Gossip and secrets are seen as reprobate and immoral yet 65-80% of our speaking time is spent on social topics. Gossip in a small town, like the one this novel takes place in, is more prominent. A study was made to prove this and it concluded that “Growing up in the country was generally perceived as a positive experience; however, many young people felt that they had little privacy.”(‘Warr, D, and L Hillier. “'That's the Problem with Living in a Small Town': Privacy and Sexual Health Issues for Young Rural People.”) Gossip being a large part of society in a small town is best showcased in Agatha Christie's mystery novels. “In her sixty-seven novels and one hundred and seventeen short stories of detection and mystery, Christie created a body of work which made her the most popular writer of the twentieth century.” (Bargainnier 1) In June 1926 Agatha Christie published The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which has been voted the best whodunit novel ever written, by a referendum of 600 fellow writers.“The survey, of members of the Crime Writers’ Association of professional novelists, concluded that Christie’s 1926 mystery The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was the finest example of the genre ever …show more content…
In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, oodles of information is revealed through Gossip and Secrets. In a novel where there are not many physical clues, other than the room where the murder was committed and the body itself, anyone with information can be helpful such as when Parker notices a small detail that everyone else ignored. “sir, this chair was drawn out a little more'”(Christie 84) he told Hercule Poirot which ended up being a major clue in deducing Dr. Sheppard as the killer. Mr. Poirot uses gossip and secrets to gain the majority of information about the case as he believes everyone has knowledge that can help solve the case. This is shown when he has this conversation with Major