The Secret of Chimneys: Agatha Christie’s Lively Thriller of Memoirs, Letters and a Lost Jewel
A little adventure and some quick money are all Anthony Cade is looking for when he accepts a job as a courier from an old friend. It sounds very simple: deliver the provocative memoirs of a recently deceased European count to a London publisher. The Secret of Chimneys (1925) is one of Agatha Christie’s early thrillers, and the first appearance of Superintendent Battle.
Author: Agatha Christie (1890–1976)
Title: The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
Format: English paperback (HarperCollins), 336 pages
Scope: Light-hearted political thriller and murder mystery; first Superintendent Battle novel
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/0008196214 (ASIN 0008196214)
A Simple Errand
Anthony had no idea that a simple errand on behalf of a friend would put him right in the middle of an international conspiracy, and he soon begins to realise how much danger he is in. Why were Count Stylptitch’s memoirs so important? And what was ’King Victor’ really after? The parcel also contains a bundle of letters that hint at blackmail. Someone will stop at nothing to prevent the monarchy being restored in faraway Herzoslovakia.
All Roads Lead to Chimneys
Murder, blackmail, stolen letters and a fabulous missing jewel, all under the not always cooperative eye of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté. Every thread leads to Chimneys, one of England’s great historic country houses, where a master killer has mingled with the aristocratic guests. Virginia Revel can turn to only one person to prove her innocence and end her nightmare, and she can only pray she has not placed her life in the hands of the man who is ready to take it.
A Ruritanian Romance
The plot turns on Herzoslovakia, an imaginary Balkan kingdom whose monarchy has been overthrown, and on the attempt by British financiers and the Foreign Office to restore it in return for oil concessions. The idea owes much to Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda and the fashion it created for adventures in invented European kingdoms, while the brisk, amused tone recalls the thrillers of John Buchan. Christie clearly enjoyed the genre and does not take it too seriously.
Battle and Bundle
The book introduces two characters Christie would use again. Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard, stolid and apparently slow but missing nothing, returns in The Seven Dials Mystery, Cards on the Table and Towards Zero. Lady Eileen Brent, known as Bundle, the lively daughter of the reluctant host Lord Caterham, steals several scenes here and takes centre stage in the sequel. Lord Caterham himself, who wants nothing more than to be left in peace, is one of Christie’s funniest creations.
Early Christie
Published in 1925, this was Christie’s fifth novel, written in the years when she alternated between detective puzzles and light thrillers like The Secret Adversary (1922) and The Man in the Brown Suit (1924). A year later The Murder of Roger Ackroyd would make her famous. Chimneys shows a writer still trying out different directions, and doing so with great charm.
Who Will Enjoy It
Readers who like their mysteries with humour, romance and a touch of the absurd. Those expecting Poirot’s tight logic may find the plot over-busy, but the final twist is genuinely surprising.
Reading Order
Read this before The Seven Dials Mystery, which reuses the house, Bundle and Battle and refers back to these events. Neither needs any other Christie as preparation, so they make a good pair for a holiday.
Why Read It
This is Christie in playful mood: less a puzzle than a romp, with a charming hero, a spirited heroine and plenty of twists. If you like it, the sequel The Seven Dials Mystery returns to Chimneys and to Superintendent Battle.
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