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| author = [[Agatha Christie]]
| cover_artist = Not known
| country = United Kingdom<br>United States
| language = English
| series = [[Hercule Poirot]]
| genre = [[Crime novel]]
| publisher = [[Dodd, Mead and Company]]
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| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages = 270 (first edition, hardcover)
| preceded_by = [[The
| followed_by = [[
'''''Peril at End House''''' is a work of [[detective fiction]] by British writer
The book features Christie's private detective [[Hercule Poirot]], as well as [[Arthur Hastings]] and [[Chief Inspector Japp]], and is the sixth novel featuring Poirot. Poirot and Hastings vacation in Cornwall, meeting young Magdala "Nick" Buckley and her friends. He is persuaded that someone is out to kill her. They meet all of her friends at her home called End House. Though he aims to protect Nick, a murder happens that provokes Poirot to mount a serious investigation.
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It is not clear who wants Nick dead. Charles would inherit End House and Freddie would get the rest of the estate – none of which is worth killing for. At Poirot's advice, Nick calls her cousin Maggie to stay with her for a few weeks. When Maggie arrives, Nick hosts a party with everyone present but George. A renowned pilot named Michael Seton has gone missing, sparking debate about his fate. Nick receives a call while the guests are enjoying the party. Maggie is found dead, wearing Nick's shawl. Nick and Maggie had gone to freshen up, after which Maggie wore Nick's shawl. George is relieved to see Nick alive. Realizing that Maggie was killed by mistake under his nose, Poirot becomes furious, launching an investigation.
To protect Nick, Poirot tells everyone that she is going to a hospital. He asks her not to eat anything from an unknown source. The next day, the newspapers report that Michael Seton is dead and Poirot correctly deduces that Nick received that information through the call. Nick confesses to Poirot that she and Michael were secretly engaged. Michael was the sole
Poirot sets up a ruse with Nick's participation, telling the others that Nick is dead. Charles tells Poirot that he received Nick's will, which is read in End House, awarding her money to the Crofts for helping her father in Australia. This startles all except the Crofts. Poirot announces to the stunned guests that a seance will be conducted and Nick's "ghost" appears, exposing the Crofts. They
Poirot reveals that the real murderer is Nick. Michael was engaged to Maggie, not Nick: the cousins have the same name, Magdala Buckley. After learning of Michael's wealth and disappearance, Nick plotted to present herself as Michael's fiancée to usurp his wealth, a plot which required Maggie's death. The
==Characters==
* '''[[Hercule Poirot]]''' - The famed Belgian detective, in charge of investigating the case regarding Nick’s various escapes from death. He is on holiday in Cornwall.
* [[Arthur Hastings|'''Captain Arthur Hastings''']] - Poirot’s loyal friend and assistant, who is on holiday with the latter. He is the narrator of the story.
* [[Chief Inspector Japp|'''Inspector Japp''']] - The officer for the case. He has a minor role in the story.
* '''Magdala “Nick” Buckley''' - A young and seductive woman. She is the owner of End House.
* '''Frederica “Freddie” Rice''' - Nick’s close best friend. She is divorced, due to her ex-husband’s abuse.
* '''Jim Lazarus''' - A dealer of art, and Freddie’s sensational admirer. He is a friend of Nick.
* '''Commander George Challenger''' - A commander of the English Navy. He is also a friend of Nick.
* '''Charles Vyse''' - Nick’s trustworthy lawyer. He is her cousin, too.
* '''Maggie Buckley''' - Another cousin of Nick. She is the victim of the case.
* '''Bert Croft''' - An Australian leaser of the lodge near End House.
* '''Mildred Croft''' - Bert’s wife.
* '''Michael Seton''' - A well-known aviator. He is supposedly Nick’s boyfriend.
* '''Ellen''' - Nick’s hesitant housekeeper.
* '''William Wilson''' - The gardener of End House, and Ellen’s husband.
