Malice Aforethought
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| + | '''''Malice Aforethought''''' (1931) is a crime novel written by [[Anthony Berkeley Cox]], using the [[pen name]] Francis Iles. It is an early and prominent example of the "[[inverted detective story]]", claimed to have been invented by [[R. Austin Freeman]] some years earlier. The murderer's identity is revealed in the first line of the novel, which gives the reader insight into the workings of his mind as his plans progress. It also contains elements of [[black comedy]], and of serious treatment of underlying tensions in a superficially respectable community. It is loosely based on the real-life case of [[Herbert Rowse Armstrong|Herbert Armstrong]], with elements of [[Hawley Harvey Crippen|Doctor Crippen]]. | ||
| - | '''''L'Assassin''''' (1937, English: ''The Murderer'') is a '[[roman dur]]' by [[Georges Simenon]] set in [[Sneek]], the Netherlands. The [[point of view]] taken is that of the [[antihero]], a technique accentuated by frequent [[interior monologue]]s. Time is concentrated in the first chapters: three days for the assassination and its immediate consequences. The last chapters are much more relaxed in this respect (six months): the psychological aspect then takes on much more importance than action. | + | == Plot summary == |
| - | ==Plot== | + | Edmund Bickleigh, a physician with a modest rural practice, is in a loveless marriage with the domineering childless Julia, He consoles himself with young unmarried women, in particular the accommodating Ivy. In his village arrives Madeleine, a rich young woman, who succumbs to his attentions but warns she will not marry him if he divorces. Reasoning that she will however marry him if he is a widower, he cruelly starts to poison Julia. To relieve her increasing pain he gives her increasing doses of morphine, until she dies miserably. |
| - | On the first Tuesday of January, in Amsterdam, Hans Kuperus did not go to the meeting of the doctors of the Biological Association, nor to his sister-in-law, as he had long been accustomed to; he prowls around the snowy town, buys a gun and returns home to Sneek the same day: he has decided to murder his wife and her lover, Schutter, and then to commit suicide. The first two points of this program are carried out in the evening, near the isolated bungalow where the irresistible de Schutter brings his conquests. But Kuperus does not commit suicide: he goes to the café Onder de Linden where he meets, as he does every evening, the notables of the town, for whom the game of [[billiards]] has become almost a ceremony; then, he goes to his home where he sleeps with the maid, Neel. The following days, Kupérus plays the comedy of the man whose wife has disappeared and continues his relations with Neel, who has been hiding in the house, for five months, the German vagrant Karl Vorberg: we will learn later that he too is an assassin. For the sake of peace, Kuperus sends Vorberg to Amsterdam, where he provides him with subsistence. | + | |
| - | On February 2, the bodies of the wife and lover are found. Kuperus is suspected, but there is no evidence against him. Here he is locked in his solitude, not knowing what people think, what Neel thinks; he sees his life as a void, as an "absence of life". His old friends advise him to leave Sneek; he does nothing, flaunts his affair with Neel, rejects all conformism: isn't this what he has killed? His old life with well-regulated habits. We find Kupérus in July; he stayed in Sneek where nobody speaks to him any more, except Neel who gradually has taken the place of his wife. Kuperus now knows that everyone in Sneek dreams of escaping the conformist dreariness. He escaped, but he returned, afraid of the void. He dwells on the past, while Neel patiently ogles his legacy, refusing to poison him, as Karl Vorberg suggested. | + | Madeleine then rejects him, to marry a wealthy young man, while the rejected Ivy also marries a well-off lawyer. Rumours start spreading that Julia's death was not accidental, fuelled by the antagonism towards Edmund of Madeleine's husband and Ivy's husband, who both bitterly resent that he was the seducer of their wives. Attempting to stop the gossip, Edmund poisons both men and Madeleine as well, though only Madeleine's husband dies. Not unaware of the rumours and the suspicious deaths, the police investigate and Edmund is put on trial. Acquitted of murdering his unfortunate wife, a second trial convicts him for the death of Madeleine's husband and he is executed. |
| - | =French text= | + | == Adaptations == |
| - | == Résumé == | + | The novel has been adapted for television twice. |
| - | Un premier mardi de janvier, à [[Amsterdam]], Hans Kupérus ne se rend ni à la réunion des médecins de l'Association de biologie ni chez sa belle-sœur, comme il en a depuis longtemps l'habitude ; il rôde dans la ville enneigée, achète un revolver et rentre chez lui, à Sneek, le jour même : il a décidé d'assassiner sa femme et l'amant de cette dernière, Schutter, puis de se suicider. Les deux premiers points de ce programme sont réalisés dans la soirée, près du bungalow isolé où l'irrésistible M. de Schutter amène ses conquêtes. Mais Kupérus ne se suicidera pas : il se rend au café Onder de Linden où il rencontre, comme chaque soir, les notables de l'endroit, pour qui le jeu de billard est devenu presque une cérémonie ; puis, il rejoint son domicile où il couche avec la servante, Neel. Les jours suivants, Kupérus joue la comédie de celui dont la femme a disparu et poursuit ses relations avec Neel, laquelle cache dans la maison, depuis cinq mois, le vagabond allemand Karl Vorberg : on apprendra plus tard qu'il est, lui aussi, un assassin. Par souci de tranquillité, Kupérus envoie Vorberg à Amsterdam, où il lui assure la subsistance. | + | The first was a four-part serial by the [[BBC]] in 1979, starring [[Hywel Bennett]] as Dr. Bickleigh, [[Cheryl Campbell]] as Madeleine, and [[Judy Parfitt]] as Julia. It later aired in 1981 when it was featured in the US [[PBS]] series, ''[[Mystery!]]'', introduced by [[Vincent Price]]. |
