Multidimensional typology of Agatha Christie’s detectives: criteria and description

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Multidimensional typology of agatha christie's detectives: criteria and description

Farman J. Ramazan

Postgraduate Student

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv



ÁÀÃÀÒÎÂÈ̲ÐÍÀ ÒÈÏÎËÎÃ²ß ÄÅÒÅÊÒȲ ÀÃÀÒÈ ÊÐÈÑÒ²: ÊÐÈÒÅв¯ ÒÀ ÎÏÈÑ

Ôàðìàí Äæ. Ðàìàçàí àñï³ðàíò

Êè¿âñüêîãî íàö³îíàëüíîãî óí³âåðñèòåòó ³ìåí³ Òàðàñà Øåâ÷åíêà

Ó ñòàòò³ ðîçãëÿäàþòüñÿ ïðîáëåìíî-æàíðîâ³ îñîáëèâîñò³ òâîð³â äåòåêòèâíîãî æàíðó À. Êð³ñò³ òà àâòîðñüê³ íîâàö³¿. Ïèøó÷è ñâî¿ äåòåêòèâí³ òâîðè âîíà âäàâàëàñÿ äî ïîðóøåíü êàíîí³â òâîðåííÿ äåòåêòèâíîãî æàíðó, ïðîãîëîøåíèõ Ð. Íîêñîì. Óñ³ ö³ îñîáëèâîñò³ ¿¿ äåòåêòèâíîãî ïèñüìà ñêëàäàþòü îñîáëèâèé ³íäèâ³äóàëüíèé àâòîðñüêèé ñòèëü, ÿêèé âàðòî äîñë³äèòè. Ìåòîþ ñòàòò³ º ïðîâåäåííÿ ïîïåðåäíüî¿ êëàñèô³êàö³¿ äåòåêòèâ³â À. Êð³ñò³ ç óðàõóâàííÿì íå ëèøå îñîáëèâîñòåé ñàìîãî ðîçñë³äóâàííÿ çëî÷èí³â, à é ñòàòóñó äåòåêòèâà â öüîìó ðîçñë³äóâàíí³. Äëÿ ðåàë³çàö³¿ ïîñòàâëåíî¿ ìåòè íåîáõ³äíî âèð³øèòè òàê³ çàâäàííÿ: 1) âêàçàòè â³äì³ííîñò³ êëàñè÷íîãî äåòåêòèâó â³ä íåòðàäèö³éíîãî, ìîäåðí³çîâàíîãî äåòåêòèâó; 2) âèçíà÷èòè êëþ÷îâ³ êðèòå𳿠äåòåêòèâ³â ó êðèì³íàëüí³é ë³òåðàòóð³; 3) âèîêðåìèòè òèïè äåòåêòèâ³â (ïðèâàòí³ äåòåêòèâè ÷è ðîçñë³äóâà÷³- íåïðîôåñ³îíàëè) ó äåòåêòèâí³é ïðîç³ À. Êð³ñò³. Ó äîñë³äæåíí³ òàêîæ âèçíà÷åíî â³äì³ííîñò³ ì³æ êëàñè÷íèì äåòåêòèâîì ³ íåòðàäèö³éíèìè, ìîäåðí³çîâàíèìè äåòåêòèâàìè ³íøèõ êðèì³íàëüíèõ ï³äæàíð³â Àãàòè Êð³ñò³ (àâàíòþðíå ðîçñë³äóâàííÿ, ðîçñë³äóâàííÿ æåðòâè òà êîëåêòèâíå ðîçñë³äóâàííÿ). Öå äîçâîëèëî çðîáèòè òàê³ âèñíîâêè: ãîëîâíèé ãåðîé êëàñè÷íîãî äåòåêòèâó--ïðîôåñ³éíèé äåòåêòèâ, ãðàéëèâèé, ãðîòåñêíèé, ³ç çîâí³øí³ñòþ, íàáëèæåíîþ äî ìàñêè; áåç êîíêðåòíîãî â³êó; áåç äåòàëüíî¿ á³îãðàô³¿; ÷àñò³øå ÷îëîâ³ê; àñêåòè÷íèé òèï àáî, áåç îñîáèñòîãî æèòòÿ; ðîçñë³äóâàííÿ ç ëþáîâ³ äî ãðè. ³í ðîçñë³äóº âèíÿòêîâèé ³ äèâíèé, ãðîòåñêíèé çëî÷èí; éîìó ïðîòèñòî¿òü âèíÿòêîâèé çëî÷èíåöü. Çëî÷èíåöü í³êîëè íå º ìàí³ÿêîì, àëå ìîæå ïðèêèäàòèñÿ íèì àáî ñïðèéìàòèñÿ ³íøèìè ïåðñîíàæàìè ÿê áîæåâ³ëüíèé.

Êëþ÷îâ³ ñëîâà: À. Êð³ñò³, äåòåêòèâ, äåòåêòèâ, æàíð, òèïîëîã³ÿ ïåðñîíàæ³â.

