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Hercule Poirot #0.11

مأساة مارسون مانور

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An aging, heavily-insured country squire whose estate is in financial ruin is thought to have committed suicide. Hercule Poirot investigates by taking the guise of a representative of the victim's insurance company. His real task? Uncover the identity of the actual murderer.

Librarian's note: this entry is for the story, "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor." Collections of short stories by the author can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. The individual entries for all Poirot short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Hercule Poirot Short Story."

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First published January 1, 1923

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About the author

Agatha Christie

5,754 books75.9k followers
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)

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5 stars
568 (19%)
4 stars
926 (32%)
3 stars
1,095 (38%)
2 stars
212 (7%)
1 star
43 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews
Profile Image for EveStar91.
268 reviews283 followers
August 25, 2025
‘Is that so? Indeed. It is fortunate for his wife, then, that there is this life insurance. A very beautiful and charming young creature, but terribly unstrung by this sad catastrophe. A mass of nerves, poor thing. I have tried to spare her all I can, but of course the shock was bound to be considerable.’

Poirot is retained by an insurance company to look into a man's death occurring suspiciously after the purchase of a high insurance policy. Written off by the doctor as death due to a hemorrhage, it is up to Poirot to uncover the means of the murder, for murder it was, and the person responsible for it.

The premise of this story is clever, along with the means of murder and description of the world. What the story lacks however is a good way to pinpoint the murderer, instead falling back on an old dramatic formula. All in all, not such a great read and can be skipped by fans of Poirot's grey cells.

🌟🌟
[Half a star for the premise; Half a star for the characters; Half a star for the world-building; Zero stars for the plot; Half a star for the writing - Two stars in total.]
Profile Image for Anne.
4,766 reviews71.3k followers
February 17, 2023
A heavily insured man facing financial ruin suddenly drops dead, leaving his much-younger wife set for life.
The insurance company wants Poirot to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death before they pay up, though. And so, with Hastings in tow, Hercule takes a trip to Essex to visit Marsdon Manor to see if anything looks fishy.

description

The doctor swears it was natural causes, as there was blood in his mouth that seems to point to some kind of aneurysm. And the beautiful widow appears to be genuinely grieving with her red-rimmed eyes and shaky demeanor.
But the sudden appearance of a young man at the manor gives Poirot an idea. And after a word association game is played, he has his answer.
One appearance of a vengeful ghost later and the case is solved.
What?
Don't worry, it all makes sense in the story.

description

This was originally published in The Sketch magazine in 1923.
Read as part of the short story collection The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot.
Profile Image for Janete on hiatus due health issues.
832 reviews445 followers
December 30, 2021
It was just an Okay short story. It could be better if it had more pages.
SYNOPIS: "Elderly Mr Maltravers is found dead in a field, with his grieving wife claiming it has been natural causes. But as he recently took out life insurance, the company bring in Poirot to establish if it was suicide. From the book 'Poirot Investigates'."
Profile Image for Razvan Banciu.
1,920 reviews162 followers
May 26, 2025
The plot is thin, so is the mis-en-scene, the doctor is far too stupid, Poirot is too smart . As usual, someone would say.

So, average is the name of the game...
Profile Image for Mai.
456 reviews45 followers
June 5, 2025
Weak

It's a very short story but was written in a very weak way.
I mean come on , the way he made the woman confess was just unrealistic.
Profile Image for Julie.
2,010 reviews630 followers
January 20, 2020
This Hercule Poirot short story first published in The Sketch magazine in the UK on April 18, 1923 and followed in the US in March 1924. It is the 7th short story featuring Poirot and his famed little grey cells.

Poirot is hired by an insurance company to investigate a death. Mr. Maltravers recently insured his life for £50,000 and only a few weeks later was discovered dead on his estate. Despite a local doctor declaring it a natural death by hemorrhage, Poirot is there to check the circumstances and either support or contest the cause of death.

I was curious just how much £50,000 would be in today's money adjusted for inflation.....and was surprised by the amount! More than £726,000! No wonder the insurance company required an investigation! Another lovely investigation by Poirot. He uses several interesting psychological tricks to get to the truth in this case! Very entertaining read!

Agatha Christie's Poirot adapted this story for television in 1991 (Series 3, episode 5). As usual the adaptation adds quite a bit to the story to flesh it out to make it episode-length, but the basics of the story are left intact. Very enjoyable to watch!

