AtaraxiaWelcome to this second post in the Agatha Tea Archives. Today, we’re talking about the second novel by the famous Agatha Christie: Mr Brown. Don’t be mistaken—this novel has nothing supernatural about it. It’s simply about a man who remains mysterious, someone no one has truly met. So, come and discover Mr Brown.
Guess Who Mr Brown Is
Its original title, The Secret Adversary, sums this novel up rather well. In Mr Brown, we follow Prudence “Tuppence” Cowley and Thomas Beresford. Short on work, money, and adventure, they decide to place an ad in the newspaper offering themselves as “young adventurers for hire.” Very quickly, the two friends find themselves caught up in a state affair. They are tasked with finding a woman who went missing during a shipwreck. She is believed to carry compromising documents. Unfortunately, Jane Finn—and the documents—remain nowhere to be found.
Despite that, Tuppence and Tommy refuse to give up. They end up in a race against time to find both Jane Finn and a dangerous adversary whom no one has ever seen. Nothing is known about this adversary. To prevent a revolution, they will have to redouble their efforts to uncover the truth. That is, before the very secretive Mr Brown does.
A Story Without Hercule Poirot
This is Agatha Christie’s second book and the first without Hercule Poirot. Here, we follow only the adventures of these two young adventurers. Gripping from the start, I found it difficult to put down. Action-packed yet full of mystery, it invites you to join the game. Try to guess—before they do—who the enemies are and who the allies are. If, like me, you manage to figure it out, you’ll be all the prouder.
The Themes of Mr Brown
Between a hidden secret, a concealed identity, war, revolution, and women’s place in society, female intelligence makes Mr Brown far from monotonous. Furthermore, the ending touches on a deeper subject. For those of you who are more psychologically minded, I urge you to have fun creating a psychological profile of Mr Brown. You’ll see, thanks to the book’s ending, there’s a passage that, in my opinion, deserves to be highlighted as one of the most psychologically interesting in the story.
A Thoughtful Gesture from Agatha Christie
Miss Christie chose to dedicate this book to all of us—to everyone leading a monotonous life—in the hope of living a second life filled with the joys and dangers of adventure.
Tuppence and Tommy are set to return in another book. Let yourself be carried away by these two characters who have not yet revealed all they have to offer in Mr Brown.
If you want to follow Agatha Christie’s novels in chronological order, feel free to follow me on Instagram — @readwith_agatha.