The article is focused on the problem genre peculiarities of A. Christie's detective stories and the innovations she brought to the development the detective genre. It is proved that Agatha Christie while writing her detective stories nearly broke all the rules, violated the norm declared by R. Knox All these peculiarities of her detective writing constitute a particular individual author's style which is worth investigating. The goal of the article is to carry out a preliminary classification of A. Christie's detectives, taking into account not only the peculiarities of crime investigation itself but also the status of a detective in this investigation. To fulfill this goal the following tasks should be done: 1) to point out distinguishing features between a classical detective story and non- traditional, modernized detective story; 2) to define key criteria of detective stories in crime literature; 3) to elicit types of detectives (private detectives or investigating non-professional) in A. Christie's detective fiction. In the research the distinctions between a classical detective story and non-traditional, modernized detective stories of other criminal subgenres by Agatha Christie's (adventurous investigation, victim investigation and collective investigation) has been also he worked out. It allowed us to draw the following conclusions: the main character of a classical detective story is a professional detective, playful, grotesque, with an appearance close to a mask; without age; without a detailed biography; more often a man; ascetic type or, in any case, without personal life; independent of everyday life; investigating out of love for the game. He is investigating an exceptional and strange, grotesque crime; he is opposed by an exceptional criminal. The criminal is never a maniac, but can pretend to be him or be perceived as crazy by other characters.

Key words: A. Christie, detective, detective story, genre, typology of characters.

christie genre detective



Introduction

The critical role of Agatha Christie in preserving and updating a classical detective story is universally recognized. At the same time, concretizing what she brought to the development the detective genre is a difficult task, due to a huge amount of detective stories written by her, and a large number of special detective fiction such as a spy novel (works with the Beresford couple; some works with Race and Battle), a thriller (“The Mousetrap”, etc.), “serial” and off-series, which distinguishes her from E. Poe and Conan Doyle.

However, most of her literary works can be comprised under the umbrella term “detective fiction” which we understand as one of the subgenres of crime fiction, a narrative, usually written from the point of view of a detective (professional, amateur or retired) about a definite crime which plot hinges. It is worth mentioning, that literary term “detective” is a polysemantic word which means: 1) someone whose job is to discover what has happened in a crime or other situation and to find the people involved; some detectives work in the police force and others work privately; 2) In Britain “detective” as an adjective is used to modify such words as “constable” or “sergeant”, and in the U.S. the word “detective” is used on its own, to indicate that a police officer is a member of the department concerned with investigating crimes; 3) (story, novel) (Br. Eng) a story in which a detective tries to solve a crime; (Am.Eng) a mystery involving a crime and the gradual discovery of who committed it, esp. a highly formalized one in which a detective, often a private detective, solves a crime, usually a murder, by means of careful observation and logical reasoning (Collins, 2022)

Before proceeding to the analysis of Agatha Christie's detectives, it should be also noted that there is a well-established approach to a classical detective story, so here we can talk about a definite literary tradition.

“A detective story” as a literary genre has been studied since the beginning of the twentieth century (G. K. Chesterton's essay “A Defense of Detective Stories”, 1901; Cecil Chesterton “The Art and the Detective Story”, 1906).

For our scientific research special consideration deserves a phenomenon that can be called “authors of criminal literature about it”, a group of English writers who at the turn of the 20th century founded the Detection Club. Among their works, we note first of all the essay by Austin R. Freeman “The Art of the Detective Story” (1924); “How to Write a Detective Story” (1925) Gilbert K. Chesterton; “Introduction to The Omnibus of Crime” anthology and essay “The English Detective Novel” by Dorothy L. Sayers; as well as “Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction”, often called “The Decalogue” (1928, according to other sources 1929) by Ronald Knox.

In subsequent years the members of the club wrote that in subsequent years the members of the club also wrote not only detective stories, but also critical works and biographies of their predecessors. In the 70s, among the most cited were the monographs of Julian Symons: “The Detective Story in Britain” and “Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel: A History” (1972). The tradition was continued by Henry R. F. Keating who became the editor and author of such popular books as: “Agatha Christie: The First Lady of Crime” (1977), “Sherlock Holmes: The Man and His World” (1979), “Great Crimes” (1982), “Writing Crime Fiction” (1986) and “Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books” (1987) etc.

The most notable American writers are of W. H. Wright, Van Dine, who were very close to the thoughts of the members of the British Detection Club. It is Wright's preface to “The Great Detective Stories: a ChronologicalAnthology” and his “Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories” by Van Dine, whose similarity to Knox's commandments has been repeatedly noted in the specialized literature.

In France, among the authors who wrote about a detective story as a literary genre, the most outstanding contribution was made by Boileau- Narcejac. The book “Esthetique du Roman Poli- cier” deals primarily with French crime fiction. The authors combined a typological and historical approach, tracing the stages of French crime literature, as can be seen from the titles of the chapters (“Prehistory of the Genre. Gaborio”, “French Detective Story from 1900 to 1939”, etc.).

