Death in the clouds ( in Death in the Clouds , in the original edition British in English) is a Detective novel of Agatha Christie, published in 1935, which puts in scene the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

The intrigue of the novel

On an aircraft in full flight, Mrs. Gisele is assassinated by a blow of blowpipe. It is a very difficult blow for the killer, because all the passengers could see it, including Hercule Poirot, the very famous detective! And yet, it succeeded. Very very extremely. But perhaps not as much as Poirot…

Comment

The first two chapters of the novel, which report the adventures of a voyage in Avion between Le Bourget and Croydon, gave the opportunity to the novelist to marry her predilection for the air voyages - it was prone to the sea sickness -, and its taste affirmed for the criminal intrigues in an isolated space, even confined and to some extent world cup, such as for example a train ( the Crime of the East-Express train ), an island ( Ten small negros , a boat ( Mort on the Nile ), or an insolated village by a storm of snow ( Five hours twenty-five ).

Characters

The list of the characters of the novel is different from that of its televised adaptation. The names of the characters absent in the telefilm are followed of an asterisk (*).

• Passagers of the cabin postpones Prométhée :
• seat n° 2: Marie Morisot Angelica, known as M me Gisele, usurière in Paris, the victim
• seat n° 4: Beautiful James Ryder (*), director of cement factory
• seat n° 5: Armand Dupont (*), archeologist
• seat n° 6: Jean Dupont, archeologist, wire of the precedent
• seat n° 8: Daniel Clancy, author of detective novels
• Wilbraham Brice, fictitious detective, hero of the novels of Daniel Clancy and dictating to him his behavior
• seat n° 9: Hercule Poirot, Belgian detective
• seat n° 10: Roger James Bryant (*), doctor with Harley Street
• seat n° 12: Norman Scale, dental surgeon
• seat n° 13: Lady Horbury, in the past Cicely Bland (with the theater), of its true name Martha Jebb
• seat n° 16: Jane Grey, hairdresser
• seat n° 17: honourable Venetia Kerr, near of Lord and Lady Horbury
• other characters of the novel present at edge of the Prométhée :
• Henry Charles Mitchell, steward as a chief
• Albert Davis, another steward
• Madeleine, chambermaid of Horbury Lady, travelling in the cabin before
• other characters:
• the Inspector Japp
• Me Alexandre Thibault (*), man of law of M me Gisele
• James Whistler (*), medical examiner having operated with the airport of Croydon
• Henry Wintersppon (*), analyst as a chief of the government, making authority as regards rare poisons
• the inspector Baker, of Parisian Safety
• Anne Richards born Morisot, girl illegitimate of the victim
• Elects Grandier, domestic confidence of M me Gisele
• Mr. Zeropoulos, Greek antique dealer holding shop in Paris (replaced by a merchant of street in the telefilm)
• Jules Perrot, employee of the Universal Airlines
• Lord Stephen Horbury
• Mr. Antoine (*), of his true name Andrew Leech, hairdresser of luxury in London
• Gladys (*), employed hairdressing salon of Mr. Antoine
• Ross Miss (*), assistant of the dentist's surgery of Norman Scale
• Raymond Barraclough, friend of heart of Lady Horbury

Editions

• 1935 : in Death in the Clouds - Hakes, London
• 1935: in Death in the Air (alternate title) - Dodd Mead, New York
• 1936: Death in the clouds - Bookstore of the Fields-Élysées, coll. The Mask , n° 128, Paris, in a translation of Louis Postif
• 1992: Death in the clouds - Bookstore of the Fields-Élysées, coll. Intégralue volume 4 (the years 1934-1935) , Paris, in a new translation of Alexis Champon

Televised adaptation

The novel was the object, in 1992, of a televised adaptation, under the same title , within the framework of the series Hercule Poirot , with the actors David Suchet (in the role of Hercule Poirot) and Philip Jackson (in that of the Japp inspector).

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