On to the next story: The Kidnapped Prime Minister....
5,745 reviews147 followers
January 3, 2022
4 Stars. Not the best of Poirot, but I remained confused and in suspense as to what really was going on until the last paragraph, so I stand behind my rating! "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor" is a sixteen page short story in a 1924 collection of eleven published under the name, "Poirot Investigates." It first came out in "Sketch" in 1923. We hear up front that Northern Union Insurance has asked Poirot to investigate the sudden death of a Mr. Maltravers who had taken out insurance for 50,000 pounds only a few weeks earlier. In the 1920s, very big money! Our two detectives are soon off to Marsdon Leigh. Was it a heart attack? A hemorrhage? Or something more sinister? They ask the doctor who had been at the scene; he states that the cause was clear - a haemorrhage (old spelling!). Then the two meet Maltravers' younger, much younger, wife in her widow's weeds. It starts to get confusing when the youthful Captain Black calls on her. Isn't he supposed to be sailing back to East Africa? Poirot plays a word association game with him and tells Hastings that the results are illuminating with no explanation. Soon followed by spiritualism! More confusion. (July 2020)
Profile Image for Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice).
1,163 reviews165 followers
January 10, 2019
Borrowed from my library's e-book service!

At just 15 pages long, I sped through this short story and ended up with mixed opinions. Towards the end, the story-line did get a little scary. But I just wanted more from Poirot. The characters I struggled to connect too. The plot itself was an interesting one: the death of a man living in a Manor but was it murder or suicide? This again is a good introduction to new readers of Christie's writing but as a long-term fan, this did fall flat!
Profile Image for Agla.
843 reviews63 followers
Read
December 8, 2023
Nice short in which Poirot is hired by an insurance company to check whether a death is the result of suicide. Hastings was useless as usual but not that annoying for once.
Profile Image for Richard Dominguez.
958 reviews122 followers
March 30, 2023
A great short story that does in a short time (30 minutes of audio) a marvelous job of showing us the skills that have made Poirot an internationally respected "sleuth".
A country squire has committed suicide (or has he)? Under the pretense of being an insurance investigator Poirot must determine if it was suicide or murder.
As with any of Dame Christie's works the story is well written and moves smoothly from start to finish.
Well worth a listen to fans of her work and an excellent introduction to new fans of her work.
Profile Image for Richard Derus.
4,242 reviews2,280 followers
August 25, 2014
Rating: 3* of five

The Publisher Says: An aging, heavily-insured country squire whose estate is in financial ruin is thought to have committed suicide. Hercule Poirot investigates, in the guise of a representative of the victim's insurance company, to uncover the identity of the real murderer.

My Review: Another 99¢ Kindle Single and Agatha Christie's Poirot third season episode combination.

The story is a bit silly. It features a bit of theatrics that, frankly, the audience of 1991 should have snorted and roll their eyes over. The motive for the murder was not at all mysterious in either the story or the episode.

The episode's framing device was very amusing. Quite charming indeed, Poirot being summoned to the murder scene before it occurs by a writer who has backed himself into a plot-corner! Ha, wonderful stuff added out of whole cloth.

But really now! The source of the murder idea was as lame as anything I've ever seen on TV, but the story...! Ye gawds. Just an excuse to write the fun little puzzle. I can't say it's out of the top drawer, but it's far from the worst I've seen or read from Christie.

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Profile Image for bella.
451 reviews28 followers
January 23, 2024
Hercule Poirot is asked to investigate the death of a heavily-insured country squire whose estate is in financial ruin. The man is deemed to have committed suicide, which would negate his insurance policy. Upon investigating Poirot is certain that the case is murder, and goes about trying to prove his theory.

Another Agatha Christie short story. Oh how I enjoy them!! Poirot is his crafty, cocky self in this one as he tries to frame the murderer. In fact he is very dramatic about it all, which suits Poirot's personality to a tea.

I listened on audio, and I would highly recommend it. The high drama in this short story is certainly suited to the audio.
Profile Image for Mina Habib.
284 reviews30 followers
August 9, 2023
* أول نقطتين هما نفس النقطتين اللي قلناهم في مراجعة الجزء الأول من السلسلة:
* بحسب ما فهمت من توصيف السلسلة دي أنها بتمثل بعض المغامرات و القضايا اللي حقق فيها هيركول بوارو شخصية الكاتبة أجاثا كريستي الأشهر، ولكن القضايا دي كان التحقيق فيها بشكل أسرع أو مكتوبة بشكل يخلي عدد صفحاتها أقل – ممكن نقول إنها قصة طويلة – و أعتقد إن ده بيخلي حبكات القضايا أسهل و إيقاع الحكاية أسرع و تشعباتها أقل. صغر حجم أجزاء السلسلة ساعد إن السلسلة تتحول لمسلسل تلفزيوني في بداية التسعينيات - الصراحة أنا ما شوفتش المسلسل ولا سمعت عنه قبل كده.

* الحكاية بتتحكي من منظور هاستينجز اللي ممكني نعتبره مساعد البطل، و علي خلاف دكتور واطسن في مغامرات شيرلوك هولمز فشخصية هاستينجز مش واضح لها – علي الأقل في هذه السلسلة – أي مميزات أو مواصفات واضحة أو تخصص معين يخليها تبقي ملازمة لشخصية البطل و هو رافض الاستغناء عنها – ده بعيداً عن الغرض اللي بيتكرر مع كل شخصية مساعدة في الأعمال اللي من النوعية دي و هو إن البطل يستعرض عليه مهاراته في الملاحظة و التحليل.