As for the publications of foreign critics and philologists, primarily in English, already in the 20s of the twentieth century, their number is huge due to popularity of this literary genre . The most significant and/or frequently cited works are “Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story” by Howard Haycraft and “The Art of Mystery History”, edited by him; “The Development of the Detective Novel” by Alma Elizabeth Murch; “The Gentle Art of Murder: the Detective Fiction of Agatha Christie” by Earl F. Bargainnier; “A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie” by Robert Barnard; “The Police Procedural” by George Dove; “The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction”, edited by Martin Priestman and “20th Century Crime Fiction” by Lee Horsley; “Detective Fiction” by Charles J. Rzepka and “A Companion to Crime Fiction” with Ch.J. Rzepka and Lee Horsley's foreword; “Crime Fiction, 1800-2000: Detection, Death, Diversity” and “Form and Ideology in Detective Fiction” by Stephen Knight; “Watteau Shepherds: The Detective Novel in Britain 1914-1940” and “An Introduction to the Detective Story” by Leroy L. Panek; “Crime Literature” by John Scaggs and others.

As can be seen from the above the term “genre” used in the titles of the listed books, it is mixed with other terms. Thus, the well-known authority on the police novel, George Dove, in the above-mentioned and often-cited book “The Police Procedural” calls the latter both a genre and a subgenre, and a type and “a variation of the classical mystery fiction genre”. Accordingly, this confusion is supported by the authors of the works that refer to it: G. Hausladen, J. Scaggs and others.

In this research a classical detective story will be viewed as a genre-sample of criminal literature. We also support the idea that only at the background of classical, exemplary genres new traditional, modernized sub-genres can be singled out and described.

Since the conceptual apparatus for the study of criminal literature was not developed earlier, for this purpose, it is proposed, firstly, to divide genres into rational and non-rational. This characteristic feature is connected, on the one hand, with the fact whether or not the action of otherworldly forces is excluded during the investigation. On the other hand, the presence/ absence of logical reasoning in the text with conclusions that are of fundamental importance for the results of the investigation.

Secondly, two notions of play and norm are proposed as major aspects of the study of the characteristics of a classic detective story. It is interesting to know that in addition to rational, ludic focus on the poetics of this genre can also be of vital importance. We emphasize that when speaking about a play, or a game inside the world of a literary work the behavior of characters is meant: first of all, a detective and a criminal, as well as witnesses and a narrator. This understanding has nothing to do with the “fair play” with the reader, which was proclaimed by Ronald Knox, Dorothy Sayers and others, who wrote about a detective story as an intellectual play between the author of the “mystery” and the reader. According to them, an honest author must follow certain rules for detective writing: give the reader a chance to solve the mystery himself, not mislead him, etc.

Robert Knox, a Catholic priest and a detective writer wrote “10 Commandments of Detective Fiction” (1928) like the allusion to “10 Commandments” in the Bible. It was basic 10 rules that writers of detective genre had to adhere to.

The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whosethoughtsthereaderhasbeenallowedtofollow.

All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.

Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.

No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.

No Chinaman must figure in the story.

No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.

The detective must not himself commit the crime.

The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.

The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.

Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them. (Detection Club, 2021)

In the course of the study of the analyzed genre a special role of norm for a classic detective story and for crime literature in general was established. The crime acts were treated as a violation of the norm; genres differ in the possibility or impossibility of restoring it, in compliance or non-compliance with the behavior norm of the characters, etc.

It is worth mentioning that Agatha Christie while writing her detective stories nearly broke all the rules, violated the norm declared by R. Knox and did it most spectacularly in “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” that caused her problems with its publication. All these peculiarities of her detective writing constitute a particular individual author's style which is worth investigating.

As it can be seen from the above, the goal of the article is to carry out a preliminary classification of A. Christie's detectives, taking into account not only the peculiarities of crime investigation itself but also their status in this investigation. Due to the impossibility to analyze the entire legacy of the writer, we will consider her the most famous literary works and “serials”.

To fulfill this goal the following tasks should be done: 1) to point out distinguishing features between classical detective and non-traditional, modernized detective; 2) to define key criteria of detective stories in crime literature; 3) to elicit types of detectives (private detectives or investigating non-professional) in A. Christie's detective fiction.



A classical detective story vs. non-traditional, modernized detective story: similarities and distinctions

The idea of classical detective story is inextricably linked with rationality, logic, analysis, common sense, and intelligence. Defining the notion “a detective story” (here and below we present different opinions that clearly differentiate a non-trad- itional detective, modernized story and classical detective story), as a rule, literary critics emphasize their logical component.

A classical detective story is usually described with the help of certain characteristic features, such as: 1) the perception of the mystery of a crime as a puzzle, riddle, etc; 2) alien to mysticism, where the disclosure of secrets is rational. On that grounds such literary work can be classified as classical detective.

While describing the essential feature of a detective story let us consider Lotman's point of view on it that a special place is occupied by those quasiworks of art which, in fact, represent problems to be solved. Such are the mysteries in folklore, and in modern art it is the vast space of the detective. The detective is a task that pretends to be art.

It is worth adding R. Caillois' definition of that literary notion who states that detective stories try to explain what is usually unexplained. The reader is coping with nature's laws, probability, and common sense. But from the reader's point of view the situation looks different than in normal realistic narration. Thus, in a detective story an emphasis is put on extraordinary circumstances of a crime and indirectly on a problem of realistic conditions of a story.

