Hallowe'en Party

Agatha Christie is known for writing “golden age” detective fiction novels, a style popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Hallowe’en Party, written in 1969, takes place nearly 40 years after the end of the heyday of this style. Compare the novel to other golden age detective novels you have encountered. What qualities of golden age detective fiction does it possess or not possess? Given this analysis, would you consider this text an example of golden age detective fiction, or does it better align with some other subgenre of detective fiction?

The characters often equate the perceived increase in crimes committed by people with mental health concerns or who experience some form of inappropriate sexual desire with Modernity and Social Decline. Does the novel support this view of modernity? Consider Poirot’s consistent, correct assessment that Joyce’s murder had a straightforward motive when crafting your answer.

How does Christie discredit or reinforce the archetype of childhood innocence in Hallowe’en Party? How does Miranda’s characterization, Joyce’s propensity for lying, and Leopold’s blackmail contribute to the novel’s thematic interest in The Falseness of Childhood Innocence?