* '''Alfred Wilson''' - Ellen and William’s son.
* '''Mr. Rice''' - Freddie’s abusive ex-husband.
==Literary significance and reception==
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==References to other works==
* Two references (in chapters 1 and 5) are made to the events told in ''[[The Mystery of the Blue Train]]'' and it is clearly stated in chapter 1 that ''Peril at End House'' takes place the August following Poirot's trip to the [[French Riviera]] described in that book.
* In chapter 9, there is an
* At the beginning of chapter 14, Hastings describes how Poirot's obsession for tidiness helped him solve a case when he straightened ornaments on a mantelpiece. This is an indirect reference to ''[[The Mysterious Affair at Styles]]''.
* In chapter 15, Poirot mentions the case ''The Chocolate Box'' included in the book ''[[Poirot's Early Cases]]'', when he tells Commander Challenger that he indeed had failures in the past.
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In 1908, Christie was recovering from influenza and bored, and she started to write a story at the suggestion of her mother, Clara Miller (see the dedication to ''[[The Mysterious Affair at Styles]]''). This suggestion sparked Christie's interest in writing and several pieces were composed, some of which are now lost or remain unpublished (one exception to this is ''The Call of Wings'' which later appeared in ''[[The Hound of Death]]'' in 1933). These early efforts were mostly short stories, but at some point late in the year Christie attempted her first novel, ''Snow Upon the Desert''. She sent it to several publishers but they all rejected the work. At Clara's suggestion she then asked Phillpotts to read and critique both the book and other examples of her writing. He was a neighbour and friend of the Miller family in [[Torquay]]. He sent an undated reply back which included the praise that, "some of your work is capital. You have a great feeling for dialogue". In view of her later success in allowing readers to judge characters' feelings and motivations for themselves (and in doing so, thereby deceiving themselves as to the identity of the culprits), Phillpotts offered valuable suggestions to, "leave your characters alone, so that they can speak for themselves, instead of always rushing in to tell them what they ought to say, or to explain to the reader what they mean by what they are saying". He gave her further advice in the letter regarding a number of suggestions for further reading to help improve her work.
Phillpotts gave Christie an introduction to his own literary agents,
===Dustjacket blurb===
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===Television and film===
A
The novel was adapted for television in 1990, as part of the ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]]'' second series; it was the first full-length novel to be adapted. Poirot was portrayed by [[David Suchet]] and Nick Buckley by [[Polly Walker]]. Overall, the film was faithful to the novel; however, Freddie's husband does not appear in the film nor does he shoot at Nick during the [[denouement]], Challenger is arrested rather than being allowed to flee, and the fates of Freddie and Jim remain unresolved.
Colonel Weston had been omitted from the adaptation and Miss Lemon added. This episode was filmed in [[Salcombe]], [[Devon]] near Agatha Christie's home town of [[Torquay]], rather than on the Cornish Coast where the story is set. <!-- this quote is no longer on the web site, is there another source?: As the director of the TV series, [[Renny Rye]] explained: "Salcombe actually had more Thirties elements about it than we could find on the Cornish Coast – which was our main criterion. A little deception is an essential thing in television, I believe, and as Agatha Christie didn't set her story in any specific Cornish town I hope we didn't upset anyone too much!" -->
The novel was adapted as an episode of the Japanese animated series ''[[Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple]]'', under the title "The Mystery of End House". It aired in 2004.
The novel was again adapted as the fourth episode of the first season of the French television series ''[[Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie]]'', airing in 2009.
===Radio===
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==External links==
*[http://www.agathachristie.com/christies-work/stories/peril-at-end-house/119 ''Peril at End House'' at the official Agatha Christie website]
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q1168784|id=
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151102064657/http://www.bigfishgames.com/games/2233/agatha-christie-peril-at-end-house/?pc Agatha Christie: Peril at End House computer game]
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[[Category:British novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:Collins Crime Club books]]
[[Category:Fiction about poisonings]]
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