So there seems to be an effort for the U.S. market to get the British editions of Agatha Christie’s work as they appeared in that country. The most obvious difference is in titles, but there are two books in particular (which ones, I’m writing around, for spoiler space) where a major part of the ending was changed.
In one, in Great Britain, the detective accuses the killer, culminating in the revelation that he left a fingerprint on a major piece of evidence he couldn’t have handled otherwise. The killer immediately admits defeat, whips a gun out of his pocket, and tries to shoot himself. But the gun is empty; the detective anticipated this possibility, and hired a pickpocket posing as his valet to take the gun, empty it, and slip it back.
In the United States, the killer keeps on denying his guilt as the detective names his reasons at a rapid clip, and the fingerprint on the piece of evidence is mentioned. Only this time, it’s a bluff, meant solely so the killer would blurt out, “You lie! I wore…!” “Ah, you wore gloves?”
In the other book, the major difference was in motive. In both editions, the killer murdered an old friend of his because he would’ve interfered in his plans to marry a young woman.
In Britain, it was because he had a wife in an insane asylum, and under English law at the time, couldn’t divorce, and the friend was the only one who knew.
In the U.S., it was because the killer himself was secretly insane, and the friend would never have let what started out as harmless flirtation get serious to the point of cohabitation.
I’ve known about these differences for a few years now (one thanks to this very board), but only recently and the chance to actually read them. In both cases, I feel inclined towards the US endings, but considering I do so for titles too, I’m thinking it has at least partly to do with the familiarity. It’s further complicated by the fact that it seems in the second case, it’s unclear which ending was written first, and why the alteration took place at all. All four, in my mind, have good and bad points to them.
So I’m wondering the preferences of the Dopers out there who are familiar with Christie’s work.
