The Sittaford Mystery - Agatha Christie

Summary

In the remote Dartmoor village of Sittaford, a group of six gathers for a table-turning séance at Sittaford House, the home of Mrs. Willett. During the séance, the table spells out a chilling message: "murder" and then "Captain Trevelyan." Captain Trevelyan, a retired naval officer and the owner of Sittaford House, is staying at his smaller cottage, Hazelmoor, two miles away. Major Burnaby, a close friend of Trevelyan and one of the séance participants, is disturbed and decides to walk through the heavy snow to check on his friend. Upon arrival, he finds Captain Trevelyan dead, apparently from a blow to the head.

Inspector Narracott of Scotland Yard is called in, and the initial suspicion falls on Jim Pearson, Trevelyan's nephew and heir, who had recently had a public quarrel with his uncle and stands to inherit a substantial sum. Jim is engaged to Emily Trefusis, an independent and determined young woman who refuses to believe in his guilt. With the help of Charles Enderby, a budding journalist eager for a scoop, Emily sets out to conduct her own investigation. They interview the various residents of Sittaford and its surroundings, uncovering a web of secrets, financial troubles, and hidden motives. As they delve deeper, they discover crucial clues related to a pair of ski boots, a strange snowman, and the staging of the murder scene, ultimately revealing a clever and meticulously planned deception designed to frame an innocent man and cover up the true killer's identity and motive.

Book Sections

Section 1

The story opens in the isolated village of Sittaford on Dartmoor, where heavy snow has cut off most communication. Mrs. Willett, a lively and somewhat eccentric woman, is hosting a group at Sittaford House. Her daughter, Violet, is present, along with Major Burnaby, an old friend of the absent Captain Trevelyan, and Mr. Rycroft, an elderly ornithologist. Two other guests, Miss Percehouse and Mr. Duke, complete the group. Major Burnaby suggests a table-turning séance. As they place their hands on the table, it begins to move, spelling out letters. The message is unsettling: "murder" followed by "Captain Trevelyan." Captain Trevelyan is known to be staying at his cottage, Hazelmoor, two miles away. Despite the blizzard outside, Major Burnaby is visibly agitated and insists on walking through the snow to check on his friend, convinced that something dreadful has happened.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Mrs. Willett	Lively, somewhat eccentric hostess	Social interaction, enjoying the unusual event of a séance
Violet Willett	Mrs. Willett's daughter	Accommodating her mother, participating in social activities
Major Burnaby	Gruff, loyal friend of Captain Trevelyan, retired	Concerned for his friend, curiosity, sense of duty
Mr. Rycroft	Elderly, scholarly ornithologist	Intellectual curiosity, social engagement
Miss Percehouse	Reserved, older woman	Social engagement, curiosity about the supernatural
Mr. Duke	Quiet, unassuming, later revealed as ex-Superintendent	Observing, social engagement, perhaps already sensing something amiss
Captain Trevelyan	Retired naval officer, wealthy (absent)	(Absent, but his actions are central to the plot)

Section 2

Major Burnaby embarks on his arduous two-mile trek through the heavy snow to Hazelmoor. Upon reaching the cottage, he finds the door locked from the inside. He manages to enter through a window and discovers Captain Trevelyan dead in his study, a heavy paperweight lying nearby, suggesting he was bludgeoned. Burnaby immediately calls the police, reporting the murder. The isolated nature of Sittaford and the severe weather conditions make the initial stages of the investigation difficult. Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard is called in due to the gravity of the case, and he assigns Inspector Narracott to lead the local inquiry.

Section 3

Inspector Narracott arrives at Hazelmoor and begins his meticulous investigation. He quickly establishes that Captain Trevelyan was killed sometime between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM the previous evening. The immediate focus turns to Captain Trevelyan's will and his known associates. The prime suspect quickly emerges: Jim Pearson, Trevelyan's nephew. Jim is set to inherit a significant portion of his uncle's estate, and it is known that they recently had a very public and heated argument, even resulting in Jim spending time in prison for forgery, though Trevelyan had eventually withdrawn the charges. Jim's alibi is weak, as he claims to have been traveling from London and arrived in the area around the time of the murder, but without definitive proof of his whereabouts at the critical moment. Jim's fiancée, Emily Trefusis, is introduced. She is fiercely independent and utterly convinced of Jim's innocence, determined to clear his name. She seeks the help of Charles Enderby, a cub reporter for the Daily Wire, who sees an opportunity for a major scoop.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Inspector Narracott	Astute, methodical Scotland Yard detective	Solving the murder, ensuring justice
Jim Pearson	Captain Trevelyan's nephew, accused, hot-headed	Proving his innocence, protecting his fiancée, securing his inheritance
Emily Trefusis	Independent, determined, clever, Jim's fiancée	Proving Jim's innocence, uncovering the truth, loyalty
Charles Enderby	Ambitious, somewhat clumsy journalist	Getting a scoop, helping Emily (and himself), proving his journalistic skills

Section 4

Emily and Charles begin their own parallel investigation, starting by interviewing the various individuals connected to Captain Trevelyan and the séance. They speak with Major Burnaby, who recounts his discovery of the body and his close friendship with Trevelyan. They learn more about Trevelyan's character – that he was a man of routines, somewhat tyrannical, but also generous. They interview Mrs. Willett and Violet, who share details about the séance and their impressions of the various characters. Emily notices subtle inconsistencies and begins to form her own theories, often clashing with Charles's more conventional journalistic approach. They also learn about Trevelyan's financial affairs and the recent changes to his will, which included a generous sum to a mysterious woman in Australia.