There is another important issue that is worth mentioning: along with the rational component in a classical detective story and non-traditional there is a creative, ludic aspect that is one of a considerable importance . By the method of investigation a classical detective story is a rational genre and always completely excludes the anti-rational actions, as well as the fact that the presence of logical reasoning in literary text is mandatory.

The crime at the beginning of a classical detective story violates the norm, and at the end it is fully restored. Thus, a classical detective story is locked in a ring: the norm is the same for detectives, police, narrators and, sometimes, even criminals. All the main secrets are solved in the finale. The picture of the world can be called harmonious. This is one of the reasons why the form of the short story is so important for classical detective story.

As a rule the crime is not only viewed as a “violation of the norm” (a common definition), but also as grotesque. Grotesque redundancy emphasizes the exceptional nature of the crime in classical detective story, and the criminal, respectively, cannot be ordinary, his cruelty is also grotesque.

The investigation in closed space is easy and fast and ends in complete success - these are the characteristics of a classical detective story. Kest- hei emphasizes that “events (in detective story) can take place only in a space bounded by mystery”: “closeness and conditionality of the chronotope” is one of the “constitutive” feature of a detective story. It is interesting to mention that the image of a locked room is used for the first time in E.A. Poe's “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”.

One more specific feature in a classical detective story is eavesdropping/ peeping. By the way, an important characteristic feature of a detective (a character) is his/her strangeness. Borges pointed out that “... the first detective in fiction was a foreigner, the first French detective described in fiction. Why? Because the American describes everything that happened, and he needs an unusual hero. To make the characters even weirder, he makes them live differently than usual among normal people”.

While classifying literary works written by A. Christie it is necessary to exclude from the list of classical detective stories literary works that in our research are classified as non-traditional or modernized detective stories: 1) where there is neither an investigation plot nor a detective at all. To this group belong the short stories “The Red Signal”, “Honeymoon Alix Martin” (Nightingale Cottage); 2) those where the investigation is on the periphery, as in the famous play “The Mousetrap” (and, accordingly, in the novel “Three Blind Mice”). An interesting fact is that the three detective novels written by Agatha Christie that she published under the pseudonym, Mary Westmacott are classified as “non-detective novels”.

As for the detective stories based on the plot investigation, for a proper classification it is necessary to apply the following criteria: 1) a strange grotesque crime; 2) a grotesque detective; 3) a creative approach to both the crime and its investigation; 4) ludic relations between the criminal and the detective; 5) closed space; 6) fast time.

The important thing for our research is that all the above mentioned criteria should be present in one detective story not separately but in a certain combination.

Taking this into account by whom the investigation is being carried out we can assume, that such novels as “Sparkling Cyanide”, “The Crooked House” and “The Sittaford Mystery” are not classical detective novels, on condition that the most important part of the investigation is carried out not by the police, not by a classical detective, but by a person close to the victim, crimes or accusations. So neither Colonel Race (“Sparkling Cyanide”), Inspector Battle (“The Sittaford Mystery”), nor Charles Hayward (“The Crooked House”) have no signs of classical detective at all, and the mystery of the crime in the first two novels is solved by a person close to the victim, and in the novel “The Crooked House” the truth becomes known from the killer's diary. It is worth mentioning that the latest novel contains a consistent polemic with a classical detective story, manifesting itself in the dreams of a murderous girl, playing both a cunning criminal and a detective story.

Typology of Agatha Christie's detectives

The character of a classical detective story is a detective, playful, grotesque, with an appearance close to a mask (his attributes a pipe, a mustache, a violin are more important than his face); without definite age; no detailed biography; more often a man; of an ascetic type or, in any case, without a private life; not dependent on everyday life (with the exception of those cases when everyday life is used to enhance grotesqueness); investigating for the love of the game. He is investigating an exceptional and strange, grotesque crime; he is confronted by an exceptional criminal (but still not equal to the detective in his abilities; the works from the Holmes cycle, where the Great Detective is opposed by Irene Adler and Professor Moriarty, are not classical detective stories).

Among the non-traditional, modernized detective stories written by Agatha Christie it is necessary to highlight the following detectives where the characters Ann Beddingfeld (“The Man in the Brown Suit”), as well as Anthony Cade (Prince Nicholas) and Virginia Revel (“The Secret of Chimneys”) are involved in the investigation not because (or not so much because) that the crime has to do with them or their loved ones, but because they are looking for adventure. We can define this type of the detective as the adventure one (”The Man in the Brown Suit” was published in the “Evening News” under the title “Anne the Adventurer”). Such a character is characterized by youth (as a rule); sometimes lack of everyday and professional experience; love of danger, change of place, social roles, etc.; signs of play behaviour; a love storyline is almost always associated with this character. Thus, it differs, on the one hand, from a non-adventurous “investigator-victim”, whose investigation is usually forced, on the other hand, from a classical detective. So, the features of this character and the chronotope refer to an adventure novel. Accordingly, this subgenre can be defined as adventurous investigation as one of the modernized detective stories by Agatha Christie.

