Anne Beddingfeld is a young woman who is aching for adventure and that is exactly what she gets when she witnesses the death of man on the London Underground. Her notice of a mysterious man who suspiciously leaves the scene embarks Anne on a mystery that will take her all the way to Cape Town in South Africa. With a love interest also in her future, it will take all her faculties to set everything straight.

The Man in the Brown Suit is an early publication in Agatha Christie’s long and illustrious career. The story may have been inspired by a trip she took with husband Archie to South Africa, amongst other countries in preparation for the 1924-1925 British Empire Exhibition. Indeed, as seen in the 2025 production Travels with Agatha Christie and David Suchet, she seems to have been very taken with the areas of South Africa she visited. Further, in the frontispiece of the book the dedication begins “In memory of a journey..” and what a fun journey it was to record this book!

As with all books written over a century ago, the reader is reminded that previous sensibilities do not match current ones.

Tara Mackinnon Dow