| - | Le 2 février, les corps de l'épouse et de l'amant sont retrouvés. On soupçonne Kupérus, mais on n'a aucune preuve contre lui. Le voici enfermé dans sa solitude, ne sachant pas ce que pensent les gens, ce que pense Neel ; il aperçoit sa vie comme un vide, comme une « absence de vie ». Ses anciens amis lui conseillent de quitter Sneek ; il n'en fait rien, affiche sa liaison avec Neel, rejette tout conformisme : ce qu'il a tué, n'est-ce pas son ancienne vie aux habitudes bien réglées seulement à cause de cinquante centimes ? Nous retrouvons Kupérus en juillet ; il est resté à Sneek où personne ne lui parle plus, hormis Neel qui a pris peu à peu la place de son épouse. Kupérus sait maintenant que tout le monde rêve de s'échapper ; lui s'est échappé, mais il est revenu, effrayé par le vide. Il ressasse le passé, tandis que Neel lorgne patiemment son héritage, refusant de l'empoisonner, comme l'a suggéré Karl Vorberg. | + | A second adaptation ''[[Malice Aforethought (film)|Malice Aforethought]]'', starring [[Ben Miller]] as Dr. Bickleigh, [[Megan Dodds]] as Madeleine, and [[Barbara Flynn]] as Julia, was produced by [[Granada Television]] and broadcast on [[ITV Network|ITV]] in 2005. It too has been shown on ''Mystery!'' in 2005. |
| - | == Aspects particuliers du roman == | ||
| - | Le point de vue adopté est le plus souvent celui du héros, technique accentuée encore par de fréquents monologues intérieurs. Le temps est concentré dans les premiers chapitres : trois jours pour l’assassinat et ses conséquences immédiates. Les derniers chapitres sont nettement plus distendus à cet égard (six mois) : l’aspect psychologique prend alors beaucoup plus d’importance que l’action. | ||
| - | == Fiche signalétique de l'ouvrage == | ||
| - | |||
| - | === Cadre spatio-temporel === | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==== Espace ==== | ||
| - | [[Sneek (ville)|Sneek]] (Frise néerlandaise). [[Amsterdam]]. | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==== Temps ==== | ||
| - | Époque contemporaine. | ||
| - | |||
| - | === Les personnages === | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==== Personnage principal ==== | ||
| - | Hans Kupérus, Hollandais. Médecin. Marié, pas d’enfants. 45 ans. | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==== Autres personnages ==== | ||
| - | * Neel, servante de Hans Kupérus | ||
| - | * Karl Vorberg, amant de Neel. | ||
| - | |||
| - | == Éditions == | ||
| - | |||
| - | * Édition originale : Gallimard, 1937 | ||
| - | * Folio Policier n° 61, 1999 {{ISBN|978-2-07-040808-5}} | ||
| - | * ''Tout Simenon, tome 20'', Omnibus, 2003 {{ISBN|978-2-258-06105-7}} | ||
| - | * ''Romans durs, tome 2'', Omnibus, 2012 {{ISBN|978-2-258-09356-0}} | ||
| - | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[Malice Aforethought]] | ||
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Malice Aforethought (1931) is a crime novel written by Anthony Berkeley Cox, using the pen name Francis Iles. It is an early and prominent example of the "inverted detective story", claimed to have been invented by R. Austin Freeman some years earlier. The murderer's identity is revealed in the first line of the novel, which gives the reader insight into the workings of his mind as his plans progress. It also contains elements of black comedy, and of serious treatment of underlying tensions in a superficially respectable community. It is loosely based on the real-life case of Herbert Armstrong, with elements of Doctor Crippen.
Plot summary
Edmund Bickleigh, a physician with a modest rural practice, is in a loveless marriage with the domineering childless Julia, He consoles himself with young unmarried women, in particular the accommodating Ivy. In his village arrives Madeleine, a rich young woman, who succumbs to his attentions but warns she will not marry him if he divorces. Reasoning that she will however marry him if he is a widower, he cruelly starts to poison Julia. To relieve her increasing pain he gives her increasing doses of morphine, until she dies miserably.
Madeleine then rejects him, to marry a wealthy young man, while the rejected Ivy also marries a well-off lawyer. Rumours start spreading that Julia's death was not accidental, fuelled by the antagonism towards Edmund of Madeleine's husband and Ivy's husband, who both bitterly resent that he was the seducer of their wives. Attempting to stop the gossip, Edmund poisons both men and Madeleine as well, though only Madeleine's husband dies. Not unaware of the rumours and the suspicious deaths, the police investigate and Edmund is put on trial. Acquitted of murdering his unfortunate wife, a second trial convicts him for the death of Madeleine's husband and he is executed.
Adaptations
The novel has been adapted for television twice.
The first was a four-part serial by the BBC in 1979, starring Hywel Bennett as Dr. Bickleigh, Cheryl Campbell as Madeleine, and Judy Parfitt as Julia. It later aired in 1981 when it was featured in the US PBS series, Mystery!, introduced by Vincent Price.
A second adaptation Malice Aforethought, starring Ben Miller as Dr. Bickleigh, Megan Dodds as Madeleine, and Barbara Flynn as Julia, was produced by Granada Television and broadcast on ITV in 2005. It too has been shown on Mystery! in 2005.
