The Secret Adversary Annotated Edition

Agatha Christie’s deft skill in plotting is on full display in the first adventure of Tommy and Tuppence, with seemingly disconnected events revealing a complex web of intrigue. Behind the plot is a formidable foe, a mysterious figure whose identity seems impossible to determine and whose plans include murder. Tommy Beresford and "Tuppence" Cowley’s new firm, Young Adventurers Ltd opens for business only to have their first customer drop out of sight at the mere mention of a name. Careful investigation reveals connections between a missing survivor of the torpedoed Lusitania, documents highly compromising to the British government and a potentially catastrophic plot masterminded by a very dangerous man whose identity is known to no one living. The novel first appeared in 1922 and was greeted by reviews marveling at the author’s masterful concealment of the villain’s identity, some going as far as to say that unless the reader peeked at the final few pages there was no way to know it, making this a truly secret adversary. Appearing as silent movie in 1928 this was the first of the author’s novels to be made into a film. Although overshadowed by Christie’s better known sleuths, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence were her favorite creations and her enthusiasm for the couple and their adventures is transparent on the page. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Secret Adversary is both modern and readable.

Reunited in 1919 London, demobilised soldier Tommy Beresford and nurse Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley, out of work and money, form the "The Young Adventurers, Ltd." planning to hiring themselves out as "adventurers ... [w]illing to do anything, go anywhere ... [n]o unreasonable offer refused." They are overheard by a Mr. Whittington who offers Tuppence a comfortable position, but he is shocked when she randomly gives her name as "Jane Finn", a name Tommy in turn had overheard him use and mentioned during the same conversation. Whittington believes Tuppence is blackmailing him and sends her away with some money. Convinced that they can get further money out of Whittington if they play their cards right, Tommy and Tuppence prepare to shadow him, only to discover that he has closed his office and disappeared without a trace. To find out why, they place an advertisement, asking for information regarding Jane Finn. One response is from a Mr. "Carter," whom Tommy recognises as a leading figure in a British intelligence agency and who provides the background to Jane Finn, all of which was earlier revealed to the reader in the book's prologue. Jane Finn was a passenger on the RMS Lusitania when it sank four years earlier in 1915. An American man, knowing he would not be on the lifeboats entrusted her with getting a secret, draft treaty to the American embassy in London, should she survive the sinking and be rescued. Since that time, neither Jane Finn nor the draft treaty have been found. At the same time, publication of the treaty's contents would compromise the current British government, potentially leading to a bolshevik coup. Tommy and Tuppence agree to work for Carter on an unofficial basis, with the aim of recovering the treaty and foiling the bolshevists and their puppet-master, an elusive though hands-on figure known as Mr. Brown who is said to have an exceptional capacity for blending in the background. Carter agrees to cover all their expenses as well as pay them a large sum in the hope that amateurs may succeed where intelligence services failed.

In the beginning, the ship Lusitana has been torpedoed and a stranger has given a young girl a packet contaning an important document. The stranger dies, and the girl, whose name is Jane Finn, disappears, and the packet is forgotten. Until, that is, a labor unrest starts in England and if the papers fall into the wrong hands it could prove deadly to the government. Tommy Beresford and Prudence Cowley (nicknamed Tuppence) know nothing of this when they unexpectantly meet. They go to a restraunt and discuss what's been going on in their lives since they last met. Discovering that they're both currently unemployed, they come up with the idea of becoming adventurers,"willing to do anything, go anywhere." After they depart, a man named Mr. Whittington approaches Tuppence, and he leads her to his office. He overheard their conversation, and he wants to propose a job offer to Tuppence. He wants her to go to France to a place called Madame Colombier's for about three months. When he asks her what her name is, she doesn't want her father to think anything bad, so she says,"Jane Finn."

A world war is over but Great Britain is still menaced by its enemies. Recently released from their wartime service, Tommy and Tuppence are young, energetic . . . and broke. Joining forces, they advertise that they’ll do anything for money. When they’re hired by the government to hunt for a missing treaty, they discover a plot led by the mysterious “Mr. Brown” to destroy the nation! Can Tommy and Tuppence defeat Bolshevists, Sinn Feiners, trade unionists and Labourites and save Britain in her hour of peril? Agatha Christie created intricate stories of murder and mayhem that have enchanted millions of readers worldwide. Bill Peschel, author of “The Complete, Annotated Mysterious Affair at Styles,” “The Complete, Annotated Whose Body?” and “Writers Gone Wild,” reads between the lines of Christie’s first thriller and tells the fascinating stories behind it. “The Complete, Annotated Secret Adversary” contains more than 700 footnotes describing words, idioms, people, places and contemporary events; essays on Agatha Christie:, her battles with the tax man and her 11-day disappearance that shocked the nation; essays on the times, including flappers, spy scandals, and the world after World War I. The book also contains a detailed chronology of Christie’s life and a list of all of her books.

