Введение
Детективный роман Агаты Кристи (1922)
The Secret Adversary is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6)
The critic for The New York Times Book Review (11 June 1922) was also impressed: "It is safe to assert that unless the reader peers into the last chapter or so of the tale, he will not know who this secret adversary is until the author chooses to reveal him." The review gave something of a backhanded compliment when it said that Christie "gives a sense of plausibility to the most preposterous situations and developments." Nevertheless it conceded thatMiss Christie has a clever prattling style that shifts easily into amusing dialogue and so aids the pleasure of the reader as he tears along with Tommy and Tuppence on the trail of the mysterious Mr Brown. Many of the situations are a bit moth eaten from frequent usage by other writers, but at that Miss Christie manages to invest them with a new sense of individuality that renders them rather absorbing. Robert Barnard described the novel as "The first and best (no extravagant compliment this) of the Tommy and Tuppence stories. It tells how the dauntless pair foils a plot to foment labour unrest and red revolution in Britain, masterminded by the man behind the Bolshevists. Good reactionary fun, if you're in that mood." Some additional blurbs regarding the book, and used by The Bodley Head for advertising subsequent print runs, are as follows:
"It's an excellent yarn and the reader will find it as impossible as we did to put it aside until the mystery has been fathomed." — Daily Chronicle
"We promise our readers an exciting story of adventure, full of hairbreadth escapes, and many disappointments if they try to guess the riddle before the author is ready to give them the clue. — An excellent story." — Saturday Review.
«Тайный противник» – второй опубликованный детективный роман британской писательницы Агаты Кристи, впервые изданный в январе 1922 года в Великобритании издательством The Bodley Head, а в США издательством Dodd, Mead and Company позднее в том же году. В Великобритании книга продавалась по цене семь шиллингов и шесть пенсов (7/6).
The Secret Adversary is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6)
The critic for The New York Times Book Review (11 June 1922) was also impressed: "It is safe to assert that unless the reader peers into the last chapter or so of the tale, he will not know who this secret adversary is until the author chooses to reveal him." The review gave something of a backhanded compliment when it said that Christie "gives a sense of plausibility to the most preposterous situations and developments." Nevertheless it conceded thatMiss Christie has a clever prattling style that shifts easily into amusing dialogue and so aids the pleasure of the reader as he tears along with Tommy and Tuppence on the trail of the mysterious Mr Brown. Many of the situations are a bit moth eaten from frequent usage by other writers, but at that Miss Christie manages to invest them with a new sense of individuality that renders them rather absorbing. Robert Barnard described the novel as "The first and best (no extravagant compliment this) of the Tommy and Tuppence stories. It tells how the dauntless pair foils a plot to foment labour unrest and red revolution in Britain, masterminded by the man behind the Bolshevists. Good reactionary fun, if you're in that mood." Some additional blurbs regarding the book, and used by The Bodley Head for advertising subsequent print runs, are as follows:
"It's an excellent yarn and the reader will find it as impossible as we did to put it aside until the mystery has been fathomed." — Daily Chronicle
"We promise our readers an exciting story of adventure, full of hairbreadth escapes, and many disappointments if they try to guess the riddle before the author is ready to give them the clue. — An excellent story." — Saturday Review.
Критик The New York Times Book Review (11 июня 1922 года) также был впечатлен: «Можно с уверенностью сказать, что если читатель не заглянет в последние главы, он не догадается, кто этот тайный противник, пока автор не решит его раскрыть». В рецензии отмечалось, что Кристи «придает правдоподобие самым невероятным ситуациям и событиям». Тем не менее, рецензент признал, что у мисс Кристи живой, остроумный слог, легко переходящий в остроумные диалоги, что доставляет читателю удовольствие, когда он вместе с Томми и Тэппенс преследует таинственного мистера Брауна. Многие сюжетные ходы кажутся заимствованными и избитыми, однако мисс Кристи удается придать им новое, оригинальное звучание, делая их весьма увлекательными. Роберт Барнард описал роман как «первый и лучший (и это не преувеличение) из историй о Томми и Тэппенс. В нем рассказывается о том, как эта бесстрашная пара предотвратила заговор с целью разжечь рабочие волнения и красную революцию в Британии, организованный человеком, стоящим за большевиками. Отличное реакционное развлечение, если вы в настроении». Вот некоторые дополнительные отзывы о книге, использованные издательством The Bodley Head для рекламы последующих тиражей:
The Secret Adversary is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6)
The critic for The New York Times Book Review (11 June 1922) was also impressed: "It is safe to assert that unless the reader peers into the last chapter or so of the tale, he will not know who this secret adversary is until the author chooses to reveal him." The review gave something of a backhanded compliment when it said that Christie "gives a sense of plausibility to the most preposterous situations and developments." Nevertheless it conceded thatMiss Christie has a clever prattling style that shifts easily into amusing dialogue and so aids the pleasure of the reader as he tears along with Tommy and Tuppence on the trail of the mysterious Mr Brown. Many of the situations are a bit moth eaten from frequent usage by other writers, but at that Miss Christie manages to invest them with a new sense of individuality that renders them rather absorbing. Robert Barnard described the novel as "The first and best (no extravagant compliment this) of the Tommy and Tuppence stories. It tells how the dauntless pair foils a plot to foment labour unrest and red revolution in Britain, masterminded by the man behind the Bolshevists. Good reactionary fun, if you're in that mood." Some additional blurbs regarding the book, and used by The Bodley Head for advertising subsequent print runs, are as follows:
"It's an excellent yarn and the reader will find it as impossible as we did to put it aside until the mystery has been fathomed." — Daily Chronicle
"We promise our readers an exciting story of adventure, full of hairbreadth escapes, and many disappointments if they try to guess the riddle before the author is ready to give them the clue. — An excellent story." — Saturday Review.
