Over the course of the book, we watch amateur sleuth Anne Beddingfeld evolve from a rank newbie to a formidable presence as she chases an unknown murderer and diamond thief from England to Africa.
High Point: Anne Beddingfeld is a fun character to watch and cheer.
Low Point: This is the only Christie novel with the Anne Beddingfeld character.
Author: Agatha Christie
Publication Date: 1951
Genre: Fiction
Project Gutenberg: Not available
LibriVox: Not available
Movie/TV Adaptation: The Man in the Brown Suit (TV Movie)(1989)
In The Man in the Brown Suit, Agatha Christie introduces another delightful amateur sleuth, Anne Beddingfeld. Over the course of the book, we watch Beddingfeld evolve from a rank newbie to a formidable presence as she chases an unknown murderer and diamond thief from England to South Africa.
Unlike most of her novels, this one is something of an action thriller. Christie frequently places Beddingfeld in dangerous situations in which she may (or may not!) barely manage to escape. Christie often uses the last paragraph of the chapters the way the 1914 serial, The Perils of Pauline, used a cliffhanger to close each of its 20-minute episodes.
Christie’s fourth novel, The Man in the Brown Suit shows glimpses of things to come. As always, there are red herrings and false leads everywhere. But she also uses conventions she enhanced and used so successfully in later novels such as Death on the Nile and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Beddingfeld is a fun character. This, however, is the only Christie novel in which she appears. One has to wonder if Christie believed England in 1924 simply wasn’t ready for a lead character who was a strong intelligent woman. In fact, Beddingfeld herself says, “Women like to be mastered, but they hate not to have their sacrifices appreciated.”
Regardless, The Man in the Brown Suit is an enjoyable read, and Beddingfeld makes a fun character to cheer.
