on mystery, incident on incident." — Referee. "Agatha Christie has written a most entertaining story, excellently conceived and executed." — Morning Post. Development of the novel The book has some parallels to incidents and settings of a round-the-world work trip taken by Christie with her first husband Archie Christie and headed by his old teacher from Clifton College, Major E A Belcher, to promote the forthcoming 1924 British Empire Exhibition. The tour lasted from 20 January to 1 December 1922. It was on the tour that Christie wrote the short stories which would form all of Poirot Investigates (1924) and most of the contents of Poirot's Early Cases, published in 1974. Dining with the Christies before the trip, Belcher had suggested setting a mystery novel in his home, the Mill House at Dorney and naming the book The Mystery of the Mill House; and had insisted on being in it as well. He is the inspiration for the central character Sir Eustace Pedler, having been given a title at Archie's suggestion. The Mill House also makes an appearance, albeit located in Marlow. Christie found Belcher "childish, mean and somehow addictive as a personality: 'Never, to this day, have I been able to rid myself of a sneaking fondness for Sir Eustace', wrote Agatha of the fictionalised Belcher, a main character in The Man in the Brown Suit. 'I dare say it's reprehensible, but there it is.'" Adaptations Television US adaptation The Man in the Brown Suit aired in the US on 4 January 1989, adapted by Alan Shayne Productions, in association with Warner Brothers Television. It is set in a later era than the 1920s, and many details are changed as a result. At least one review found the story lacking, feeling that those adaptations of Christie's novels shown on PBS in the United States fared better than this one, which aired on CBS. Adaptor: Carla Jean Wagner Director: Alan Grint Main Cast: Stephanie Zimbalist – Anne Beddingfeld Rue McClanahan – Suzy Blair Tony Randall – Rev Edward Chichester Edward Woodward – Sir Eustace Pedler Ken Howard – Gordon Race Nickolas Grace – Guy Underhill Simon Dutton – Harry Lucas María Casal – Anita Federico Luciano – Leo Carton Rose McVeigh – Valerie French adaptation The novel was adapted as a 2017 episode of the French television series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie. Graphic novel The Man in the Brown