Who Is "Mr. Brown"? (The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie
Date:	20/07/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Engaging, well paced, likeable characters

Disadvantages: Dated

The Secret Adversary was Agatha Christie's second novel, following The Mysterious Affair at Styles in which she had introduced the characters of Hercule Poirot, Captain Hastings & Inspector Japp. This second novel introduces the characters of Thomas "Tommy" Beresford & Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley who were to appear in three more novels:

+ N or M
+ By The Pricking Of My Thumbs
+ Postern Of Fate

and a collection of short stories entitled Partners In Crime.

This book differs from its predecessor as (despite the fact that there is one death) it's more of a thriller than the standard murder mystery for which Christie is best known. The book's dedication "To all those who lead monotonous lives in the hope that they may experience at second hand the delights and dangers of adventure" perhaps gives the reader a hint that this is more of an adventure/thriller type story before they've even started reading it.

Plot:

The book starts with a prologue which is set in 1915 aboard the Lusitania which is sinking. A man approaches an American girl & asks her to take custody of a package containing secret documents. His reasoning is that she'll have more chance of surviving the sinking ship than he does because of the women & children first rule.

We then move forward to 1919 when two old friends, Tommy Beresford & Tuppence Cowley bump into each other. They talk about snatches of conversation they've overheard & Tommy tells Tuppence about overhearing two men discussing someone called Jane Finn. They're both without jobs &, over tea, decide to set up the Young Adventurers Ltd, advertising themselves as:- "Two young adenturers for hire. Willing to do anything, go anywhere. Pay must be good. No unreasonable offer refused".

On her way back from tea Tuppence is stopped by a Mr. Whittington who has overheard her conversation with Tommy. He tells her that he may have a job for her & that she should come to his office the next day. At the meeting she is reluctant to give her real name & uses the name Jane Finn instead. Whittington's reaction is immediate. He believes that she is blackmailing him & pays her off with £50, with the understanding that she'll return to next day to discuss terms.

On her return the next day they discover that Whittington's office is empty. The company has been wound up & everyone has gone. Tommy & Tuppence are intrigued & decide to put an advertisement in the paper asking for information about Jane Finn.

They have two replies. The first is from a Mr. Carter who works in Intelligence & who tells them that Jane Finn vanished after being rescued from the Lusitania along with the secret treaty. The reappearance of the treaty now would certainly compromise the current Government & could potentially spell a Bolshevik led revolution in the country. It is believed that a secret organisation led by the mysterious Mr. Brown is determined to find the treaty and bring about the downfall of the British Establishment. Tommy & Tuppence immediately agree to work for Carter on an unofficial basis to try & find Jane Finn & the treaty.

The second reply comes from a Julius P. Hersheimmer, an American, who claims to be Jane's first cousin & who immediately falls into an easy friendship with Tommy & Tuppence. They also meet Sir James Peel Edgerton, one of the country's leading KC's who assists them in their quest.

But sinister forces are at work. Mrs. Vandemeyer, who knows the identity of Mr. Brown, dies before she can divulge the information, Tommy is captured by Mr. Brown's organisation & a trip to Holyhead seems to indicate that Mr. Brown is one step ahead of them at every turn......


Dramatisations:

The Secret Adversary first appeared as a silent film Germany in 1929. In 1983 London Weekend Television cast Francesca Annis As Tuppence & James Warwick as Tommy in an adaptation of the novel. This was transmitted prior to a 10 week run of "Partners In Crime" which was based on the collection of short stories that Agatha had penned. The Secret Adversary also featured Reece Dinsdale as Albert (a boy who helps Tommy & Tuppence), George Baker as Whittington and Honor Blackman as Mrs. Vandemeyer amongst others.


Verdict:

Not surprisingly this book is a little dated which is hardly surprising when it was first published in 1922. The book taps into the mood of the time with its use of Bolsheviks (who had overthrown the government in Russia in 1917) & the possibility of a General Strike (which actually materialised in Britain four years later in 1926). There are some rather stereotypical descriptions of some of the characters which lead to Tommy and / or Tuppence forming opinions about them as characters or their ethnic background. The novel also talks about the current government & Mr. Carter explains that a Labour government would be disastrous for Britain in terms of trade. The Labour leaders are portrayed as honest men who are being manipulated by Mr. Brown & the Bolsheviks. You have to wonder how much of this came out of right-wing / Conservative concerns of the time.

Coincidence or luck plays a fairly large part in the novel with Tuppence's use of the "Jane Finn" name starting the whole train of events &, later, Tommy managing to get the organisation's password so that he can infiltrate a house that they're holding a meeting at. Despite this, Tommy & Tuppence make an engaging pair & Christie cleverly splits them up part of the way into the novel which allows their investigations to proceed on more than one front.

The novel is reasonably paced & the supporting characters are fairly well drawn, particularly Hersheimmer & Peel Edgerton. I'll leave it to you to work out whether Mrs. Vandemeyer's death was accidental or was murder, but the prime focus for any reader is to work out who the mysterious Mr. Brown is. This is perhaps not quite as easy as it sounds as there are a couple of strong candidates for him. You'll need to be paying very close attention to the book to pick up on the crucial information that will lead you to the right conclusion.

The novel sold more copies on its initial publication that Poirot's debut, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, did & Christie was obviously fond enough of her creations to use them in a further three novels & a collection of short stories (listed above). Personally, I prefer "N or M?", the second Tommy & Tuppence novel, but this first novel more than holds the interest & is well structured enough to keep you guessing the identity of Mr. Brwon.





Product description

* Paperback: 400 pages
* Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; Masterpiece ed edition (2 Jan 2001)
* Language English
* ISBN-10: 0007111460
* ISBN-13: 978-0007111466

At the time of writing the book is available for £5.24 from Amazon. The cheapest price I can find on the Net is £2.99 at www.AbeBooks.co.uk

Summary: Agatha Christie's Second Novel