According to singled out characteristic features mentioned above, many of the works with Poirot detective cannot be belonged to classical detective stories: for example, the controversial novel “The Chocolate Box”, which tells about the only failure of the Great Detective; collection “The Labours of Hercules” and novels “The Big Four”, “Dead Man's Folly” and “Hallowe'en Party”, in which Poirot appears as an adventurous detective; the novel “Curtain”, in which Poirot administers justice himself, killing the criminal, and some others. Nevertheless, given the huge corpus of Poirot (33 novels, 54 works of the short genre), one can call him the most classical of detectives. That is why Poirot is rightly called “one of the most famous Great Detectives in the history of the detective genre”.

By the way, Parker Pine also belongs to adventure detectives, and, consequently, most of the works of the Investigating Parker Pine series are adventurous investigations. Many short stories from this cycle are not only not classical detective stories (all Parker Pine's “Cases” are typical in their way, and the classical detective story each time offers a unique crime), but they cannot even be classified as crime literature, because there is no crime in them: “The Case of a Middle-aged Wife”, “The Case of a Discontented Soldier”, etc.

Quite an interesting example of violating the image of a traditional detective is the adventurous detective story in which the couple detectives Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, who, of course, treat their adventures as a game. What is worth only their imitation of various literary detective stories in the cycle “The Companions”, each time different. But works from their participation, especially those where various kinds of criminal or espionage organizations appear - “The Stranger”, “The Hound of Death”, “Ambassador's Boots”, “The Man Who Was No.16” from the above cycle; novels “The Mysterious Adversary”, “N or M?”, “By the Pricking of my Thumbs” are not classical detective stories. The presence of any criminal “network” covering an indefinitely large area is contraindicated in a classical detective story.

Ariadne Oliver is, of course, a grotesque character. It is presented in works of various genres: in classical detective stories - “Cards on the Table”, “Third Girl”; in an adventurous investigation - “Dead Man's Folly”, “Hallowe'en Party”; in the aforementioned non-criminal short story “The Case of a Discontented Soldier”. In all these works, except for the last one, she willingly participates in investigations. However, she is only successful in “Elephants Can Remember”; in other works, Oliver can only collect the information, while the mystery of the crime in classical detective stories with her participation is solved by Poirot, and in “The Pale Horse” by Mark Easterbrook. Her point of view is given, but the narration is never conducted on her behalf, this difference with Hastings is fundamental.

Miss Lemon, although she is a “serial” character, there is no reason to consider her a detective at all. In the short stories “The Flock of Geryon”, “How does your Garden Grow?” she acts as an assistant to Poirot, but not an independent detective; in most works (those in which Poirot, like Pine, has a private agency) she is only a secretary.

Another serial detective is Mr Quin. The unusualness of the character is obvious due to the exposure to the technique. This is both the name of the detective - Arley (in other translations of Harley from Harley Quin) Quin, and his appearance: “The reflections of the fading flame in the fireplace made his face look like a mask”, “The light of the red lamp fell on the guest's checkered coat, but his face him, which was like a mask, remained in the shadows”. And also the behaviour: “And Harley Quin behaved like a puppeteer, pulled the strings, and the puppets dutifully fulfilled his requirements. <...> Leaning back in his chair, he (Mr Satterswaite) watched with interest the drama unfolding before his eyes. In the meantime, Mr Quin calmly continued to pull the strings.” Unlike the classical al detective, Mr Quin can be found anywhere, he travels.

In those novels where a rational explanation of the nature of Mr Quin, his ability to suddenly appear and disappear, etc. is completely excluded - “The Man from the Sea”, “The Harlequin Lane”, “The Harlequin Tea Set”, - his difference from the classical detective is even more obvious.

Mr Satterswaite is the witness of the events in the stories about Mr Quin, is not always involved in the action, he is more often called an “observer”, but always shows an extreme interest in events. When he meets Mr Quin, he is already looking forward to the “drama”. Thus, each time the crime and the investigation are given as a game action not only for the reader but also for one of the par- ticipants-spectators.

Accordingly, the detective defeats the criminal not only through analysis, deduction, but also by outplaying him. The playful nature of the investigative actions carried out by a classical detective, in contrast to the official investigation, is obvious. A classical detective does not fall into the trap. Eavesdropping / spying are only relevant to crime. Stairs, trees, etc. cannot be used in eavesdropping / peeping. A special role in the creation of the ludic space belongs to the game by characters (actors, directors, etc.), and various kinds of games (cards, chess, etc.), comic verses, counters, and so on.

Finishing the classification of the types of detectives, and, in part, the criminals represented in the works of Agatha Christie, it is impossible to ignore her masterpiece - the novel “Ten Little Niggers/ Indians”, traditionally considered one of the best detective novel in crime literature.

At first glance, this novel does indeed have the features of a classical detective story: an enclosed space and a limited number of suspects, correlated with each other. The time of the novel is extremely eventful, but, as it should be in a classical detective story, the murders occur one at a time. At the same time, the figure of the Great Detective, which is obligatory for a classical detective story, is absent here. The investigation is conducted by all the characters, of which, of course, the main one is Judge Wargrave. This is a criminal investigator, a model that, as mentioned above, was developed by A. Christie in other works.

