Dead Man 's Folly - wikipedia Dead Man 's Folly Dead Man 's Folly Dust - jacket illustration of the US ( true first ) edition. See Publication history ( below ) for UK first edition jacket image. Author Agatha Christie Country United Kingdom Language English Genre Crime novel Publisher Dodd, Mead and Company Publication date October 1956 Media type Print ( hardback & paperback ) Pages 216 ( first edition, hardback ) ) Preceded by Hickory Dickory Dock Followed by The Burden Dead Man 's Folly is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October 1956 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 5 November of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.95 and the UK edition at twelve shillings and sixpence ( 12 / 6 ). It features Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver. Contents 1 Plot summary 2 List of Characters 3 Literary significance and reception 4 Adaptations 4.1 1986 Film 4.2 Radio 4.3 Television 4.4 Computer game 5 Publication history 6 References 7 External links Plot summary Poirot is summoned to Nasse House in Devon by Ariadne Oliver, who is staging a Murder Hunt as part of a summer fête the next day. At Nasse House, Mrs Oliver explains that small aspects of her plans for the Murder Hunt have been changed by requests from people in the house rather deviously, until a real murder would not surprise her. The wealthy Sir George Stubbs owns Nasse House. His much younger wife is the beautiful Hattie, Lady Stubbs. She shows interest in fine clothes and jewellery only, appearing simple to all but her husband 's secretary, Miss Brewis, who sees through Hattie 's outward appearance but is herself conflicted because of her own feelings for her employer, Sir George. Hattie and George were introduced by Amy Folliat, the last of the family who had owned the estate for centuries. Widowed, Mrs Folliat lost her two sons during the War. With the death duties very high in the post-war period, she had to sell the ancestral home and grounds to keep it intact. She took on the orphaned Hattie, introducing her in society. Mrs Folliat rents the lodge on the estate. Michael Weyman, an architect, is on site to design a tennis court ; he criticises the inappropriate location of a recently built folly. Sir George shouts at three young tourists who cross his private property ; they are a Dutch woman, an Italian woman, and a man wearing a shirt decorated with turtles. On the day of the fête, Hattie receives a letter from her cousin, Etienne de Sousa, who will visit that day ; she appears very upset by his abrupt visit. A local Girl Guide, Marlene Tucker, waits in the boathouse to pose as the dead victim when a player finds the key to enter. Her first visitor is Miss Brewis with a tray of refreshments at tea time, at Hattie 's request. With Mrs Oliver, Poirot discovers Marlene dead in the boathouse. Hattie can not be found. Mrs Oliver produces an abundance of theories to explain the murder and the disappearance, while the police and Poirot narrow the field from all attending the fête, to those familiar with the Murder Hunt. The investigation focuses first on Etienne de Sousa and briefly on Amanda Brewis. Further confusion is added by the behaviour of the Legges, staying in a cottage on the estate and whose marriage is in trouble. After weeks of no progress, Poirot visits Devon again, learning that Hattie is still missing. Merdell, the old boatman, who drowned, was Marlene 's grandfather. Poirot puts together several stray clues : Marlene 's grandfather had seen a woman 's body in the woods ; Marlene received small sums of money used to make small purchases, now in her younger sister 's possession. Merdell had told Poirot mischievously that there would `` always be Folliats at Nasse House ''. In the dénouement, Poirot explains that Sir George Stubbs is really Amy Folliat 's younger son, James, a war deserter. Mrs Folliat paired him with the wealthy but naive Hattie, hoping that the marriage would be beneficial to both. But James fleeced Hattie of her money to establish his new identity and to purchase the old family