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''Death Comes as the End'' is a historical mystery novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October 1944〔(American Tribute to Agatha Christie )〕 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the following year.〔Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions''. Dragonby Press (Second Edition) March 1999 (Page 15)〕 The US Edition retailed at $2.00〔 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).〔 It is the only one of Christie's novels not to be set in the 20th century, and – unusually for her – also features no European characters. Instead, the novel is set in Thebes in 2000 BC, a setting for which Christie gained an appreciation of while working with her archaeologist husband, Sir Max Mallowan in the Middle East. The novel is notable for its very high number of deaths and is comparable to ''And Then There Were None'' from this standpoint. It is also the first full-length novel combining historical fiction and the whodunit/detective story, a genre which would later come to be called the historical whodunit.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Biography: Agatha Christie )〕 The suggestion to base the story in ancient Egypt came from noted Egyptologist and family friend Stephen Glanville. He also assisted Christie with details of daily household life in Egypt 4000 years ago. In addition he made forceful suggestions to Christie to change the ending of the book. This she did but regretted the fact afterwards, feeling that her (unpublished) ending was better. The novel is based on some real letters, translated by egyptologist Battiscombe Gunn, from the Egyptian Middle Kingdom period from a man called Heqanakhte to his family, complaining about their behaviour and treatment of his concubine.〔(BBC: Voices from Ancient Egypt Gallery )〕 It is one of only four Christie novels to have not received an adaptation of any kind (such as screen, stage or radio) and one of only five of her novels to have not received a screen adaptation - the others being Destination Unknown, Passenger to Frankfurt, Postern of Fate and Crooked House. Christie uses a theme for her chapter titles, as she did for many of her novels, in this case the Egyptian agricultural calendar. ==Plot introduction== The quiet lives of an Egyptian family are disturbed when the father, Imhotep, returns from the North with his new concubine, Nofret, who begins to sow discontent amongst them. Once the deaths begin, fears are aroused of a curse upon the house, but is the killer closer to home? 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Death Comes as the End」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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