The Murders of Annie Hearn

The Poisonings that Inspired Agatha Christie

Jonathan Oates

• Publisher: Pen and Sword True Crime
• eBook ISBN:
  9781399056588
• Year: 2024

In the quaint seaside town of Bude, Cornwall, a seemingly innocent afternoon tea in 1930 unravels into a sinister tale of arsenic poisoning and mysterious disappearances. When one of the three tea companions succumbs to the deadly toxin, suspicions arose, and the plot thickens as Annie Hearn, one of the remaining survivors, vanished without a trace. As the press dug into Annie's enigmatic past, unsettling stories emerged. In the backdrop of this gripping mystery, doctors grow wary of a peculiar pattern—multiple deaths within the same house, all linked by the insidious presence of arsenic. This book delves into the heart of the investigation, unraveling the intricate web of deceit, betrayal, and murder. Who committed these heinous crimes, and why? The answers lie shrouded in the secrets of a Cornish village, in this case that was later adapted by the legendary Agatha Christie in her Hercule Poirot novel, "Sad Cypress." Prepare for a journey through the dark alleys of a bygone era, where every sip of tea holds the potential for deadly secrets.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 An unexpected death
• Chapter 2 The characters in the story
• Chapter 3 The investigation begins
• Chapter 4 The inquest
• Chapter 5 Earlier deaths
• Chapter 6 The discovery of Mrs Hearn
• Chapter 7 The magistrates’ court hearings
• Chapter 8 Case for the prosecution
• Chapter 9 Case for the defence, summing up and verdict
• Chapter 10 Aftermath
• Appendix: Agatha Christie and Annie Hearn
• Bibliography
• Notes
• Plates