‘The Dream’ and ‘Greenshaw’s Folly’ are the last two of the Entrées in the Crime Club Choice selection of Agatha Christie’s 1973 stories in ‘The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding’.
The Author’s two most popular sleuths, Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple are therefore linked – one following the other among the pages. Each murder also involves the deception of fabricating a false identity exposed in the first case by the Belgian Detective, and in the second by a dear elderly aunt.
The Dream is a recurring nightmare related to Poirot by Benedict Farley and seemingly predicting his demise. The detective was flummoxed. “He was puzzled. His busy mind was going over and over the story he had been told. Yet in the midst of his mental preoccupation, a nagging sense of something wrong obtruded itself. And that something had to do with himself – not with Benedict Farley.”
“That dream was very important” said Poirot, who was told “If we hadn’t got your word for it….” the implication would have been “that [Mr Farley] had committed suicide.
Greenshaw’s Folly opens with a typically engaging sequence catching the reader’s interest:
“The two men rounded the corner of the shrubbery.
” “Well, there you are,” said Raymond West. “That’s it.”
“Horace Bindler took a deep, appreciative breath.
” “But my dear,” he cried, “how wonderful.” His voice rose in a high screech of aesthetic delight, then deepened in reverent awe…….”
Folly itself is a double entendre in that it refers to the remarkable building, about which “One wonders how he ever got hold of an architect to carry out these ideas.” and to his own unfortunate activity.
“with her mouth pursed up very prunes and prisms” displays both the author’s partiality for alliteration and her liking for humorous description.
Possibly the first reader of this book, to use as a bookmark, tore the corner off a page of the Daily Telegraph a few days after this library copy entered circulation. We can also see from the line of text above the use that Miss Marple makes of her memory of someone from her past to inform her about likely traits of those she currently contemplates.
This reminds me of the story of Crocker’s Folly which I once frequented that features in
Referring to ‘The Dream’ above the Marylebone mistake also involved suicide.
Traditionally roast lamb leftovers were minced up on Monday to provide the meat for shepherd’s pie, so it was appropriate that Jackie added to bought mince the leftovers from the recent roast lamb we had enjoyed with Louisa for tonight’s meal which also included pure white cauliflower, orange carrots, and green beans, with which I finished the pinotage.