Section 5

As Emily and Charles delve deeper, they interview more people and explore potential motives beyond Jim Pearson's inheritance. They speak with Miss Percehouse, who is initially reluctant but reveals small details about Trevelyan's past. Mr. Rycroft, the ornithologist, provides an alibi that seems solid but doesn't directly connect to the murder. Mr. Duke, the quiet man from the séance, is revealed to be a retired superintendent, lending an air of suspicion or, conversely, a potential ally. Emily and Charles discover that Trevelyan was a man who enjoyed manipulating people and that several individuals had reasons to dislike him, or stood to gain from his death. They investigate various financial transactions and potential secret relationships, including the possibility of a mistress or an illegitimate child in Australia, which adds another layer of complexity to the will and inheritance.

Section 6

The investigation by Emily and Charles starts to uncover crucial physical evidence. They are particularly interested in the heavy snow that fell on the night of the murder. They discover a pair of ski boots hidden in a chest at Sittaford House, which belonged to Trevelyan but were recently used. This is significant because anyone traveling between Sittaford House and Hazelmoor through the deep snow would have found skis or snowshoes invaluable, yet Burnaby claimed to have walked. Emily also pays close attention to a snowman built in the garden of Hazelmoor. Her intuition leads her to investigate it more closely, and she discovers an ice axe concealed within its icy structure. This is a critical piece of evidence, as the paperweight found near Trevelyan's body might not have been the actual murder weapon; the ice axe could have been used to deliver the fatal blow and then hidden, making it seem like a struggle with an improvised weapon. The presence of the ski boots and the ice axe suggests a premeditated murder and a carefully constructed alibi.

Section 7

Emily and Charles, now with a clear understanding of the new evidence, confront Major Burnaby. Emily, with her sharp mind, reconstructs the crime. She deduces that Major Burnaby was aware of Captain Trevelyan's decision to change his will, diverting a significant sum of money (intended for Burnaby due to a past arrangement/debt) to Jim Pearson and the mysterious Australian woman. Financially desperate, Burnaby saw an opportunity. He staged the séance, manipulating the table to spell out Trevelyan's murder, thereby creating an alibi for himself and simultaneously directing suspicion towards Jim. After the séance, he left "to check on Trevelyan," but instead of walking, he used Trevelyan's skis to quickly reach Hazelmoor without leaving clear tracks. He entered, killed Trevelyan with the ice axe, meticulously staged the scene to look like a struggle, hid the ice axe in the snowman he built for cover, and then returned to Sittaford House, collapsing dramatically to sell his story of the arduous walk and the discovery of the body. He then disposed of the skis and ice axe, believing they would never be found. His motive was purely financial, driven by his own desperate circumstances and the perceived betrayal by Trevelyan's will change.

Section 8

With Emily's brilliant deductions and the physical evidence, the true killer, Major Burnaby, is apprehended. His elaborate plan is completely exposed, and he confesses to the murder. Jim Pearson is exonerated and released. The case is closed, and Emily Trefusis proves her exceptional investigative abilities, having outsmarted both the local police and a cunning murderer. Charles Enderby, having witnessed Emily's genius firsthand, has his major scoop, launching his journalistic career. The residents of Sittaford are left to process the shocking revelation about their seemingly upright neighbor.

---

Literary Genre: Detective Fiction, Whodunit, Mystery.

Author Facts:

• Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is widely regarded as the "Queen of Crime."
• She is the best-selling fiction writer of all time, with her novels selling an estimated two billion copies.
• She wrote 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, predominantly featuring her two famous detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
• 'The Sittaford Mystery' is one of her standalone novels, not featuring Poirot or Marple, though Superintendent Battle appears in a minor role.
• During World War I and II, Christie worked in dispensaries, gaining knowledge of poisons, which she often used in her plots.

Moral of the Story:

The story highlights the danger of making snap judgments and succumbing to initial assumptions, particularly when emotions run high or convenient suspects are available. It emphasizes the importance of thorough investigation, attention to detail, and a willingness to question even the most seemingly obvious conclusions. It also serves as a cautionary tale about how desperation can drive seemingly respectable individuals to commit heinous acts, and how appearances can be profoundly misleading.

Curiosities:

• 'The Sittaford Mystery' (1931) was originally published in the UK under the title 'The Sittaford Mystery' but was titled 'The Murder at Hazelmoor' in the USA.
• This is one of the few Christie novels where Superintendent Battle, a recurring character in some of her other works ('Cards on the Table', 'The Seven Dials Mystery'), plays a very minor role, essentially only appearing briefly to oversee the investigation led by Inspector Narracott.
• The novel features Emily Trefusis as an early example of a determined and intelligent amateur female sleuth, predating Miss Marple's more widespread fame, and offering a different dynamic from Christie's more established male detectives.
• The plot's reliance on a séance as a crucial plot device is a nod to the public fascination with spiritualism prevalent in the early 20th century. Christie often incorporated contemporary societal interests into her mysteries.
• The isolated Dartmoor setting, cut off by snow, is a classic device in mystery fiction, creating a closed circle of suspects and heightening the sense of suspense and claustrophobia.