Also in many other works we encountered several investigators. Parallel investigation is often found in genres such as victim investigation and adventurous investigation, and almost a must for a classical detective story. At the same time, in a classical detective story and adventurous investigation, a parallel investigation contributes to the grotesque redundancy of the investigation and enhances the ludic moment. In this case, however, not only is there no redundancy in the investigation, but one cannot speak of a parallel investigation at all, since all the investigators are declared victims almost from the very beginning of the novel. And, accordingly, they are in the same status (except for Judge Wargrave). (The police appear already outside the scope).

Turning to the subgenre of “investigation of the victim”, we see many coincidences with this novel: the forced nature of the investigation; difficulty (in this case, impossibility) to leave the dangerous space; the criminal is precisely the one who is least suspected of all (here this is ingeniously enhanced by imaginary death); game (underlined by the title of the novel, which is often the case in classical detective stories) is associated only with the criminal; a love line is planned (Vera Claythorne and Philip Lombard); the helplessness of characters.

However, there are many significant differences: throughout the main part of the narrative, when those on the island are endangered, there are no “offside” characters, be they cops or other characters; the perpetrator not only “pretends” to be a victim, but includes himself as one of them. Because of the latter features, the notion “collective investigation” is most suitable for such a genre.

It cannot be argued that A. Christie was the first creator of this genre, but her fundamental contribution to its development is undeniable. It was thanks to “Ten Little Niggers/ Indians” (1939) that it gained such distribution in the world literature and cinema. Let us name, in particular, such detectives stories as “Purely English Murder” by Cyril Hare (1951), “Eight Women” by Robert Thomas (1961), and the film “Marie-October” by Julien Duvivier (1959), “The Murder on the Orient Express” (2017) by Kenneth Branagh, “Crooked House” (2017) by Gilles Paquet-Brener that were inspired by the Queen of Crime.

We emphasize that the Great Detective is never the subject of storytelling. Works where his point of view is given from the inside (“The Caribbean Mystery”, “Nemesis”) are rare. In the narrative model, which is considered the most characteristic of this genre, the narrator acts as 1) a character, on the one hand, 2) a person close to the detective, on the other hand, according to his awareness of the case occupies one of the most remote efforts, but in the words of the detective.

The narrator-friend of the detective, unlike the police, acts as a mobile figure. At the beginning of the investigation, he was the bearer of the usual, normal and false point of view, which is often fixed by the version set out and in newspapers. As the plot progresses, he moves towards insight, following this path with the reader.



Conclusion

Conducting a chronologically consistent analysis of samples of a classical detective story, which belong to different stages of the development of criminal literature, it has been proved that the ludic aspect for the genre of a classical detective story is no less important than rationality, logic and analysis.

The worked out distinction between a classical detective story and non-traditional, modernized detective stories of other criminal subgenres by Agatha Christie's (adventurous investigation, victim investigation and collective investigation), allows us to draw the following conclusions: the main character of a classical detective story is a professional detective, playful, grotesque, with an appearance close to a mask; without age; without a detailed biography; more often a man; ascetic type or, in any case, without personal life; independent of everyday life; investigating out of love for the game. He is investigating an exceptional and strange, grotesque crime; he is opposed by an exceptional criminal. The criminal is never a maniac, but can pretend to be him or be perceived as crazy by other characters.

A criminal is not a professional; can be collective only if they are spouses or relatives. A detective is strange and funny, on the one hand, and strange and terrible, on the other. The most important motives of acting, staging, theater, acting, eavesdropping and spying, as well as the special role of disguises and all kinds of substitutions are highlighted. Within this complex, a special subspecies of motives associated with hunting is essential: surveillance, eavesdropping, spying, and especially traps.

The main character of a non-traditional, modernized detective stories of by Agatha Christie's is characterized by youth, playful behavior, lack of everyday and professional experience, love of danger, change of place, social roles, etc.; a love line in the plot that is connected with them.

Christie established some innovations which she used to employ for fifty years introducing her non-traditional, modernized detective story. In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) - making the narrator the murderer. In Murder on the Orient Express (1934) - suspects turn out to be equally guilty. In Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938), it is the investigating policeman who blurts out a confession in the penultimate chapter. In Death on the Nile (1937) - the solution of the murder is impossible to guess not only because the method of its commission which is very original, but also because the killers are the two people whom our previous experience of Christie's writing would lead us to exclude as possibilities, the prime suspect and a clean-cut English gentleman.

And, of course the image of a detective in her detective stories who keeps clues to himself, making a startling revelation of guilt and innocence in a final meeting of all the characters (Wigginton, 1997).

Distinguishing the features of a classical detective and non-traditional detective allows us to draw the following important conclusions: a classical detective in literature cannot be a professional police officer. On the other hand, a private or non-professional detective cannot be considered a classical detective if they do not have the above qualities. Though, Agatha Christie's non-trad- itional detective can be a professional detective as well as non-professional detective, with or without traditional detective forming features. He/she can be a secretary, a criminal, a housekeeper, a servant, a victim, a group of characters.