home. Unknown to Mrs Folliat, James had married a young Italian woman after deserting the war. He killed the original Hattie shortly after entering into the bigamous marriage, and his Italian wife played the role of Hattie thereafter. Marlene Tucker had learned the true identity of George Stubbs from her grandfather. Both were murdered separately, although the old man 's death has been presumed accidental. The day before the fête, the fake Hattie poses as an Italian tourist staying in the nearby hostel. She switches between the two roles frequently over a 24 - hour period. The fake Hattie sends Miss Brewis to bring refreshments to Marlene shortly before the girl is murdered. She kills Marlene then changes to the tourist guise, tossing the large hat she wore as Hattie in the river. She then leaves the area as the Italian tourist carrying a rucksack. The date of Marlene 's murder had been selected to cast suspicion upon Etienne, who had written weeks earlier of his visit, as he told Inspector Bland. Having grown up with the real Hattie, Etienne would not have been fooled. Neither the arrests of the culprits nor legal charges against the despairing Mrs Folliat are mentioned. The novel concludes with the sounds of the police smashing up the folly to locate and exhume Hattie 's body. List of Characters Hercule Poirot, the Belgian private detective Ariadne Oliver, the celebrated author Inspector Bland, the investigating officer Sergeant Frank Cottrell, a policeman in the case Sir George Stubbs, owner of Nasse House Hattie, Lady Stubbs, George 's wife Etienne de Sousa, Lady Stubbs 's cousin Amanda Brewis, George 's secretary Amy Folliat, whose family previously owned Nasse House Mr Masterton, member of Parliament Mrs Masterton, his wife Captain Jim Warburton, agent for Mr Masterton Michael Weyman, an architect Alec Legge, an atomic physicist Sally Legge, his wife Marlene Tucker, a Girl Guide Marilyn Tucker, Marlene 's younger sister Mr and Mrs Tucker, Marlene and Marilyn 's parents Merdell, the 92 - year - old boatman, father of Mrs Tucker Henden, the butler A young Italian woman on holiday, a hiker with rucksack A young Dutch woman on holiday, a hiker with rucksack A young man in a shirt with turtles on it Literary significance and reception Anthony Quinton began his review column in the Times Literary Supplement of 21 December 1956, writing, `` Miss Agatha Christie 's new Poirot story comes first in this review because of this author 's reputation and not on its own merits, which are disappointingly slight. They consist almost wholly in the appearance yet once more of certain profoundly familiar persons, scenes and devices. Poirot is on hand with his superb English, based, one supposes, on the middle line in the French lessons in the Children 's Encyclopaedia, but the little grey cells are rather subdued. '' He set up the basics of the plot and then continued, `` The solution is of the colossal ingenuity we have been conditioned to expect but a number of the necessary red herrings are either unexplained or a little too grossly ad hoc. People are never candid about their vices so there is no need to take seriously the protestations of detective addicts about their concern with the sheer logic of their favourite reading. What should be the real appeal of Dead Man 's Folly, however, is not much better than its logic. The scene is really excessively commonplace, there are too many characters and they are very, very flat. '' The anonymous review in The Times of 15 November 1956, was also somewhat damning ; `` Dead Man 's Folly is not Miss Agatha Christie at her best. The murder and the solution of it are ingenious, but then, with Miss Christie, they always are, and it is pleasant to watch M. Hercule Poirot at work again. The character drawing is flat and facile, however, and the dialogue, always Miss Christie 's weak point, disastrous. '' Maurice Richardson of The Observer ( 18 November 1956 ) pointed out the similarity between the house portrayed in the book and Christie 's own and summed up, `` Stunning but not unguessable solution. Nowhere