The Witness for the Prosecution. Agatha Christie.

   The Witness For The Prosecution by Agatha Christie.

"I'm like a man caught in a net-the meshes of it all round me, entangling me whichever way I turn."

The story was first published in the USA as "Traitor Hands" in 1925 and contains the original ending which was subsequently rewritten by the author herself for the play version and much more dramatic. Billy Wilder's 1957 film version starred Laughton, Power and Dietrich which was a huge success followed by the more recent Sarah Phelps' t.v. drama (December 2016) following on from her success the previous year of "And Then There Were None." Sexed-up and given a modern outlook which didn't go down well with some Christie die-hards because of a number of liberties taken with the original and which contains a  very different and unsatisfactory ending to Christie's.

Mayherne was a small man, neatly dressed, shrewd with a reputation which stood very high as a solicitor. His client, Leonard Vole had been arrested for the wilful murder of a rich spinster, Miss Emily French. Mayherne knew his client was in great danger of being found guilty and hung.

Initially, the solicitor thought his client guilty but over time and numerous interviews, Vole's naivety seems to emerge and Mayherne's opinion wavers. Vole met French quite by accident when she was crossing Oxford Street and struggling with a number of parcels. He offered assistance, simply just a common act of courtesy. He met up with her later that evening at a friend's party and it was French that initiated a friendship of a sort considering the age difference, inviting him to her home in Cricklewood. He thought it churlish to refuse, certainly when he realised she was a lady of means and that she took "sudden violent fancies to people."

Subsequent meetings were significant and coincided with a run in of infernal bad luck for Vole. He did admit that he enjoyed being mothered and pampered. He described himself as a drifter: I'm one of those people who can't say no." Before long Vole was asked to look into her business affairs which had flattered his ego. The difficulty for Mayherne was how to prove that his client didn't have a motive for the killing.

"He saw Miss French, infatuated with the good-looking young man, hunting about for pretexts that should bring him to her house." Incidentally, Janet Mackenzie, her maid declared that her mistress was a good woman of business, transacting her own affairs without needing any assistance. Her bankers gave a similar testimony. The bombshell hits with the revelation that Miss French had left a will in which Vole was the principal beneficiary. Further complications. Vole had been with her the night she was murdered and needs an alibi which is where Romaine Vole/Heilger comes in. Would the testimony of a devoted wife gain credence? If she is going to be a witness for the defence she needed to confirm Vole's story of being at home when the murder was supposed to have been committed. Mayherne describes her as a strange woman who made him feel uneasy. She was too calm and composed when she should perhaps have been agitated and anxious. Her vehemence is shown when she tells the solicitor how much she hates Vole. "I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I would like to see him hanged by the neck till he is dead." Everything hangs by a thread. How can Mayherne convince the court and jury that his client is innocent if his wife wants him dead? A difficult one.

It's worth reading it first before looking at the t.v. version available from the BBC and Amazon or the earlier film version.

Publisher: Harper Collins …ISBN: 978-000-8201-258 there is a paperback TV tie-in edition available.

REVIEW it by Carol Naylor.

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