Ordeal by Innocence

This article is about the novel by Agatha Christie. For the 1984 film, see Ordeal by Innocence (film). For the 2018 tv series, see Ordeal by Innocence (TV series).
Ordeal by Innocence
Dust-jacket illustration of the first UK edition
AuthorAgatha Christie
Cover artistNot known
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime novel
PublisherCollins Crime Club
Publication date
3 November 1958
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages256 (first edition, hardcover)
Preceded by4.50 from Paddington 
Followed byCat Among the Pigeons 

Ordeal by Innocence is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 3 November 1958[1] and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year.[2][3] The UK edition retailed at twelve shillings and sixpence (12/6)[1] and the US edition at $2.95.[3]

A crucial witness is unaware of his role as such until two years after a man is found guilty of a murder. When he realizes the information he holds, he re-opens the pain of loss in a family, and re-opens the question of who was the murderer two years ago.

This novel received mixed reviews at the time of publication, as reviewers were not generally comfortable with the psychological aspects of the story. The plot had her "customary ingenuity" but lacked "blitheness" and was "much too like an attempt at psychological fiction".[4] Sympathy is evoked for too many characters, "but the unravelling is sound and the story well told."[5] Another said there is ingenuity and a good ending, but the plot "lacks a central focus" and it appears that the "serious socio-psychological approach doesn't suit" Christie's writing.[6] A later review considered it one of the better Christie novels of the 1950s, and noted that the author sometimes called it her own favourite.[7]

  1. ^ a b Peers, Chris; Spurrier, Ralph; Sturgeon, Jamie (March 1999). Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions (Second ed.). Dragonby Press. p. 15.
  2. ^ Cooper, John; Pyke, B A (1994). Detective Fiction – the collector's guide (Second ed.). Scholar Press. pp. 82, 87. ISBN 0-85967-991-8.
  3. ^ a b Marcum, J S. "The Golden Years: 1953–1967". An American Tribute to Agatha Christie.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stead1958 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Russell1958 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Richardson1958 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barnard1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).