The presentation of novel entitled After The Funeral by Agatha Christie to fulfill the task of extensive reading 3

1. After the Funeral
by: Agatha christie
Uswatul Khoiriyah
1610302088

2. She was born on September
15, 1890 in Torquay, England.
She died 12 January 1976.
First novel: the mysterious
Affair at styles, in 1920
She is known for her 66
novels, 14 short story,

3. What is after the funeral?
After the funeral is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first
published in US by DODD, MEAD And Company in 1953. the genre of this
novel is Crime Novel.
It consist of 244 pages( first edition)

4. abstract
a wealthy man dies at home. His relatives gather after his funeral for the reading of his
will, during which his sister states that he was murdered. The next day, she is found
murdered. Poirot is called in to solve the mystery.

5. summary
This story begins with a wealthy family names Richard Abernethie. his family assemble at
Enderby Hall for the reading of the will by his lawyer, Mr Entwhistle. His wealth is to be
divided up between his surviving family: his brother Timothy Abernethie and his wife Maud;
his sister Cora Lansquenet; his nephew George Crossfield; his first niece Rosamund Shane,
and her husband Michael; his second niece Susan Banks, and her husband Gregory; and
Helen Abernethie, the wife of his brother Leo before his death during the war. Although
Richard died of natural causes and his death was expected, Cora makes a chance remark
that he was murdered. The day after the funeral, she is found dead, having been violently
murdered in her sleep. No motive is obvious in Inspector Morton's investigations - while
Cora's life income reverts to the Abernethie estate, her property goes to Susan, while her
companion Miss Gilchrist receives a number of her paintings she made. However, doubts
soon arise about Richard's death in the wake of her murder. Seeking help, Entwhistle
contacts his friend, Hercule Poirot, to resolve the matter. Poirot contacts his old friend Mr
Goby to investigate the family.

6. Each family member had their own reason for wanting Richard's wealth, and thus
become a suspect in the murder. On the day of the inquest, Susan visits Cora's home
to clean up her possession for auction. She learns from Gilchrist that her aunt always
painted from life, and that she collected paintings from local sales in the hopes of
finding a valuable piece. The day after Cora's funeral, art critic Alexander Guthrie
arrives to look through Cora's recent purchases as previously scheduled, but finds
nothing of value there. That evening, Gilchrist is poisoned with a slice of arsenic-
laced wedding cake sent in the post; she survives, mainly from eating a small
portion. Gathering to select items from Richard's estate before its sale, the family are
joined by Poirot and Gilchrist. During discussions, Helen comments about believing
there was something odd on the day of the funeral, Gilchrist makes a remark about
one of the decorations in Enderby, while Susan recalls finding a painting in Cora's
possession, which she believed had been copied from a picture postcard and not
painted from life, Cora's usual style.

7. Early the next morning, Helen telephones Entwhistle to inform him what she had
realised was odd during Richard's funeral, but is struck savagely on the head before
she can say more. Helen suffers concussion, and is taken away for her safety. As
Morton prepares to ask each family member about their movements on the day of
Cora's murder, Poirot startles everyone by revealing to them that her murderer was
Miss Gilchrist. She had recognised a Vermeer amongst Cora's recent purchases that
her employer had not, and knew it was her chance to rebuild her beloved tea shop
that she lost in the war. She painted over the Vermeer painting with a scene of a pier
from a postcard, unaware it had been destroyed in the war. Afterwards, she put a
sedative in Cora's tea so she would be asleep, while Gilchrist posed as her at the
funeral. None of the family had seen Cora for more than two decades, which made
her deception easier. After leaving suggestions that Richard had been murdered,
Gilchrist killed Cora the following day so that police would believe it was connected
to Richard's death. To divert suspicion from herself, Gilchrist faked the attempt on her
life.

8. Gilchrist had to copy Cora's mannerism, but failed to realise one of these was wrong
when she rehearsed it in front of a mirror. Helen was attacked because she eventually
realised this. Furthermore, Poirot knew she had posed as Cora because she made a
reference to a piece of decoration, which could only have been seen within Enderby Hall
on the day of Richard's funeral. The Vermeer was hidden by Gilchrist so that Guthrie did
not find it during his scheduled visit. Her claim that Cora painted the pier scene from life
was countered by Susan finding a pre-war postcard of the pier in the cottage, along with
Entwhistle recollecting that he smelt oil when he visited Cora's home after her murder
when he contacted Poirot for help. Morton then reveals that two nuns visited Cora's
cottage on the day of the funeral, who believed someone was inside. Once accused,
Gilchrist breaks down into a flood of complaints about the hardships of her life, but
quietly goes with the police. During legal proceedings before her trial, she eventually
becomes insane, planning one tea shop after another, though Poirot and Entwhistle
have no doubt she was in full possession of her faculties during her crime.

9. Points of chronology
-Richard Abernethie died suddenly - but there would have been no reason at
all to suspect foul play had it not been for the words uttered by his sister
Cora at his funeral.
-Secondly, after his funeral, his sister Cora Lansquenet says, 'He was
murdered, wasn't he?'
-Thirdly Mrs Lansquenet is killed
-

10. The characters
1. Hercule Poirot - The famed Belgian detective. Hired to investigate Cora's
murder, and the possibility that her brother Richard was murdered.
2. Mr Entwhistle - The Abernethie family's solicitor. Hires Poirot to assist in
investigating Cora's murder and the circumstances surrounding it.
3. Inspector Morton - The investigating officer for the Berkshire County's
police investigation into Cora's murder.
4. Mrs Cora Lansquenet - The victim of the case. An amateur painter and the
youngest sister of Richard Abernethie. One of the heirs to Richard's fortune,
before her murder.

11. 4.Richard Abernethie - A wealthy widower, recently deceased and buried
before the start of the novel. Lost two brothers to the war, and had a son who
died before him.
5. Timothy Abernethie - Only surviving brother of Richard. A grumpy invalid,
and one of the heirs to his brother's fortune.
6.Maude Abernethie - Timothy's wife, a strong, healthy woman who tends to
her husband's needs.
7.Susan Banks - Richard's first niece, and one of the heirs to his fortune. She is
a woman with a drive for business, and Cora's heir.

12. 8. Miss Gilchrist - The killer of the case. Cora's paid companion. She owned a tea shop
until it was lost in the war.
9. Mr Goby - Private investigator, hired by Poirot to investigate each family member's
background.

13. My point of view
I think that After the Funeral is one of Agatha Cristhie’s novel. It is more of a mystery. It
is unpredictable story and also It is very inventive.

14. Thankyou 