In “And Then There Have been None,” the basic novel by Agatha Christie, 10 persons are invited to a mansion on a distant island, reduce off from the remainder of the world. A thriller follows.
Life considerably imitated artwork on Friday when a big tree fell right into a single-track highway within the southwestern coastal city of Brixham in Britain, trapping a number of individuals for a couple of hours at Greenway Home, the previous vacation dwelling of Christie, the writer of dozens of best-selling thriller novels who died in 1976.
The Nationwide Belief, the conservation nonprofit that oversees Greenway Home, stated in a press release on Friday that the fallen tree was “blocking any visitors getting into or exiting the world.”
“We’re working intently with police and highways to get this resolved shortly as attainable,” the Nationwide Belief stated. “We’re conscious that there are guests, employees and volunteers nonetheless at Greenway unable to depart and we’re doing all the things we are able to to verify they’re snug whereas all of us wait. We admire everybody’s endurance throughout this time.”
By the tip of “And Then There Have been None,” each visitor on the mansion has died. Nonetheless, fortunately for these trapped at Greenway Home, the highway was reopened within the night, permitting guests to depart, the Nationwide Belief stated in a later replace.
It was unclear precisely how many individuals have been at Christie’s former dwelling, which is open for excursions and in a single day stays, when the tree fell. DevonLive, a information outlet in Britain that supplied reside updates of the incident, reported that greater than 100 individuals have been caught.
Caroline Heaven, who was at Greenway for a day journey on Friday, advised DevonLive that she had arrived at 11:30 a.m., and had been caught for hours.
“It’s a disgrace actually,” Ms. Heaven advised the information outlet. “They’re doing an incredible job. They’re giving us free teas and issues. It’s a bit bleak.”
Greenway Home may not have been solely a vacation residence. It was additionally a supply of inspiration for Christie’s novel “Useless Man’s Folly” that includes Hercule Poirot, during which a criminal offense author organizes a pretend “homicide hunt” on the grounds of a rustic dwelling.
Social media leaned in to the irony of being caught within the dwelling of the prolific thriller novelist.
A number of Twitter customers started counting down, “99, 98, 97, 96, 94 (grisly), 93 … in an obvious reference to “And Then There Have been None.”
Marguerite Kenner wrote on Twitter that individuals on the home ought to “IMPLEMENT A BUDDY SYSTEM IMMEDIATELY!”
The Devon and Cornwall Police didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Friday.
Greenway Home was referred to by Christie as “the loveliest place on the planet,” based on Nationwide Belief. The home is stuffed with Christie’s heirlooms, together with gadgets from her childhood dwelling and her Steinway piano, the group stated.
The home additionally has a library of 5,000 books, together with some by Christie, based on the Nationwide Belief.
