(no subject)

[cahn]

So I've been reading At Bertram's Hotel as part of rachelmanija's ongoing Agatha Christie read/reread. I hadn't read this one before. I really liked it, actually, but mostly I wanted to tell you all about the Most Unfortunate Typo in my library's edition (one of those fancy black leather-bound ones, they have a whole bunch of her books in this edition).

First, some background (no typo here that I know of; all ellipses in this first quote are me eliding text):

"How nice to see you again. Er-- it is General Arlington, isn't it?"

But with great courtesy the old gentleman declined being General Arlington. Lady Selina apologized, but was not unduly discomposed...

Miss Marple smiled to herself... So like Selina! Always convinced that she knew everybody [at Bertram's Hotel]. She herself could not compete. Her solitary achievement in that line had been the handsome and well-gaitered Bishop of Westchester whom she had addressed affectionately as "dear Robbie" and who had responded with equal affection and with memories of himself as a child in a Hampshire vicarage calling out lustily, "Be a crocodile now, Aunty Janie. Be a crocodile and eat me."

(Btw I find that image awfully sweet!)

Now, we come to the typo, a couple of chapters later (here, the ellipsis is Christie's):

All those elderly people [at Bertram's Hotel]--really very much like those she had remembered when she had stayed here fifty years ago. They had been natural then--but they weren't very natural now. Elderly people nowadays weren't like elderly people then--they had that worried harried look of domestic anxieties with which they are too tired to cope, or they rushed around to committees and tried to appear bustling and competent, or they dyed their hair gentian blue, or wore wigs, and their hands were not the hand she remembered, tapering, delicate hands--they were harsh from washing up and detergents...

And so--well, so these people didn't look real. But the point was that they were real. Selina Hazy was real. And that rather handsome old military man in the corner was real--she had met him once, although she did not recall his name--and the Bishop (dear Robbie!) was dead.

I hit that last word and was like, "Wait, what?? Miss Marple said nothing about him being dead before?? Is this book going to be about the unexpected death of Robbie, or maybe Robbie was actually SOMEONE ELSE who wasn't real and the person that Miss Marple addressed was someone else entirely and both of them were lying about it for Reasons????"

Spoiler: the book is not about Robbie at all, and this is the last mention of him. I am pretty sure it is a typo and the word that was supposed to be there was "real."

Conclusion: if you're going to make a typo in an Agatha Christie book, it should not involve the word "death" or any related word!

(Speaking of which, I totally typed "died" for "dyed" the first time around, but I think that this typo would have been a bit easier to find.)

Comments

[rachelmanija]

That crocodile anecdote is adorable.

I just checked and my copy also says dead! So either it's widespread typo or it's an intentional bit of somewhat random tragedy. I agree that "real" makes more sense in context.

Dear Robbie is apparently Schrodinger's Bishop.

[cahn]

The crocodile line is possibly my favorite in the book (and I liked the book a lot in general!)

Dear Robbie is apparently Schrodinger's Bishop.

LOLOLOLOL!

[mildred_of_midgard]

You're not the only one who thinks it's a misprint! https://agathachristie.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bishop_of_Westchester

[cahn]

Oh wow, before you and rachelmanija chimed in I did not even suspect that it was a widespread misprint, I thought it was just that edition!

But I am glad that other people agree with my analysis :)

[mildred_of_midgard]

Speaking of typos, in the section marked "no typo here that I know of," I see the spellings "Selina" and "Selena." Since the first one is used in the second passage, and since you type "Selena" and "selenak" all the time ;), I'm guessing that's a typo.

[cahn]

LOL! I read it through a couple of times because I knew I'd make a typo after complaining about one, and didn't even see it, I assume because I'm so used to typing the second. I'll change that :)