near a vintage Christie but quite a pleasing table - read. '' Robert Barnard : `` Highly traditional recipe, but not done with the same conviction as in the thirties. Nobody much is what they seem, and old sins cast long shadows. Mrs Oliver looms large here, as she was frequently to do from now on, both in Poirot books and in others. '' Adaptations 1986 film The novel was made as a film with Peter Ustinov and Jean Stapleton starring as Poirot and Oliver in a 1986 adaptation set in the present day. It was shot largely on location at West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire. Main article : Dead Man 's Folly ( film ) Radio John Moffatt starred as Poirot in the BBC Radio 4 dramatisation broadcast in 2007, with Julia McKenzie as Ariadne Oliver. Television The novel was adapted with David Suchet as Poirot, as part of the series of Agatha Christie 's Poirot. It guest - starred Sean Pertwee ( Sir George Stubbs ), Stephanie Leonidas ( Hattie Stubbs ), Sinéad Cusack ( Amy Folliat ), Rebecca Front ( Amanda Brewis ), Tom Ellis ( D.I. Bland ), Martin Jarvis ( Captain Warburton ), Rosalind Ayres ( Mrs Warburton ), Daniel Weyman ( Alec Legge ) and Zoë Wanamaker in her sixth and final appearance as Ariadne Oliver. This was the last episode of the series to be filmed ( although not the last to air ), with production completed in June 2013. The telefilm was shot mainly at Agatha Christie 's home, Greenway Estate, the setting she used, along with its old boathouse on the River Dart, for the novel. The adaptation has some differences from the novel as written by Christie. The setting is moved from the early 1950s to the late 1930s ; accordingly, James Folliat -- a war deserter in the novel -- is here a wayward womaniser whom Mrs Folliat sends to South Africa, where he fakes his death in an aviation accident and returns to Nasse in the identity of Sir George Stubbs. Mrs Masterton becomes Mrs Warburton, Captain Warburton 's wife ; Marlene 's sister, Marilyn, becomes an older sister named Gertie, but serves the same function as Marilyn in the novel ; the characters of George the valet, Miss Lemon, the man in the turtle - printed shirt, and Marlene 's parents are deleted. The adaptation slightly changes the end of the story to reveal the fate of the Folliats which was untold in the novel : as the police are digging up the folly foundations, Poirot is laying out the truth before Mrs Folliat ; it ends with Mrs Folliat admonishing her son with two gunshots heard off - screen before the police can stop them. Poirot both acknowledges and approves of this murder - suicide with the final word of the episode : `` Bon ''. Computer game On 15 October 2009, I - play released a downloadable hidden object game based on Dead Man 's Folly ( see the external links ). This is the 3rd game in a series of Oberon Games ' hidden object games based on Agatha Christie 's novels, the first two are based on Death on the Nile, and Peril at End House. The 4th game in the series is based on 4 : 50 from Paddington. Publication history Dustjacket illustration of the UK First Edition ( book was first published in the US ) 1956, Dodd Mead and Company ( New York ), October 1956, Hardback, 216 pp 1956, Collins Crime Club ( London ), 5 November 1956, Hardback, 256 pp 1957, Pocket Books ( New York ), Paperback, 178 pp 1960, Fontana Books ( Imprint of HarperCollins ), Paperback, 192 pp 1966, Pan Books, Paperback, 189 pp 1967, Ulverscroft Large - print Edition, Hardcover, 205 pp The novel was first serialised in the US in Collier 's Weekly in three abridged instalments from 20 July ( Volume 138, Number 2 ) to 17 August 1956 ( Volume 138, Number 4 ) with illustrations by Robert Fawcett. In the UK the novel was first serialised in the weekly magazine John Bull in six abridged instalments from 11 August ( Volume 100, Number 2615 ) to 15 September 1956 ( Volume 100, Number 2620 ) with illustrations by `` Fancett ''. References ^ Jump up to : `` American Tribute to Agatha Christie ''. Home.insightbb.com. 20 July 1956. Retrieved 28 April 2014. ^ Jump up to : Chris Peers ; Ralph Spurrier & Jamie Sturgeon ( March 1999 ). Collins Crime Club -- A checklist of First Editions ( Second ed. ). Dragonby Press. p. 15. Jump up ^ George Worsley ( 2008 ). `` England 's Lost Homes ''. History Today. Retrieved 25 October 2013. Jump up ^ The Times Literary Supplement, 21 December 1956 ( p. 761 ) Jump up ^ The Times, 15 November 1956 ( p. 13 ) Jump up ^ The Observer, 18 November 1956 ( p. 12 ) Jump up ^ Barnard, Robert ( 1990 ). A Talent to Deceive -- an appreciation of Agatha Christie ( Revised ed. ). Fontana Books. p. 191. ISBN 0 - 00 - 637474 - 3. Jump up ^ `` David Suchet to star in final Poirot adaptations ''. BBC.co.uk. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2013. Jump up ^ Dead Man 's Folly on IMDb Season 13 Episode 3 expected release 30 October 2013 ; retrieved 26 October 2013 Jump up ^ Henry Chu ( 19 July 2013 ). `` David Suchet bids farewell to Agatha Christie 's Poirot ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2013. Jump up ^ Holdings at the British Library ( Newspapers -- Colindale ). Shelfmark : NPL LON LD116. External links Dead Man 's Folly at the official Agatha Christie web site Dead Man 's Folly ( 1986 ) on IMDb Dead Man 's Folly ( 2013 ) on IMDb Agatha Christie : Dead Man 's Folly game at I - Play web site Agatha Christie 's Hercule Poirot Characters Hercule Poirot Arthur Hastings James Harold Japp Ariadne Oliver Colonel Race Books Novels The Mysterious Affair at Styles ( 1920 ) The Murder on the Links ( 1923 ) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ( 1926 ) The Big Four ( 1927 ) The Mystery of the Blue Train ( 1928 ) Peril at End House ( 1932 ) Lord Edgware Dies ( 1933 ) Murder on the Orient Express ( 1934 ) Three Act Tragedy ( 1934 ) Death in the Clouds ( 1935 ) The A.B.C. Murders ( 1936 ) Murder in Mesopotamia ( 1936 ) Cards on the Table ( 1936 ) Dumb Witness ( 1937 ) Death on the Nile ( 1937 ) Appointment with Death ( 1938 ) Hercule Poirot 's Christmas ( 1938 ) Sad Cypress ( 1940 ) One, Two, Buckle My Shoe ( 1940 ) Evil Under the Sun ( 1941 ) Five Little Pigs ( 1942 ) The Hollow ( 1946 ) Taken at the Flood ( 1948 ) Mrs McGinty 's Dead ( 1952 ) After the Funeral ( 1953 ) Hickory Dickory Dock ( 1955 ) Dead Man 's Folly ( 1956 ) Cat Among the Pigeons ( 1959 ) The Clocks ( 1963 ) Third Girl ( 1966 ) Hallowe'en Party ( 1969 ) Elephants Can Remember ( 1972 ) Curtain ( 1975 ) The Monogram Murders ( 2014 ) Closed Casket ( 2016 ) Short story collections Poirot Investigates ( 1924 ) Murder in the Mews ( 1937 ) The Regatta Mystery ( 1939 ) The Labours of Hercules ( 1947 ) The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories ( 1948 ) Three Blind Mice and Other Stories ( 1950 ) The Under Dog and Other Stories ( 1951 ) The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding ( 1960 ) Double Sin and Other Stories ( 1961 ) Poirot 's Early Cases ( 1974 ) Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories ( 1991 ) The Harlequin Tea Set ( 1997 ) While the Light Lasts and Other Stories ( 1997 ) Film adaptations Alibi ( 1931 ) Black Coffee ( 1931 ) Lord Edgware Dies ( 1934 ) The Alphabet Murders ( 1965 ) Murder on the Orient Express ( 1974 ) Death on the Nile ( 1978 ) Evil Under the Sun ( 1982 ) Appointment with Death ( 1988 ) Murder on the Orient Express ( 2017 ) Plays Alibi ( 1928 ) Black Coffee ( 1930 ) Peril at End House ( 1932 ) Wasp 's Nest ( 1937 ) The Yellow Iris ( 1937, radio ) Television adaptations Thirteen at Dinner ( 1985 ) Dead Man 's Folly ( 1986 ) Murder in Three Acts ( 1986 ) Murder by the Book ( 1986 ) Agatha Christie 's Poirot ( 1989 -- 2013 ) episodes Murder on the Orient Express ( 2001 ) Agatha Christie 's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple ( 2004 -- 2005 ) Video games Agatha Christie : Murder on the Orient Express ( 2006 ) Agatha Christie : Death on the Nile ( 2007 ) Agatha Christie : Evil Under the Sun ( 2007 ) Agatha Christie : The ABC Murders ( 2009 ) See also Black Coffee Orient Express ( board game ) Miss Marple Agatha Christie 's fictional universe Category Works by Agatha Christie Universe Characters Hercule Poirot Miss