Oh geez. I bet he rewrote and rewrote that until it came out this nice, polished, and genuinely sympathetic, while still being totally forthright about PtF.
"Probably because this novel did not involve clues and suspects and alibis, the usual components of a Christie detective novel, there is little in the way of notes or ideas that were considered and discarded. In fact, it is fair to say that there is little in the way of plot at all in Passenger to Frankfurt. Apart from speculation about rearranging some sections, the notes for the novel are mostly of the names of people and their countries and the interminable meetings that fill the book. The following early notes show uncertainty about the arrangement of some passages in the opening chapters. The seemingly odd reference ‘Lifeboat’ is to the name of the periodical used to conceal the safe return of Sir Stafford’s passport."
Bwahahahaaa.... - "In fact, it is fair to say that there is little in the way of plot at all in Passenger to Frankfurt."
I wonder what he's going to have to say about "Postern of Fate". I mean, it does have a plot, but barely ... (and well-hidden under pointless meanderings).
The fascinating thing is how many ideas originally reserved for the books that turned out really great ended up in the clunkers. It just goes to show that there is more to her writing and more to her great books that recycling the same ideas & formula over and over ... because that clearly did not work. (Not that I would ever describe her books as formulaic!)
Exactly. In her good years -- i.e., by far the biggest chunk of her decades-long career -- she was able to recognize a dud idea, drop it and replace it with something better. It was only in her final years, when (for whatever reason) her powers diminished, that -- again, for whatever reason -- she went back to the reject pile and tried to breathe life into the duds after all.
Also, interesting, Curran makes no speculation about this at all. Unless, he's going to bring it up in the last 100 or so pages. We'll find out tonight.
Oh, and for its 700+ pages it is really easy reading. I also love that he included some of the drafts in full. So, it's like you're getting extra Christie stories. :D
"Probably because this novel did not involve clues and suspects and alibis, the usual components of a Christie detective novel, there is little in the way of notes or ideas that were considered and discarded. In fact, it is fair to say that there is little in the way of plot at all in Passenger to Frankfurt. Apart from speculation about rearranging some sections, the notes for the novel are mostly of the names of people and their countries and the interminable meetings that fill the book. The following early notes show uncertainty about the arrangement of some passages in the opening chapters. The seemingly odd reference ‘Lifeboat’ is to the name of the periodical used to conceal the safe return of Sir Stafford’s passport."
Bwahahahaaa.... - "In fact, it is fair to say that there is little in the way of plot at all in Passenger to Frankfurt."
I wonder what he's going to have to say about "Postern of Fate". I mean, it does have a plot, but barely ... (and well-hidden under pointless meanderings).