Agatha Christie is not an unknown name in the literary world. As a widely popular author, her works have been adapted several times to be made into cinema. Recently, her The Seven Dials Mystery was adapted to be made into a 3-episode mini series and released on Netflix. The viewers and readers were both of the opinion that not everything requires an adaptation, and if it does, it needs to be better than what was given to them.
Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Chris Sweeney the adaptation uses her puzzle to address the politics, war, and empire more than the cottage-mystery angle that she originally intended. As brilliant a writer as Christie is, this mystery novel of hers was also not well received in 1929. When the makers of the series decided to adapt the novel, it was on their shoulders to give the audience what the original work lacked.
What was the basis of the original story?
The creators of the mini-series on Netflix adapted and converted the book into a fast-paced, mystery thriller series with little to no effort put in. It shifted abruptly between mystery, thriller, comedy and a creation that simply did not hold the audience’s attention. When Agatha wrote the novel, she did not mention the First World War or anything about the social class system at the time of the war.