The Secret Adversary

In January 1922, Agatha Christie released The Secret Adversary, her second crime novel, which debuted in the United Kingdom via The Bodley Head and later in the United States through Dodd, Mead, and Company.

Introducing the characters Tommy and Tuppence Beresford for the first time, this novel marks the beginning of their adventures, continuing through three additional books and a collection of short stories. Unlike other Christie protagonists, Tommy and Tuppence have a fully developed backstory, including details about their marriage, careers, and age.

Plot

The story occurred in 1919. It takes place in London and some remote areas in the United Kingdom. The young Tommy and Prudence (whom they call “Tuppence”), decided to create their detective agency. Since, after the First World War, there were no job opportunities.

Jane Finn’s Investigation

While Tommy and Tuppence have tea, they overhear a conversation where some people talk about Jane Finn. Later, Mr. Whittington approaches Tuppence, to offer her a good job. She uses the name Jane Finn, which surprised Mr. Whittington to hear it. Then Mr. Whittington invites her to a meeting in his office, while Tuppence still pretending to be Jane Finn. At the end of the session, Mr. Whittington gives money to “Jane Finn” and disappears without a trace.

Moreover, this behavior generates curiosity in Tommy and Tuppence and makes them think there is something important in this case. So, they published an advertisement in the newspaper requesting for Jane Finn’s information.

The answers to the newspaper’s announcement

Afterward, they receive two replies. One reply was from Mr. Carter, a senior member of the British Secret Service. He explains that Jane Finn was one of the passengers in the Lusitania when it sank four years ago. There is a belief that she has crucial documents for the Embassy of the United States, which could compromise the current British government. Thus, they agree to work with Mr. Carter to find such materials. And Mr. Carter promises to cover all their expenses and pay good money in return.

The second answer comes from an American, Julius Hersheimer. He claims to be Jane Finn’s cousin, and he has been looking for her for a long time. And he already handed the only Jane’s picture to an inspector called Brown. Then, Tommy and Tuppence also decide to work with Julius to find Jane Finn.

Licensing

Agatha Christie. The Secret Adversary. Publisher: Dodd, Mead and Company (New York), 1922. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1922, before the cutoff of January 1, 1929. Text from Wikisource: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Secret_Adversary
This digital edition is provided by Ebooks-net in 2024 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. The full text of the license is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/