Убийство, о котором было объявлено: История создания и адаптации романа Агаты Кристи

1950 novel by Agatha Christie

A Murder Is Announced is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1950 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in the same month. The UK edition sold for eight shillings and sixpence (8/6)

Robert Barnard remarks that Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, is "one of the few Christies anchored in time and space: we are in Essex, during the First World War." His commentary on all of Christie's novels and short stories seems to miss the strong ties to time and place in A Murder Is Announced.

Edmund Swettenham announces that he has written "a roaring farce in three acts" titled Elephants Do Forget. Agatha Christie later wrote a novel named Elephants Can Remember featuring Hercule Poirot. "Scherz" was the name of the Swiss publisher (Scherz Verlag) which published Five Little Pigs in 1944 in German. A "distantly related" storyline had previously been explored in Christie's Miss Marple short story "The Companion", where the characters also lived in a house called Little Paddocks. Maurice Richardson, in the 4 June 1950 issue of The Observer, said, "For her fiftieth book she has chosen a snug, residential village setting with her favourite detective, silver haired, needle sharp spinster, Miss Marple, making a delayed appearance. Not quite one of her top notchers, but very smooth entertainment. The Prime Minister (Clement Attlee), who is her fervent admirer, might fittingly celebrate this jubilee by making her a Dame." (It took until 1971 for Christie to be awarded the DBE). Norman Shrapnel in The Guardians issue of 9 June 1950 noted that this was Christie's 50th book and said that the murderer was "run to earth in a brilliantly conducted parlour game". An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star of 30 September 1950 opined that "A Murder is Announced displays all the adroit and well bred legerdemain one has come to expect from Agatha Christie This jubilee whodunit is as deft and ingenious a fabrication as Agatha Christie has contrived in many a year." Robert Barnard: "Superb reworking of the standard Christie setting and procedures, marred only by an excess of homicide at the end. The book is distantly related to "The Companion", in The Thirteen Problems." In the "Binge!" article of Entertainment Weekly Issue #1343–44 (26 December 2014 – 3 January 2015), the writers picked A Murder Is Announced as an "EW favorite" on the list of the "Nine Great Christie Novels".

The NBC anthology series Goodyear Playhouse broadcast an adaptation by William Templeton on 30 December 1956, with Gracie Fields as Miss Marple, Roger Moore as Patrick Simmons and Jessica Tandy as Letitia Blacklock.

Leslie Darbon adapted the novel into a stage play in 1977. It was first presented at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, by Peter Saunders – who brought Christie's The Mousetrap to the stage – and then on 21 September 1977 at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, which at the time he owned. The play first toured Australia in 2013 with Judi Farr as Miss Marple, Robert Grubb as Inspector Craddock and Libby Munro as Phillipa Haymes, directed by Darren Yap.

The novel was adapted by Alan Plater and filmed in 1984 with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple and Ursula Howells as Miss Blacklock, directed by David Giles for the BBC series Miss Marple. Only a few changes were made: Mitzi was renamed Hannah and is said to possibly be Swiss (in the book, her nationality is unknown) and in the novel the vicarage cat was male and called Tiglath Pileser. In this televised version the cat is female and called Delilah.

The novel was adapted for radio by Michael Bakewell, with June Whitfield as Miss Marple and Sarah Lawson as Miss Blacklock, directed by Enyd Williams, in five half hour episodes. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1999.

In 2005, it was part of the first season of the ITV series Agatha Christie's Marple which featured Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple, Zoë Wanamaker as Letitia Blacklock, Keeley Hawes as Phillipa Haymes, Elaine Paige as Dora Bunner, Frances Barber as Hinchcliffe, Cherie Lunghi as Sadie Swettenham, Catherine Tate as Mitzi and Alexander Armstrong as Inspector Craddock.

The novel was adapted as a 2015 episode of the French television series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie.

The novel was adapted as part of the 2018 Korean television series, Ms. Ma, Nemesis.

TV Asahi adapted the novel in 2019 starring Ikki Sawamura and Mao Daichi, with the title Drama Special: Agatha Christie's A Murder Is Announced (ドラマスペシャル アガサ・クリスティ 予告殺人). This drama changed the main role to a chief inspector from Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.