The Seven Dials Mystery On Netflix

The Seven Dials Mystery was one of the first Agatha Christie novels that I ever read. I loved the story, which was clever and witty, and particularly loved the heroine, Lady ‘Bundle’ Brent, who, for me, was a forerunner to the aristocratic heroine of ‘Why didn’t they ask Evans‘ Lady Frankie. I have to admit it is a few years since I read it, so I was full of anticipation for the Netflix brand new adaptation of the story. But, it has to be said that, once again, an adaptation of an Agatha Story has only some semblance to the book.

The Cast (spoilers)

I love most of the cast. Mia McKenna-Bruce who I was not really aware of before this, certainly looks the part of a 1920’s heroine, and played Bundle pretty well, although she doesn’t seem to have the pizzazz of the book, possibly because she’s now grieving for a lost love. Helena Bonham Carter is always great, and never more so than when she is playing eccentric characters, which Lady Caterham appears to be. I am also a fan of the casting of Martin Freeman as Inspector Battle, he always works so well as upstanding pillars of the community and this role fits him to a tea.

So far, so good. But this is where it starts to slide. Lord Caterham was one of my faves from the book, a typically eccentric English aristo, here he’s killed off in the opening scene. I also miss the dashing Bill Eversleigh from the book, now replaced by the ghost of Jimmy Wade and almost a side character, which means we miss a true budding romance from the book.

The staging

Styling is subjective, but when I read The Seven Dials Mystery I imagine it in glorious technicolour. This Seven Dials is much more sombre, coated with the dark and ghosts of post WW1 Britain, and altogether more muted, even when the cast are supposed to be at a jazz style party at the beginning of the story.

The Story

Some characters have disappeared completely. A new criminal mastermind is the ultimate villain of the piece. It is Agatha Christie, but not as you know it. Really, this should be marketed as ‘based on a story by Agatha Christie’, but instead, we have Agatha’s name in big letters on every piece of publicity. It raises the question, if you rely on the name of the Dame to sell this work to a large audience, why change it so much?

Final Thoughts.

I did enjoy the three episodes, but not as much as I enjoyed the original source material. I was puzzled by the ending, which seemed to suggest a sequel, when this book in fact has a prequel? (The Secret of Chimneys). It has encouraged me to read the original book again, which can’t be a bad thing, but, as with the recent BBC adaptations, I would say approach this as something with a smidgen of Agatha, not the full package.

Sharing is caring!