Bibliography

A Companion to Crime Fiction. Ed. Charles Rzepka and Lee Horsley. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. 2010.

Babelyuk, O. Decoding Poetic Colouring of Detective Stories: Principles of Reading. In Traditions and Innovations in Teaching Philological Disciplines, 2019 a, 18-36. Liha-Pres.

Babelyuk, O. Structural Peculiarities of Detective Stories. In Vectors of the Development of Philological Sciences at the Modern Stage, 2019 b. 21-38. Liha-Pres.

Bargainnier, E. F. The Gentle Art of Murder: the Detective Fiction of Agatha Christie. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. 1980.

Barnard, R. A. Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie. 1980. L.: Collins.

Caillois, R. Powiesc kryminalna. Warszawa. ISBN 978-83-941843-3-9. P. 181. 1967.

Cawelti, J. G. The Formula of the Classical Detective Story. Adventure, Mystery, and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967, P. 106-110.

Chandler, R. The Raymond Chandler Papers: Selected Letters and Non-Fiction. Harlow, England: Penguin Books. 2001.

Chesterton, G. K. How to Write a Detective Story. Best Seller Mystery Magazine. 1960. P. 125-132.

Christie, A. The Coming of Mr. Keene. The Mysterious Mr. Keene. S. 16.

Christie, A. The Shadow on the Glass. The Mysterious Mr. Keene. S. 50.

Christie, A. Detectives and Young Adventurers: The Complete Short Stories. London, England: HarperCollins. 2011.

Christie, A. The mysterious affair at styles. Harper Collins.2018.

Collins Online Dictionary and Thesaurus. Available at: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ detective

Dove, G. N. The Police Procedural. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press. 1982.

Freeman, R. A. The Art of the Detective Story. Available at: http://bit.ly/2eXEwB1

Geherin, D. Detective story. The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, World Book Inc. 1999.

Hausladen, G. J. Places for Dead Bodies. Austin: University of Texas Press. 2000.

Haycraft, H. Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story. N. Y: Biblo and Tannen. 1968.

Heissenbuttel, H. The Detective Novel as Game. Most, Glenn W. &. Stowe, William W. 1983.

Keating, H. R. F. Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime. L.: Weidenfeld and Nicolson Ltd. 1977.

Keating, H. R. F. Great Crimes. N. Y.: Harmony Books. 1982.

Keating, H. R. F. Sherlock Holmes: The Man and His World. L.: Thames and Hudson. 1979.

Keating, H. R. F. Writing Crime Fiction. L.: A & C Black Publishers. 1986.

Keating, H. R. F. Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books. N. Y.: Carroll and Graf. 1987.

Keating, H. R. F., ed. Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime. Thorndike Press Large Print. 2021.

Kismaric, C. & Marvin Heiferman. To the Rescue - Eight Artists in an Archive. New York, NY: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. 1999.

Knight, St. Crime Fiction, 1800-2000: Detection, Death, Diversity. Basingstoke, N. Y.: Palgrave Macmillan. 2004.

Knight, St. Form and Ideology in Detective Fiction. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.1980.

Knox, R. 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction. Available at: http://bit.ly/2eP8CsG

Koliasa, O. Presentation of Images in Detective Stories. In Traditions and Innovations in Teaching Philological Disciplines, 2019a, 142-59. Liha-Pres.

Koliasa, O. Detective Stories: From classical al to Postmodern. Definition and History. In Vectors of the Development of Philological Sciences at the Modern Stage, 95-113. Liha-Pres, 2019b.

Murch, A. E. The Development of the Detective Novel. 1968. L.: Peter Owen.

Narcejac, Th. Esthetique du roman policier. 1947. P.: Le Portulan.

Neimark, E. Neimark Adventures in Thinking. 1987. London, England: Thomson Learning.

Panek, L. L. Watteau's Shepherds: The Detective Novel in Britain 1914-1940. Bowling Green: Bowling Green University Popular Press. 1979.

Panek, L. L. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press. 1987.

Pirkis, C. L.& M. Slung. Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. 2020.

Poe, E. A. Tales of Mystery and Horror: Vol.III. Anstey, England: Ulverscroft. 2012.

Rzepka, Ch. J. Detective fiction. Cambridge: Polity Press. 2005.

Sayers, D. L. Introduction to The Omnibus of Crime. The Art of the Mystery Story. 1928. P 71-109.

Scaggs, J. Crime Fiction (The New Critical Idiom). L., N. Y.: Routledge. 2005.

Symons, J. Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel: a History. Harmondsworth, GB: Viking. 1975.

Symons, J. The Detective Story in Britain. L.: Longman, Green and Co. 1962.

The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction.

The Detection Club, Christie, A., Allingham, M., Sayers, D. L., Crofts, F. W., & Knox, R. Six Against the Yard. HarperCollins. 2021.

The Great Detective Stories: a Chronological Anthology. Comp. and ed. W. H. Wright. N. Y.: Scribner's Sons. 1927.

Van Dine,S. S. Twenty rules for writing detectives stories. The American Magazine. 3 Sept. Vol. 106. 1928.