This US English edition is a vocabulary stretcher and includes links from all difficult words to an online dictionary. A girl on the sinking liner Lusitania is given a secret packet to save by a mysterious stranger. Pursued by criminals and the British government, she goes missing, leaving amateur detectives Tuppence and Tommy to find her and rescue the packet. This version of the Christie story has been adapted for pupils studying English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL, ESOL, EFL, TOEFL, IELTS CEFR), ideal for those studying for Citizenship in English-speaking countries like USA and UK. It is also suitable for native English-speaking kids aged 9-12 (Grade 4-7 and Key Stages 2 and 3). Emphasis is on action using past, present and future simple tenses. Punctuation meets UK or USA ESL/CEFR/IELTS Level B2. Lazlo Ferran is a fully qualified English teacher and teaches in London. He has also published more than twenty novels, making him the ideal choice to adapt Agatha Christie’s stories for students. Learning English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) and Kids’ editions are also available. Classics Adapted by a Qualified Teacher Paperback on Amazon Categories: UK ESL, CEFR, IELTS Level B2, USA EFL, TOEFL, ESOL, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, teaching materials, learning materials, vocabulary, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, English grammar, preteen, detective, Agatha Christie, thriller, fun, classics, adaptations, crime, 1920s, education, reading practice, classic, world war I, teaching materials, punctuation, sleuth, , action, amateur, WWI, England, British, vocabulary, murder, small town, war

The Secret Adversary is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year.

This UK English edition is a vocabulary stretcher and includes links from all difficult words to an online dictionary. A girl on the sinking liner Lusitania is given a secret packet to save by a mysterious stranger. Pursued by criminals and the British government, she goes missing, leaving amateur detectives Tuppence and Tommy to find her and rescue the packet. This version of the Christie story has been adapted for pupils studying English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL, ESOL, EFL, TOEFL, IELTS CEFR), ideal for those studying for Citizenship in English-speaking countries like USA and UK. It is also suitable for native English-speaking kids aged 9-12 (Grade 4-7 and Key Stages 2 and 3). Emphasis is on action using past, present and future simple tenses. Punctuation meets UK or USA ESL/CEFR/IELTS Level B2. Lazlo Ferran is a fully qualified English teacher and teaches in London. He has also published more than twenty novels, making him the ideal choice to adapt Agatha Christie’s stories for students. Learning English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) and Kids’ editions are also available. Classics Adapted by a Qualified Teacher Paperback on Amazon Categories: UK ESL, CEFR, IELTS Level B2, USA EFL, TOEFL, ESOL, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, teaching materials, learning materials, vocabulary, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, English grammar, preteen, detective, Agatha Christie, thriller, fun, classics, adaptations, crime, 1920s, education, reading practice, classic, world war I, teaching materials, punctuation, sleuth, , action, amateur, WWI, England, British, vocabulary, murder, small town, war

In the beginning, the ship Lusitana has been torpedoed and a stranger has given a young girl a packet contaning an important document. The stranger dies, and the girl, whose name is Jane Finn, disappears, and the packet is forgotten. Until, that is, a labor unrest starts in England and if the papers fall into the wrong hands it could prove deadly to the government. Tommy Beresford and Prudence Cowley (nicknamed Tuppence) know nothing of this when they unexpectantly meet. They go to a restraunt and discuss what's been going on in their lives since they last met. Discovering that they're both currently unemployed, they come up with the idea of becoming adventurers,"willing to do anything, go anywhere." After they depart, a man named Mr. Whittington approaches Tuppence, and he leads her to his office. He overheard their conversation, and he wants to propose a job offer to Tuppence. He wants her to go to France to a place called Madame Colombier's for about three months. When he asks her what her name is, she doesn't want her father to think anything bad, so she says,"Jane Finn."

A man's voice beside her made her start and turn. She had noticed thespeaker more than once amongst the first-class passengers. There had been ahint of mystery about him which had appealed to her imagination. He spoketo no one.

the end of the Great War the political map in Europe alters a great deal. A wave of change swipes across Britain; the Labour is growing from strength to strength and the economy is bleak.It is five years after Germans torpedoed the Lusitania in the Atlantic. Among the dead passengers was a British agent, who had brought with him a draft of treaty from the US. Such document would have been beneficial to Britain at the war time. Now it will easily be used to topple the incumbent government.As a result, the hunt for the document continues. For both opposing sides have realised that before the agent died, he had handed it over to a young American woman, Jane Finn, who was rescued and arrived safely in England.Apparently her memory has been affected by the shock: she cannot remember anything before 7th May 1915, the day the Lusitania sinking. Consequently, nobody can retrace the document until she recovers.Tommy Beresford and Prudence Crowley - the making of the duo detectivesIn the meantime, a mere chance of having heard scraps of conversations on the street leads the young Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Crowley to be involved in the 'Jane Finn Affair'. When they accept the assignment from Mr. Carter to get the document, little do they know of what their enemies are capable. Despite Mr. Carter's warning on their ruthlessness, the pair are determined to carry out their plan. Time is essential, for Tommy and Tuppence just have a fortnight: they have to hand it in to Mr. Carter before the Labour Strike on 29th.