Who Killed Roger Ackroyd? The Mystery Behind the Agatha Christie Mystery

An exciting exploration of a book we think we know, the conventions of the mystery novel, and the act of reading itself. Agatha Christie's classic novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has sparked great debate in the years since its publication in 1926, inspiring cultural critics from Umberto Eco to Roland Barthes to explore its unique construction: a murder mystery in which the murderer appears to be the narrator. In Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?, Pierre Bayard reopens the Ackroyd file. This psychoanalyst-cum-professor of literature examines the details of the case anew and offers an ingenious re-reading of one of the most popular mysteries of all time. Wondering why Hercule Poirot's conclusion about the identity of the murderer has never been questioned, Bayard uses a creative mix of literary theory and psychoanalysis to propose a startling new solution.