The Man in the Brown Suit
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The Man in the Brown Suit (published in 1924) is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie.
The Man in the Brown Suit was first serialised in The Evening News under the title "Anna the Adventuress". Christie was paid £500 for the serial rights, which she invested in a grey, bottle-nosed Morris Cowley, at Archie's suggestion.
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[edit] Plot introduction
It follows the adventures of Anne Beddingfeld as she gets involved in a world of diamond thieves, murderers and political intrigue in this tale set in exotic Southern Africa. Colonel Race makes his first appearance in the novel; he later appears in Cards on the Table, Sparkling Cyanide, and Death on the Nile.
Anne's voyage is loosely based on a round-the-world work trip taken by Agatha Christie, her first husband Archie Christie, and his boss Major E A Belcher, to promote the 1924 Empire Exhibition. Before the trip Belcher had suggested setting a mystery novel in his home, the Mill House at Dorney, and insisted on being in it as well. He is the inspiration for the central character Sir Eustace Pedler, and the Mill House also makes an appearance.
[edit] Plot summary
Penniless recently-orphaned Anne Beddingfeld witnesses a man falling to his death in a crowded London tube station. A mysterious, brown-suited man claiming to be a doctor examines the body, but drops a piece of paper that Anne picks up, with a number and "Kilmorden Castle" written on it. A famous dancer is then reported murdered, with links to the tube station victim, and Anne begins to investigate. She discovers that Kilmorden Castle is the name of a cruise boat, and backed by a newspaper magnate, sails on it to South Africa to follow the trail.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Was adapted in 1989 for television by CBS with Stephanie Zimbalist as Anne Beddingfeld and Rue McClanahan as Suzy Blair. The film is set in a more contemporary era than Christie's original and many details are changed.