* المغامرة دي فقدت ميزة مهمة كانت موجودة في في المغامرة اللي قبلها و هي وضوح كل المعلومات و الأدلة و المفاتيح اللي بتتيح لك الفرصة إنك تحلل و تضع بعض الشكوك اللي بتقربك من الجاني و الوقائع الحقيقية لارتكاب الجريمة. المرة دي الكاتبة خبت معلومة مهمة أو ملاحظة مهمة أخد باله منها بوارو و لكن لم يبدي أي تعليق عليها ولا حتي ذكرها و بالتالي المعلومة ما بتبقاش عندك كقارئ و في الآخر مابتقدرش توصل لحل الجريمة ولا حتي تضع شكوك و متهمين بشكل صحيح.

* للمرة التانية صغر الحجم اللي الكاتبة فضلت المحافظة عليه في السلسلة، خلي الكاتبة تختار قضية سهلة و مش معقدة علشان يبقي الوصول لحلها أسهل و أسرع. بس في الرواية دي حسيت إن المتعة أقل بكتيرمن اللي أتقدمت في الرواية السابقة. و طبعاً صغر حجم الرواية بيضمن سرعة قراءتها و الإنتهاء منها و اللي يعتبر ميزة بالنسبة لناس كتير.

* أكبر مشكلة في الرواية دي هي سلاح الجريمة و طريقة تنفيذها، مستحيل إن شخص يتضرب عليه نار من المسافة القريبة دي و ميبقاش فيه جرح خروج للمقذوف، وحتي لو الرصاصة اللي اتضربت كانت من بندقية صيد عصافير – بندقية رش زي ما بنقول عليها في مصر – فمن المسافة القريبة دي و مع وجود الأنسجة الهشة دي في طريقها كانت في الأغلب هتعمل جرح خروج. ده غير طبعاً إن قرب المسافة ما بين فوهة البندقية و بين الأنسجة البشرية كان لازم تسيب علامة احتراق علي الأنسجة.
Profile Image for Chris.
2,120 reviews29 followers
December 9, 2024
I've not read much Agatha Christie or her Poirot mysteries. I think she's very much overrated. I think in this short story she tries too much to emulate Sherlock Holmes and Watson with Poirot and Hastings. The quick solving of the suicide that wasn't is a bit too much with Poirot employing mind games and theatrics to expose the murderer.
Profile Image for Kathy.
3,313 reviews62 followers
October 2, 2024
Quick read with H. Poirot. I prefer the longer stories, this seemed off somehow
Profile Image for mairiachi.
517 reviews3 followers
November 8, 2018
2.5 - I guessed the murderer pretty soon after I started reading, and then after Black talked to Poirot, I guessed how it was done, because - unlike Christie's full-length stories - her short stories are always pretty predictable because she doesn't have enough time to introduce a full range of characters and develop their personalities and show them in 3D because she doesn't have the time so there are only a few characters and they're all a little bit flat because she doesn't have the space or time to fully make them seem like real people. Part of why the short stories are never as good. But it's not that hard to guess since there are only about five characters in this story, including Poirot and Hastings, and not including the dead. It was still interesting to read, though.
Profile Image for Zulfiya.
648 reviews101 followers
October 8, 2020
A mixed bag. A very short story with no development or death ... Excuse me - depth. Death was there for sure. Honestly, it was not even a mystery as the cast of characters does not even allow it to be called the hermetic detective. Neither was is too much of fun trying to figure out who did what who did what and why.
On the other hand, it does illustrate the author's interest in spiritualism; at the same time, she manages to renounce this idea of spirituality by the way the plot is construed.

Something small to read in-between the larger reading projects, but I would not call it anything significant.


Profile Image for Scott.
1,425 reviews121 followers
August 14, 2012
The ending wasn't as good as Christie usually produces but she makes everything seem so effortless and she makes it just so easy to get lost in her work. I enjoyed the book quite a bit but am only giving three stars because the plotting could have been better and she didn't give enough clues re: the ending to make it solveable.
Profile Image for itchy.
2,975 reviews33 followers
June 2, 2021
titular-ish sentence:
p22: "...However, on Wednesday last--the day before yesterday--the body of Mr. Maltravers was found in the grounds of his house in Essex, Marsdon Manor, and the cause of his death is described as some kind of internal haemorrhage.

Everyone, please step back. We have a winner.
Profile Image for Dennis Brock.
685 reviews6 followers
June 23, 2019
This really short story was good, not amazing, but I enjoyed it more than the "Western Star" yarn for sure. I got bogged into the exotic details of East Africa and so missed any opportunity to figure out the mystery...oh well.
Profile Image for Lorraine.
1,590 reviews42 followers
July 24, 2021
A short story by Agatha Christie, featuring Hercule Poirot. This was not my favorite, it lack the twist and turns Christie is so well known for. But if you are looking for a very short and entertaining mystery, it’s certainly worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews

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