My Analysis of Quality Stages with Time in Dame Agatha Christie's Writings

[lonewolf_eburg]

The Initial Period: 1920-1930. Poirot and Hastings are clearly under the shade of Holmes and Watson here. The plots are a bit clumsy - even "Аckroyd" has its clumsiness, despite the great idea. Amusingly enough, "Stylеs" reminds me of her more uninspired works from later 50'es. That period is also characterised by a bunch of rather mediorce

Comments

[inverarity]

I haven't read Christie, but it's my impression that most mystery writers go through a similar decline. As their popular series go on, the plot twists and clever writing that drove the first few books takes a back seat to the characters. The fans want to read about their beloved characters more than they want to solve another whodunit, and the author gets lazy, since it's easier to write the same old characters than it is to come up with an original new story.

[lonewolf_eburg]

Hi, thanks for visiting my ramblings.
Your observations might be indeed true, though with Christie, it's more the effects of the writer's old age creeping in. I am not sure how much of it can be attributed to the "characters, rather then plot" syndrome - my favourite Christie books often include more subtle characterization then her usual style.