«Это захватывающая история, и читателю будет так же трудно оторваться от нее, как и нам, пока не будет разгадана тайна». — Daily Chronicle
The Secret Adversary is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6)
The critic for The New York Times Book Review (11 June 1922) was also impressed: "It is safe to assert that unless the reader peers into the last chapter or so of the tale, he will not know who this secret adversary is until the author chooses to reveal him." The review gave something of a backhanded compliment when it said that Christie "gives a sense of plausibility to the most preposterous situations and developments." Nevertheless it conceded thatMiss Christie has a clever prattling style that shifts easily into amusing dialogue and so aids the pleasure of the reader as he tears along with Tommy and Tuppence on the trail of the mysterious Mr Brown. Many of the situations are a bit moth eaten from frequent usage by other writers, but at that Miss Christie manages to invest them with a new sense of individuality that renders them rather absorbing. Robert Barnard described the novel as "The first and best (no extravagant compliment this) of the Tommy and Tuppence stories. It tells how the dauntless pair foils a plot to foment labour unrest and red revolution in Britain, masterminded by the man behind the Bolshevists. Good reactionary fun, if you're in that mood." Some additional blurbs regarding the book, and used by The Bodley Head for advertising subsequent print runs, are as follows:
"It's an excellent yarn and the reader will find it as impossible as we did to put it aside until the mystery has been fathomed." — Daily Chronicle
"We promise our readers an exciting story of adventure, full of hairbreadth escapes, and many disappointments if they try to guess the riddle before the author is ready to give them the clue. — An excellent story." — Saturday Review.
«Мы обещаем нашим читателям увлекательную историю приключений, полную головокружительных побегов и множества разочарований, если они попытаются разгадать загадку раньше, чем автор сочтет нужным дать им подсказку. — Превосходная история». — Saturday Review.
The Secret Adversary is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6)
The critic for The New York Times Book Review (11 June 1922) was also impressed: "It is safe to assert that unless the reader peers into the last chapter or so of the tale, he will not know who this secret adversary is until the author chooses to reveal him." The review gave something of a backhanded compliment when it said that Christie "gives a sense of plausibility to the most preposterous situations and developments." Nevertheless it conceded thatMiss Christie has a clever prattling style that shifts easily into amusing dialogue and so aids the pleasure of the reader as he tears along with Tommy and Tuppence on the trail of the mysterious Mr Brown. Many of the situations are a bit moth eaten from frequent usage by other writers, but at that Miss Christie manages to invest them with a new sense of individuality that renders them rather absorbing. Robert Barnard described the novel as "The first and best (no extravagant compliment this) of the Tommy and Tuppence stories. It tells how the dauntless pair foils a plot to foment labour unrest and red revolution in Britain, masterminded by the man behind the Bolshevists. Good reactionary fun, if you're in that mood." Some additional blurbs regarding the book, and used by The Bodley Head for advertising subsequent print runs, are as follows:
"It's an excellent yarn and the reader will find it as impossible as we did to put it aside until the mystery has been fathomed." — Daily Chronicle
"We promise our readers an exciting story of adventure, full of hairbreadth escapes, and many disappointments if they try to guess the riddle before the author is ready to give them the clue. — An excellent story." — Saturday Review.
Адаптация графического романа
"Тайный противник" был выпущен HarperCollins в виде графического романа 20 мая 2008 года, адаптацию выполнил Франсуа Ривьер, а иллюстрации создал Фрэнк Леклерк. Перевод был сделан с издания, впервые опубликованного во Франции издательством Emmanuel Proust éditions в 2003 году под названием "Мистер Браун".
Этап
Впервые на сцене «Тайный противник» Агаты Кристи был представлен в 2015 году в постановке Театра «Водяная мельница», адаптированной Сарой Паншон и Йоханном Хари по роману Кристи для труппы из семи актёров. Пьеса в двух действиях была описана в рекламных материалах как "наполненная стремительным действием, комедией, живой музыкой и лёгким романтическим флёром". Живую музыку исполняли сами актёры. Роль Тэппенс исполнила Эмеральд О’Ханрахан, а Томми – Гармон Рис. Премьера и показы проходили в театре «The Watermill Theatre» и «West Berkshire Playhouse» с 12 февраля по 21 марта, после чего постановка гастролировала до 9 мая, завершившись в театре «Rose Theatre» в Кингстоне. 16 февраля 2016 года Театр Великих озёр представил 70-минутную сценическую адаптацию в рамках своей образовательной программы. Адаптацию создал Дэвид Хансен, в ней задействованы пять актёров (три мужчины и две женщины), причём большинство исполнителей играют несколько ролей.
Снимка с пылесосом
На передней внутренней стороне обложки первого издания не было специально написанной аннотации. Вместо этого там был повторен текст, который использовался на обложке романа «Таинственное дело в Стайлз» (на задней внутренней стороне обложки были размещены рецензии на более ранний роман). В более поздних изданиях использовались аннотации, впервые опубликованные в конце сборника «Пуаро расследует».