"Magnolia Blossom" was published as a short story in the March 1926 issue of "The Royal Magazine". As others have noted, in 1926 Agatha Christie's marriage was falling apart. As I experienced the teleplay, John Bryden Rodgers did an okay, if too superficial and overly melodramatic, dramatization of the story. The original is well worth reading on its own (while avoiding any "modern reworking", at least until after reading the original).
The original story is subtler than the teleplay in suggesting the motivations of Theo, including her increasing realization of her role as perceived by Richard, by Vincent, and most importantly by herself. The story has, for me, a clearer explanation than the teleplay's of the title. The teleplay does have somewhat more gunplay than does the story. Also, an intriguing difference between the story and the teleplay is the name of Richard's firm. In the teleplay it is "Imperial and Overseas Trust". In the story it is "Hobson, Jekyll and Lucas". I wonder who made the choice to doctor the firm's name. And "Lucas" is for someone better read than I to explain, by George.
The original story is subtler than the teleplay in suggesting the motivations of Theo, including her increasing realization of her role as perceived by Richard, by Vincent, and most importantly by herself. The story has, for me, a clearer explanation than the teleplay's of the title. The teleplay does have somewhat more gunplay than does the story. Also, an intriguing difference between the story and the teleplay is the name of Richard's firm. In the teleplay it is "Imperial and Overseas Trust". In the story it is "Hobson, Jekyll and Lucas". I wonder who made the choice to doctor the firm's name. And "Lucas" is for someone better read than I to explain, by George.
