Crooked House

• Genre: Fiction; crime fiction
• Originally Published: 1949
• Reading Level/Interest: College/adult
• Structure/Length: 26 chapters; approx. 256 pages
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: The unsteady twists in Three Gables, the home of the Leonides family, physically represent the lies and betrayal within the family. When the patriarch dies, a murder investigation ensues, where everyone is a suspect until the deadly end.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Murder; suicide

Agatha Christie, Author

• Bio: Born 1890 in Devon, England; died 1976; disappeared for a while; traveled widely; writing adapted for television and film; won Edgar Award for Witness for the Prosecution (1955); awarded Anthony Award for best Series of the Century and Writer of the Century (2000); wrote the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap; bestselling novelist, with only the Bible and Shakespeare selling more
• Other Works: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920); Murder on the Orient Express (1934); And Then There Were None (1943); Verdict (1953)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Inherited Morality and The Bad Seed
• Toxic Familial Relationships
• The Importance of Reputation

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Explore background information on Agatha Christie and the Golden Age of mystery to increase their engagement with and understanding of Crooked House.
• Read/study paired texts and other brief resources to deepen their understanding of themes related to Inherited Morality and The Bad Seed, Toxic Familial Relationships, and The Importance of Reputation.