References

A Companion to Crime Fiction. (2010). Ed. Charles Rzepka and Lee Horsley. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley- Blackwell.

Babelyuk, O. (2019a). Decoding Poetic Colouring of Detective Stories: Principles of Reading. In Traditions and Innovations in Teaching Philological Disciplines, 18-36. Liha-Pres.

Babelyuk, O. (2019b). Structural Peculiarities of Detective Stories. In Vectors of the Development of Philological Sciences at the Modern Stage, 21-38. Liha-Pres.

Bargainnier, E. F. (1980). The Gentle Art of Murder: the Detective Fiction of Agatha Christie. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

Barnard, R. A. (1980). Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie. L.: Collins.

Caillois, R. (1967). Powiesc kryminalna. Warszawa. ISBN 978-83-941843-3-9. P 181.

Cawelti, J. G. (1976). The Formula of the Classical Detective Story. Adventure, Mystery, and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, P 106-110.

Chandler, R. (2001). The Raymond Chandler Papers: Selected Letters and Non-Fiction. Harlow, England: Penguin Books.

Chesterton, G. K. (1901). A Defense of Detective Stories. The Defendant. London: R. B. Johnson. P 157-62.

Chesterton, G. K. (1960). How to Write a Detective Story. Best Seller Mystery Magazine. P 125-132.

Christie, A. The Coming of Mr. Keene. The Mysterious Mr. Keene. S. 16.

Christie, A. The Shadow on the Glass. The Mysterious Mr. Keene. S. 50.

Christie, A. (2011). Detectives and Young Adventurers: The Complete Short Stories. London, England: HarperCollins.

Christie, A. (2018). The mysterious affair at styles. Harper Collins.

Collins OnlineDictionary andThesaurus. Availableat:https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/detective

Dove, G. N. (1982). The Police Procedural. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press.

Freeman, R. A. The Art of the Detective Story. Available at: http://bit.ly/2eXEwB1

Geherin, D. (1999). Detective story. The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, World Book Inc.

Hausladen, G. J. (2000). Places for Dead Bodies. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Haycraft, H. (1968). Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story. N. Y.: Biblo and Tannen.

Heissenbuttel, H. (1983). The Detective Novel as Game. Most, Glenn W. &. Stowe, William W.

Keating, H. R. F. (1977). Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime. L.: Weidenfeld and Nicolson Ltd.

Keating, H. R. F. (1982). Great Crimes. N. Y.: Harmony Books.

Keating, H. R. F. (1979). Sherlock Holmes: The Man and His World. L.: Thames and Hudson.

Keating, H. R. F. (1986). Writing Crime Fiction. L.: A & C Black Publishers.

Keating, H. R. F. (1987). Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books. N. Y.: Carroll and Graf.

Keating, H. R. F., ed. (2021). Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime. Thorndike Press Large Print.

Kismaric, C. & Marvin Heiferman. (1999). To the Rescue - Eight Artists in an Archive. New York, NY: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

Knight, St. (2004). Crime Fiction, 1800-2000: Detection, Death, Diversity. Basingstoke, N. Y.: Palgrave Macmillan.

Knight, St. (1980). Form and Ideology in Detective Fiction. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Knox, R. 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction. Available at: http://bit.ly/2eP8CsG

Koliasa, O. (2019a). Presentation of Images in Detective Stories. In Traditions and Innovations in Teaching Philological Disciplines, 142-59. Liha-Pres, 2019.

Koliasa, O. (2019b). Detective Stories: From classical al to Postmodern. Definition and History. In Vectors of the Development of Philological Sciences at the Modern Stage, 95-113. Liha-Pres.

Murch, A. E. (1968). The Development of the Detective Novel. L.: Peter Owen.

Narcejac, Th. (1947). Esthetique du romanpolicier. P.: Le Portulan.

Neimark, E. (1987). Neimark Adventures in Thinking. London, England: Thomson Learning.

Panek, L. L. (1979). Watteau's Shepherds: The Detective Novel in Britain 1914-1940. Bowling Green: Bowling Green University Popular Press.

Panek, L. L. (1987). An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press.

Pirkis, C. L.& M. Slung. (2020). Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.

Poe, E. A.. (2012). Tales of Mystery and Horror: Vol.III. Anstey, England: Ulverscroft.

Rzepka, Ch. J. (2005). Detective fiction. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Sayers, D. L. (1928). Introduction to The Omnibus of Crime. The Art of the Mystery Story. P- 71-109.

Scaggs, J. (2005). Crime Fiction (The New Critical Idiom). L., N. Y.: Routledge.

Symons, J. (1975). Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel: a History. Harmondsworth, GB: Viking.

Symons, J. (1962). The Detective Story in Britain. L.: Longmans, Green and Co.

The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction.

The Detection Club, Christie, A., Allingham, M., Sayers, D. L., Crofts, F W., & Knox, R. (2021). Six Against the Yard. HarperCollins.

The Great Detective Stories: a Chronological Anthology. (1927). Comp. and ed. W. H. Wright. N. Y.: Scribner's Sons.

Van Dine,S. S. (1928). Twenty rules for writing detectives stories. The American Magazine. 3 Sept. Vol. 106.

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