Marple Tommy and Tuppence Ariadne Oliver Arthur Hastings Superintendent Battle Chief Inspector Japp Parker Pyne Mr. Harley Quin Colonel Race Lady Eileen `` Bundle '' Brent Sir Henry Clithering Raymond West Miss Felicity Lemon Countess Vera Rossakoff Locations St. Mary Mead Novels The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Secret Adversary The Murder on the Links The Man in the Brown Suit The Secret of Chimneys The Murder of Roger Ackroyd The Big Four The Mystery of the Blue Train The Seven Dials Mystery The Murder at the Vicarage The Sittaford Mystery Peril at End House Lord Edgware Dies Murder on the Orient Express Why Did n't They Ask Evans ? Three Act Tragedy Death in the Clouds The A.B.C. Murders Murder in Mesopotamia Cards on the Table Dumb Witness Death on the Nile Appointment with Death Hercule Poirot 's Christmas Murder Is Easy And Then There Were None Sad Cypress One, Two, Buckle My Shoe Evil Under the Sun N or M ? The Body in the Library Five Little Pigs The Moving Finger Towards Zero Death Comes as the End Sparkling Cyanide The Hollow Taken at the Flood Crooked House A Murder Is Announced They Came to Baghdad Mrs McGinty 's Dead They Do It with Mirrors After the Funeral A Pocket Full of Rye Destination Unknown Hickory Dickory Dock Dead Man 's Folly 4.50 from Paddington Ordeal by Innocence Cat Among the Pigeons The Pale Horse The Mirror Crack 'd from Side to Side The Clocks A Caribbean Mystery At Bertram 's Hotel Third Girl Endless Night By the Pricking of My Thumbs Hallowe'en Party Passenger to Frankfurt Nemesis Elephants Can Remember Postern of Fate Curtain Sleeping Murder As Mary Westmacott Giant 's Bread Unfinished Portrait Absent in the Spring The Rose and the Yew Tree A Daughter 's a Daughter The Burden Short story collections Poirot Investigates Partners in Crime The Mysterious Mr Quin The Thirteen Problems The Hound of Death The Listerdale Mystery Parker Pyne Investigates Murder in the Mews The Regatta Mystery The Labours of Hercules The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories Three Blind Mice and Other Stories The Under Dog and Other Stories The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding Double Sin and Other Stories The Golden Ball and Other Stories Poirot 's Early Cases Miss Marple 's Final Cases and Two Other Stories Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories The Harlequin Tea Set While the Light Lasts and Other Stories Plays Black Coffee And Then There Were None Appointment with Death Murder on the Nile The Hollow The Mousetrap Witness for the Prosecution Spider 's Web Verdict The Unexpected Guest Fiddlers Three Akhnaton Chimneys Radio and television plays Wasp 's Nest The Yellow Iris Three Blind Mice Butter in a Lordly Dish Personal Call Other books The Road of Dreams Come, Tell Me How You Live Star Over Bethlehem Poems An Autobiography Book Category Video games based on Agatha Christie works Agatha Christie series And Then There Were None Murder on the Orient Express Evil Under the Sun The ABC Murders ( 2009 ) The ABC Murders ( 2016 ) Other games The Scoop Other adapted novels Death on the Nile Peril at End House Dead Man 's Folly 4 : 50 from Paddington Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dead_Man%27s_Folly&oldid=840537934 '' Categories : 1956 British novels Hercule Poirot novels Works originally published in Collier 's Novels first published in serial form Novels set in Devon Dodd, Mead and Company books British novels adapted into films Novels adapted into television programs Hidden categories : EngvarB from November 2013 Use dmy dates from November 2013 Pages to import images to Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bosanski Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Latina Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Türkçe Українська 14 more Edit links This page was last edited on 10 May 2018, at 15 : 02. 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Question: where was agatha christies dead mans folly filmed
Answer: largely on location at West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire