliet Bellever goes to check on Christian Gulbrandsen, she finds him dead. He was shot while working at his typewriter, and the letter he was writing is gone.

Mr. Serrocold later reveals to the police that he took the letter to keep his wife from learning its contents. He explains that he and Mr. Gulbrandsen were both concerned that Carrie Louise's recent poor health was due to deliberate poisoning.

At that point, Alex Restarick arrives. Alex is Stephen's brother, also associated with the stage, and the most likely suspect since the police who come to investigate find an unaccounted periodof time between his arrival in the car and his appearance in the Great Hall.

Alex Restarick's remarks about stage scenery lead Miss Marple to reflect on all kinds of stage illusion, such as conjurers who perform magic by using mirrors and assistants who are in on the trick. She soon works out how Mr. Gulbrandsen's murder was accomplished, and who is behind the poisoning attempts. The murderer is at last discovered –- only to die attempting to save an accomplice before either can be brought to trial.

Literary significance and reception

No review of this book appeared in the "Times Literary Supplement".

Maurice Richardson of "The Observer" of November 30, 1952 summed up thus: "First half is lively and the trick alibi for the murder of the stepson neat enough; there is a marked decline in sprightliness later on, but half a shot is better than no dope." ["The Observer" November 30, 1952 (Page 9)]

Robert Barnard: "Unusual (and not entirely convincing) setting of delinquent's home, full of untrustworthy adolescents and untrustworthy do-gooders. Christie not entirely at home, perhaps because she believes (in Miss Marple's words) that 'young people with a good heredity, and brought up wisely in a good home…they are really…the sort of people a country "needs".' Otherwise highly traditional, with houseplans, Marsh-y inquisitions, and second and third murders done most perfunctorily. Definite signs of decline." [Barnard, Robert. "A Talent to Deceive – an appreciation of Agatha Christie" - Revised edition (Page 207). Fontana Books, 1990. ISBN 0006374743]

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel's first adaptation was as "Murder with Mirrors" in 1985 for television with Helen Hayes in the role of Miss Marple.

It was adapted again for the BBC series "Miss Marple" starring Joan Hickson and first broadcast on December 29, 1991.

It is set to be adapted for the fourth season of "Marple", starring Julia McKenzie in the title role and co-starring Joan Collins as Ruth Van Rydock.

Some elements of the plot were also incorporated into the 1964 film "Murder Ahoy!", starring Margaret Rutherford - along with a token tribute to "The Mousetrap". Instead of a sprawling Victorian estate, the delinquent boys are housed on board a retired ship called the Battledore, and they go ashore periodically to commit mischief under the direction of their criminal mastermind. Apart from these elements, however, this film is not based on any of Christie's works.

Publication history

* 1952, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), 1952, Hardback, 187 pp
* 1952, Collins Crime Club (London), November 17 1952, Hardback, 192 pp
* 1954, Pocket Books (New York), Paperback, 165 pp
* 1956, Fontana Books (Imprint of HarperCollins), Paperback, 187 pp
* 1966, Ulverscroft Large-print Edition, Hardcover, 224 pp
* 1969, Greenway edition of collected works (William Collins), Hardcover, 223 pp
* 1970, Greenway edition of collected works (Dodd Mead), Hardcover, 223 pp
* 1974, Pan Books, Paperback, 187 pp
* 2005, Marple Facsimile edition (Facsimile of 1952 UK first edition), November 7, 2005, Hardcover, ISBN 0-00-720847-2

A condensed version of the novel was first published in the US in "Cosmopolitan" magazine in the issue for April 1952 (Volume 132, Number 4) under the title "Murder With Mirrors" with illustrations by Joe Bowler.

In the UK the novel was first serialised in the weekly magazine "John Bull" in six abridged instalments from April 26 (Volume 91, Number 2391) to May 31, 1952 (Volume 91, Number 2396) with illustrations by George Ditton [Holdings at the British Library (Newspapers - Colindale). Shelfmark: NPL LON LD116.] .

References

External links

* [http://us.agathachristie.com/site/find_a_story/stories/They_Do_it_with_Mirrors.php "They Do It With Mirrors"] at the official Agatha Christie website
*imdb title|id= 0089640|title=Murder with Mirrors (1985)
*imdb title|id= 0103078|title=They Do It With Mirrors (1991)