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Non-Series Novels & Stories

For those of you wanting to discuss Agatha Christie's standalone books, such as And Then There Were None. 

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The Pale Horse

Moderator1 16 Nov 09 at 12:52 p.m. GMT

Mark Easterbrook knows all about Mogul architecture but little about investigating murder.  Unfortunately he seems to be drawn towards the latter, and the three witches who inhabit the Pale Horse inn.  Do they really have the powers they claim or could they be at the heart of these murders?  Mark has to learn quickly who he can trust or he might be the next victim.

This book gives Ariadne Oliver her chance to shine without Poirot.  Does she do the story justice?  Do she and Mark Easterbrook make a good team?

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39 replies

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treplag 03 Feb 12 at 8:38 p.m. GMT

I read the book quite recently, and there is no character in it by that name (in my edition, at any rate).  I believe that in TEN LITTLE INDIANS, the character who invites everyone to the island has a similar, if not identical, moniker. 

I quite agree with your impatience regarding the changes made when the books are adapted.  So many, if not all, are utterly pointless.

TheLastWord 03 Feb 12 at 7:44 p.m. GMT

[ An extra thought re the TV adaptations of A.C.'s books, in general ! : ]

I suppose it doesn't help that there is added confusion  to the plots due to the different adaptations: in this 2010 version Miss Marple is the detective; whereas in the book Ariadne Oliver was the detective; and in the earlier (1997) TV version there was no 'detective' in the story (instead the Easterbrook character did the detective work himself).

I don't know WHY these TV companies keep messing about with the characters cf. the original stories . . . hurumph!!

TheLastWord 03 Feb 12 at 7:38 p.m. GMT

Book vs TV: is the ref to character "I. M. Noon" in the novel?!

BTW, I have also started a similar thread at the 'TV & Film' section (see: ...have-your-say/television-and-film/imnoon-tvthe-pale-horse/). I am also posting this query here as I hope that someone who has read this novel (unlike myself), may be able to help further?!

I recently watched the 2010 TV "Marple: The Pale Horse". Whilst watching, I made a note that one of the characters refers to someone named "I. M. Noon".

This was clearly - even from my poor recollection - a creation by the scriptwriter of a deliberate homonym(?!): matching "I am no one". Other than that, I can't remember re the purpose of the phrase.

I just wondered if the homonym is in the book & why it wasn't - to my recollection - referred to in the 1997 TV version, recently also seen.

It seemed the kind of 'wordy' thing that a scriptwriter would pick up on if it was in the A.C. novel & include in their script. So: WAS it in the book? To check, I have been Googling etc. to see if there is any ref online, but I can't find it anywhere!

My note was just a doodle really, that I made at the time . . . but now it's bothering me, the way things can do!!

Any ideas re this ref. to "I. M. Noon"? Is it in the book? What does it relate to? All help appreciated!!

P.S. I shall have to get a copy of the novel, of course . . .

GKCfan 16 Oct 11 at 5:43 p.m. GMT

The "crossover" characters in The Pale Horse are:

Cards on the Table- Major (now Colonel) Despard (his first name was John in Cards and Hugh in Horse) and Rhoda Dawes 

The Moving Finger- Rev. & Mrs. Dane Calthorp

Multiple Poirot Novels and Pyne Short Stories- Mrs. Ariadne Oliver

Sleeping Murder & By the Pricking of My Thumbs- Mrs. Lancaster, the "crazy old lady with a glass of milk," is referenced.

murder_is_easy123 16 Oct 11 at 10:23 a.m. GMT

Terrifying!  Especially the 2010 film!

Tommy_A_Jones 05 Apr 11 at 3:30 p.m. GMT

There weren't that many were there? Only 5, As there were some from Poirot Novels and Dane Calthorpe from a Miss Marple book it would have been nice if someone like Albert from the Tommy and Tuppence books had been in it and some from Non-series Novels but saying that I liked the book and found the only chapters I didn't like were really Crucial to the Plot.

Mr_Graves 05 Apr 11 at 2:41 a.m. GMT

I do agree it was odd that so many characters made a reappearance with the wrong people. But all in all, I couldn't fault this book. So up to date (for 1961) and so Agatha Christie. I love how the hair loss motif was so frequent, and yet, just like Agatha Christie, she drew no attention to it. At least, I didn't notice! Not the sort of format one would expect, but this mystery had a great atmosphere and very memorable characters. Somehow, I had already discovered who 'did it' (the problem with Wikipedia) but still I found myself marveling at AC's skill with detective fiction. As always!

ChristieFanBlogger 01 Feb 11 at 3:11 p.m. GMT

This was such an odd book. I wasn’t sure how to take it all. It was all about the occult, or so I worried.  Her serial detectives weren’t in it, but the supporting character who I always assume to be Ms. Christie herself, Ariadne Oliver, was. I was concerned Ms. Christie had gone over the edge. That she had run out of regular old murder plot ideas and had gone off into fantasy land with chicken sacrifices and murder by remote control. Stupid me.  I love how she can still trick me again and again.  The witches were an alibi just like switched bodies or turned back clock hands and I fell for them!

go_leafs_nation 06 Mar 10 at 3:39 p.m. GMT

Dr. Patrick O'Riordan, puffing his pipe, declares that the book could've quite simply been removed from the collection because of other arrivals or a replacement copy. Goodness knows that half the John Dickson Carr books I own came out of someone's personal library- they marked the first page with some of sort of combination of stamp and hole-punch.

MissQuin 06 Mar 10 at 3 p.m. GMT

Maybe the device was taken out, or disabled as how else was it taken off the ship? Sounds like a plot for AC, The Case Of The Disappearing Library Book..

HeiseiHolmes 05 Mar 10 at 3:27 p.m. GMT

I finally got and read it! Apparently, the second-hand copy I got used to be part of a library on a cruise chip, the Queen Mary 2. I looked it up- it's huge! There's a label on the back of the book that says "This book has been fitted with a device that may affect security systems if taken off the ship. Please return it  to the library before leaving." I'm searching for said device right now, but I can't find it.

The book was so great! And I heard it saved about 3 lives... very cool. I liked how Mrs Oliver was Poirot-less for once, since I always associate her with Poirot.

Lone_Wolf 05 Mar 10 at 2:25 p.m. GMT

I assume the Bible quotation was meant to make a thematic sense or something.

go_leafs_nation 05 Mar 10 at 1:17 p.m. GMT

The Bible quotation from which the title is derived is almost irrelevant to the story. Mrs. Calthorp recites it near the end, but there isn't much to tie the two together after that. The only thing that really comes close is how anyone on the list turns up dead...

AndreaWilkins 05 Mar 10 at 10:17 a.m. GMT

I haven't read the book yet, so it's next on my list!! - there has been an adaptation on the television recently and although i didn't watch it all (because i wanted to read the book first) my sister had said that it differs quite a lot from the original story. I was disappointed then because i do like to watch the adaptations, but glad that i waited to read the book first :)

HeiseiHolmes 04 Mar 10 at 5:05 p.m. GMT

I gave me an idea for another topic, too! You can find it in Miscellaneous.

HeiseiHolmes 04 Mar 10 at 4:54 p.m. GMT

Sounds fun! I'll check it out.

MissQuin 04 Mar 10 at 4:49 p.m. GMT

Youve given me an idea for a topic! I put it into non series posts.

HeiseiHolmes 04 Mar 10 at 4:41 p.m. GMT

Ahhh. I heard that chapter of the Bible is pretty scary. Must be good to find titles for books there, if it's as creepy as they say...

MissQuin 04 Mar 10 at 4:37 p.m. GMT

The Pale Horse is mentioned in Revelation 6:8, where it is ridden by Death. From wikipedia. It's in the bible. The Pale Horse is the name of an old inn, in the book.

HeiseiHolmes 04 Mar 10 at 4:31 p.m. GMT

It should come soon, though, since it was about a week ago from a seller in UK that I ordered it. I don't know a lot about Amazon, since I use eBay far more frequently... But getting back to the book, where does the title come from? Is it a quote, like some other ones?