Sad Cypress
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Sad Cypress (published in 1940) is a crime novel, written by Agatha Christie, featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
Plot
Poirot is the only man who can save an accused murderer, a beautiful woman who had the motive, the opportunity and the means, but who he is certain is innocent.
The title comes from a song from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night:
'Come away, come away, death, And in sad cypress let me be laid'
Elinor Carlisle and Roderick Welman who are engaged to each other get an anonymous letter which says that someone “is sucking up” to old Mrs. Welman who is Elinor's aunt. Having burnt the letter, Elinor and Roderick visit Mrs. Welman who had a stroke and is now lying in a hospital. The daughter of the lodge keeper, Mary Gerrard, always visits old Mrs. Welman who is very fond of her. So the old lady paid for her education on the best schools etc. Suddenly, Mrs. Welman has another stroke and can't speak any more. But Elinor, who visits her the next evening, can understand that old Mrs. Welman wants to see her lawyer. Elinor says she'll send for the lawyer the next day. But at night Mrs. Welman dies – intestate. So Elinor inherits all her money. But she gives 2,000 ₤ to Mary Gerrard. Unfortunately Roderick falls in love with Mary and so the engagement between him and Elinor is broken off and Roderick voyages to France. In consequence, Elinor puts up Hunterbury Hall which was the place where she and Roderick lived for sale and a man called Somervell buys it. Elinor comes down to clear out her aunt's personal possessions. On the morning of July 27th Mary Gerrard, whose father has just died, is clearing out the lodge. Elinor is staying at the local pub. In the street she meets the former housekeeper, Mrs. Bishop. Mrs. Bishop suggests coming up to the house to help her. Elinor refuses. Then she goes into the grocer's shop and buys some fish paste, and there she makes a remark about food-poisoning. She goes up to the house, and about one o'clock she goes down to the Lodge, where Mary Gerrard is busy with the District Nurse called Hopkins, who is known as a gossip, helping her, and tells them that she has some sandwiches ready up the house. They come up to the house with her. Everyone eats a sandwich. Nurse Hopkins makes tea and she and Mary Gerrard drink one cup. Mary pours it out. Then Elinor and Nurse Hopkins do the washing-up. After that, they go up to clear out old Mrs. Welman's things. When they come down again, Mary Gerrard is lying on the couch and Sister Hopkins sends for the doctor because Mary Gerrard was poisoned and is dying.
So anyone thinks the poison was in the sandwiches. If it had been in the tea, Nurse Hopkins would have died, too. And so the murderer is Elinor Carlisle, who had prepared the sandwiches. She had the motive, the opportunity and the means to kill Mary Gerrard.
Dr. Lord tells Hercule Poirot to find out who is the real murderer because he can't believe Elinor committed this murder. After interviewing Nurse Hopkins, Mrs. Bishop and Nurse O'Brien, he knows that Mary Gerrard was not the daughter of the lodge keeper. Her real mother was old Mrs. Welman. So, Mary should have inherited all the money. But Mary had made a will which says that her money should be given to her aunt Mrs. Draper, a nurse who lives far away.
Hercule Poirot finds two witnesses who say that Nurse Hopkins is the same person as Mrs. Draper. And he is told that this person has often persuaded old people to make a will which makes her their heir. After that, she killed these people with morphine. When the evidence against her became dangerous she left her hometown and went to where her niece lived. She tried to get old Mrs. Welman's money but the old lady could not be convinced. So she killed her with morphine. Elinor inherited all her fortune. Then she persuaded Mary to make a will. After that she killed her by giving morphine into the tea. She herself took apomorphine in order to survive the poisoning.
At the end the jury says that Elinor is “not guilty”.
Publishing and Dramatization History
Publishing: First published in 1940 by William Collins Sons & Co. in London, and by Dodd, Mead & Co. in New York. Currently issued by Harper Collins, with the ISBN 0-00-712071-0
Dramatization: Produced by LWT in 2003. Written by David Pirie based on the novel by Agatha Christie, directed by David Moore. Starring David Suchet, Elizabeth Dermot Walsh, Paul McGann and Marion O'Dwyer.
External links
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