The Mousetrap and Selected Plays

by Agatha Christie

THE MOUSETRAP, the longest-running play in the history of London's West End, begins its 50th Year run on 25 November 2001. This new edition of four works show how Agatha Christie's plays are as compulsive as her novels, their colourful characters and ingenious plots providing yet more evidence of her mastery of the detective thriller.
The Mousetrap A homicidal maniac terrorizes a group of snowbound guests to the refrain of 'Three Blind Mice'!
And Then There Were None Ten guilty people, brought together on an island in mysterious circumstances, await their sentence!
Appointment With Death The suffocating heat of an exotic Middle-Eastern setting provides a backdrop for murder!
The Hollow A set of friends convene at a country home where their convoluted relationships mean that any one of them could be a murderer!

Genres: Mystery, Agatha Christie, Plays, Fiction, Drama, Crime, Classics

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

Choose Your Own Adventure!

You are a police officer, out in the snow, the winter chill clouding your mind, the only refuge a sinister abode called the Monkswell Manor. You enter the manor and it is as if you had entered the longest-running play in history... the players are all so familiar, the plot they are acting – so timeless.

You: Dear residents, pray give me some time to explain myself. ‘Tis the winter chill that drives me hither and thither! Be gentle, good sirs and ladies. Do stop freaking the fuck out, I mean seriously, y’all act like there’s been a murder or something.

Residents, in unison: THERE HAS!

You: Never fear, residents, I shall solve this dire mystery! The killer shall be drawn into my clever, clever mousetrap! Do not fear to sleep, perchance to dream!

Residents, in unison: Dear Officer! Our beds are your beds! Come hither, and thither; impress us with your sturdy dedication!

If you decide to give up on theatre altogether, choose https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

If you decide to give up on life altogether, choose https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a 50th anniversary edition and is a collection of four of Christie's popular plays. The first is And Then There Were None, presented first by Bertie Meyer at the St James theater, London on 17th Nov, 1943. The play was directed by Irene Hentschel. The second play is Appointment with death directed by Terence de Marney and it premiered on 31st March, 1945. For some strange reason Christie dropped Hercule Poirot in the play which was adapted from the novel of the same name. There are some more changes in the dramatized version of the novel. The third play in the collection is the Hollow which premiered at Fortune Theatre, London in 7th June, 1951. It was directed by Hubert Gregg. Christie left out Poirot in this stage version of the novel. The last play in the collection is The Mousetrap which premiered at Ambassadors Theatre on 25th Nov, 1952. Presented by Peter Saunders, it was directed by Peter Cotes.

[Noam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful!

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could imagine these performed on stage!

I haven't seen any of these performances, but I would love to see Agatha's plays dramatized, live or recorded. Especially Mousetrap! It is a well-crafted mystery and holds you to the end. The Queen of Crime managed to carry her work through novels, short story, and drama. It is well worth reading!

In addition to Mousetrap, this collection includes Appointment with Death, The Hollow, and Go Back for Murder (Five Little Pigs); all three of which are dramatizations from novels. I found it in large print hardback at the public library.

[Oodles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic story of murder in a guest house - hampered by a snowstorm and cut phone lines. I enjoyed the story but I'd like to see the play performed.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of four plays.
The mousetrap sees a snowbound guesthouse and its occupants being stalked by a crazed killer.
And then there were none, a group of people tricked into being gathered together are slowly being picked off one by one according to a nursery rhyme.
Appointment with death we see tourists all waiting for their final appointment but who has the appointment to keep?
In The Hollow a country weekend leads to murder and jealousy.
All puzzlingly different and a must read from the queen of crime.

[Jeff Howells · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not quite finished with Agatha Christie yet. I’ve read all the novels and the short stories but a few years ago some of her most famous plays were collected into two volumes. This is the first volume with ‘And Then There Were None’ and the absolute classic ‘The Mousetrap’ alongside two others which were adapted from Hercule Poirot novels (but omitting Poirot) ‘Appointment with Death’ & ‘The Hollow’. The former two are both examples of the classic of the genre: the cast of characters cut off from the outside world.
Of the four it’s ‘The Mousetrap’ I’m most unfamiliar with and the one that interested me most. Without spoiling the denouement it’s probably about as ingenious a reveal as some of her most celebrated stories. This is probably because it’s never been filmed (and won’t be as long as the play remains in the West End). It’s certainly made me want to go and watch it.

[Praveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s after a long time I am reading plays.

Till date I have only read three plays, frankly speaking I was forced to read during by college days as a part of my syllabus but I never regret of reading them. Shakespeare's The Tempest & Julius Caesar and George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Among this three my all time favorite is George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.

Now with this book four more plays:

1. And then there were none
2. Appointment with Death
3. The Hollow
4. The Mousetrap

I think all fours are written with the same formula.

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Among this four I have already read “And then there were none” (Novel), and listen to the dramatized version of this novel by BBC with minor changes.Apart from this I didn’t put efforts to read first three plays, the core purpose of buying this book is to read The world’s longest running play:

The Mousetrap



The world’s longest running play written with a usual whodunit formula with unusual twist ending. The story happens at Monkawell Manor guest house which is newly opened and among their first visitors there is a maniac with an ambition to murder ‘Three Blind Mice”. The plot of this play appeared to be loosely same as “And then there were none” where tem peopled are summoned to an island where everybody gets killed in as mysterious way till the end of the readers gets into number of assumption on “whodunit” but everybody gets killed leaving the reader blank with the lines of nursery rhyme :
Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Soldier Boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Soldier Boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none

And thru Postscript the culprit is relived.

We should never compare two books written by same author but I am forced to, The Mousetrap is really a gripping one and sure treats for all mystery lovers. Everybody will think what is the reason for the record breaking success of this play. Friends its nothing but the tourists who come to London…..

[MacK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps the best thing about Christie plays is that they are short and quickly readable. Perhaps the worst thing about Christie plays is that they are almost inevitably the same, exact thing.

Granted, the most popular and prolific crime mystery writer of our time is simply borrowing from the Bard in regurgitating devices over and over and over again. But it's the hackneyed ways in which she does them that gives a reader pause (while an audience might find delight).

This volume contains two lesser known plays: Appointment with Death and The Hollow, both of which have their charms (an exotic locale rarely used on stage for one, and a beautiful string of red herrings in the other) but are hopelessly crippled by their overdependence on absurd devices. Everytime one person exits, the scene conveniently jumps off in another direction with different characters and a different conflict. Either these characters have the greatest sense of timing imaginable, or Christie was just too lazy to imagine large scale conflicts.

The two more famous plays, the tightly wound And Then There Were None and the uber-hit, omni-present Mousetrap are more engaging. They have unique features that sets them apart from her more standard fare.

Christie relieves the audience from the wrote predictability of Act I: introduction, Act II: one person is clearly disliked and bound to be murdered, Act III: Find the murderer. In the first play, murders come fast and furious from Act I through to the climax. In the second, the standard Act III deus ex machina of a hard working inspector is turned into a completely different tool all together.

Unfortunately, Christie insists upon happy endings, even though they are completely unrealistic and turn otherwise white-knucked theaters into treacley vomitoriums of irrational behavior.

She's the queen of crime, yet, she has to send the audience home happy? Come on, kill 'em all! Leave with a bang.

[Pvw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really bad, a plot that doesn't hold together, rounded of by a highly implausible conclusion. I have absolutely no idea why this play has been so successful.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love Agatha Christie's works and I religiously watch Poirot with my mother and grandmother. I also saw 'The Mousetrap' when I was younger, and I remember loving it and being shocked at the ending. The twist is so completely unexpected, and reading it now allowed me to appreciate how cleverly constructed it is.
As for the other plays in the book, they are good too. 'Go Back for Murder' is a reimagining of the Poirot story, 'Five Little Pigs', with some slight changes in terms of various romantic attachments. I think it's hard for me to read this without noticing when something is different from the David Suchet film version which I have seen about 5 times...
'Appointment with Death' is equally clever. Christie constructs a truly evil character, to the point where I was WAITING for them to be killed. The only annoying thing is that the children of said character are so ..... pathetic. I understand that it is very difficult to break free of an abusive parent, but I wish that we had seen a bit more of an attempt to do so, especially once the death occurs.
Finally, 'The Hollow' is also an enjoyable play. There is nothing groundbreaking in the story, but I enjoyed in nonetheless.
All-in-all, I was reading this to have a nice break from my exhausting university books. It certainly helped in that regard, and I recommend Agatha Christie's stories for any fans of the detective genre.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

See review under The Mousetrap and other plays

This is confusing - the 4 plays in my book we’re:
1. Go Back for Murder
2. Appointment with Death
3. The Hollow
4. The Mousetrap

No, and Then There Were None??????

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of plays based on four stories by Agatha Christie. The stand out piece to me was Appointment with death! Of course some aspects of this book didn't age well but still, it's nice to be able to read a mystery story within a day and guess along.

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two plays I hadn't read before & two plays I'd read the full books of. Always nice to find a Christie I missed & that can still surprise me. Nobody does it better.

[Addy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary book. An absolute page-turner. All the 4 plays had given me an incredible thrilling experience. Highly recommended for teens 👍🏻

[Blasr · Rating 4 out of 5]

All brilliant, even though I knew the stories.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this anthology of four plays, I've read two of them as novels. I always find it interesting to see what's been changed when stories are brought into a different format.

And Then There Were None is one of the notoriously different stories on stage, since it was assumed that the novel's ending would be too depressing to a theatre audience. It read pretty well except for the odd subplot romance they stuck in.

The Hollow had a quite a few things changed around to force the play into a single setting, the biggest change being that Poirot was written out entirely. One of the main scenes that sticks in my head from the novel was the swimming pool, which is also absent from the play. A couple of other details that stand out as essentially what made this story to me were removed for expediency, and of course quite a few red herring suspects were also easily removed from the investigations.

I may have also read Appointment with Death in another form, since it felt slightly familiar. Christie seems to have a thing about both rich families, and families that are thrown into confusion by a murder within its midsts and how it affects the family when the murderer is likely to be unknown forever.

The main play I got this collection for was, of course, The Mousetrap. I haven't seen it on stage at all or read before. And I have to say I was fairly disappointed. I know the experience of reading something is not quite the same as seeing it staged, and that the theatre magic will make something quite enjoyable that may not quite come to life on the page... but I was not at all surprised by the ending, which is apparently one of the best kept theatre secrets (I guessed pretty much in the second scene what the big reveal was). And the fact that there are huge gaping plot holes that just don't work at all when you think back on the character's motivations and movements is very disappointing considering Christie's usual in-depth detail work on any story. I know she found the experience of reworking stories to plays difficult (as evidenced by Ariadne Oliver's comments in some of the novels), so maybe this is the result of that kind of upset in the working relationship. Yet, this is the longest running stage play still. I felt the play was a very short read, considering it is a full length play. No matter, maybe one day I'll make sure to go and see it, to see if the plot holes are as evident live as they are in reading.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four plays included in the edition I read are: And Then There were None, Appointment with Death, The Hollow, and The Mousetrap. I’m almost certain that I’ve read the first three plays as novels and I’ve seen The Mousetrap performed on stage, twice. The first time was for a friend’s 13th birthday – at this time, I was really big into mysteries and puzzles (and I guess I still am). I loved those lateral thinking books, Usborne Puzzle Adventures, the Clue series...yes, yes, based on the board game. Anybody else remember those? And the second time, probably about 5 years ago. Anyway, I really liked this little collection. The language and opinions are fairly dated and a bit politically incorrect, as is most of Agatha Christie’s work. But, I find it difficult to criticize her for that. It was what it was. I’d recommend reading the play editions over the novels. They're snappier.

[Pennyboller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never read The Mousetrap before, so as one of my 2012 resolutions I read it.

Seeing as The Mousetrap got first billing in the tile, it was interestin that it was the last play in th book - so Iskipped to it.

The ending was predictable, but that's from a modern perspective where we expect every situation. If I'd have seen it at the time Christie wrote it, it would have been unusual and I'd have given it a thmbs up!

[Diana Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four plays are featured in this work. In my edition three of the four are based on novels Go Back for Murder from Murder in Retrospect, Appointment With Death from novel same title, The Hollow from the novel The Hollow or Murder after Hours. The main difference between the plays and the novels is the absence of Hercule Poirot, other small differences occur as well. All are excellent works. I recommend reading the novels before reading the plays.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first Agatha Christie I have read and I enjoyed it immensely. Good, classic whodunits with a delightful humor. These short stories/ plays feature Ms Marple and Hercules Poirot so I feel like I got a good introduction to her work.

[Uma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a Christie fan and she is the undeniable champion in amazing twists. I could picture the play in my mind as I read and hope to someday see the play in London. A fast, quick paced read. Three blind mice destined to get caught in the mousetrap.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are plays with bare bones stage instructions included as well as sketchy descriptions of the characters. Although not a 'great' writer, Ms. Christie gets the job done well. You might have seen one of these adapted as a movie.

[Elise Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite plays I've had the pleasure of performing in.

[Maggie V · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable Agatha Christie ... one that I've read a couple of times.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder]

In English language,Inglise keeles,fiction,short stories,crime fiction,detective fiction,private eye fiction,includes Hercule Poirot stories,includes Miss Marple stories,includes Harley Quin story

[Selim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing just amazing

[Christie Amory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Agatha Christie but find plays more difficult to read than novels. This book contained some original plays and some that were adapted from her novels. This is abbreviated Agatha Christie stories which are good but the full novels are better.