Miss Marple — The Agatha Christie Community Forum Archive

June's Book of the Month: A Murder is Announced

admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 10:49:08 +0000

June's Book of the Month is A Murder is Announced, promoted as Agatha Christie's 50th book and celebrated this year in its 65th anniversary.

Leave your thoughts, theories, questions and queries below.

Miss Marples short stories.

ianthepoet — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 19:43:14 +0000

I have the complete short stories and some time in the near future I hope to start them. I'm not normally a fan of Miss Marple, however I will give it a try.

Best and Worst Hickson Marple

Luke — Fri, 29 May 2015 14:00:12 +0000

With Joan Hickson as the best Marple what is the best and worst bbc's Marple stories?
For me Nemesis is great, the best for me, not sure about the murder at the vicarage ??? question marks on that one

Trying to find actress

longwater1 — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 12:37:08 +0000

Can anybody help I’m sure there was an actress who played Miss Marple maybe in 60s/70s . I think her name was Sarah Budgen not sure if that was her stage name or real name. She lived in Lee-on-Solent, Gosport.

Hickson Vs all the other Jane Marples

Tommy — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 08:56:29 +0000

To get this forum going you may have noticed some rather simplistic discussions being posted by me - that said, these are the sort of questions for which we all have an instinctive opinion on, and though Joan Hickson may win this one hands down, it's always interesting to hear how the passing of time has affected fans' opinions on say McEwan, who was rather unloved initially but now more fondly remembered. What say you?

who was the best portrayal of Miss Marple

lindaloo — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:53:05 +0000

For me the outright winner is Margaret Rutherford. She had just the right eccentricity to give the role real substance. Agatha Christie may not have approved of the 4 films in which she played the part but for me the role was made for her and some of the others who also played the part just dont have the right personality. Huge respect to a brilliant actress

Body in the library

williamj — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 02:25:43 +0000

I would like to take up this book in my book club for discussion but am having difficulty locating questions I could use. Can anyone refer me to a discussion guide? Thank you

Actress Muriel Pavlow and Miss Marple

mstrsims2 — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 14:11:01 +0000

I came across a Christie quiz from the 1970s. The answer to one of the questions {which of the following actresses have played Miss Marple on the West End stage) included Muriel. I see she played in a Rutherford Marple film but did she actually play her on the stage? Thank you for any information.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/985229654886435/

silvana — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 14:31:59 +0000

I love reading AC novels and love watching the tv adaptations with Miss Marple. About a year ago I started a Miss Marple fangroup on facebook. Never thought it would be that succesful ! Every month we discuss a novel featuring Miss Marple, we have a penpal group. Every week we can join a Miss Marple quiz and one of the members uploads a puzzle or crossword on tuesday night! :-) Now we're with 1400 members. Thanks to Agatha Christie and Miss Marple I now have friends from all over the world!

Miss Marple's family?

Luke — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 08:58:43 +0000

In the short story, 'The Four Suspects,' of 'The Thirteen Problems' I was suprised to learn that she had a sister. Apart from Nephews and Nieces, is there any other reference of her family?

Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Dame Rutherford

SiddharthaS — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:47:04 +0000

Miss Marple's ability to draw parallels between the characters around the murder with personalities she has met in the past confers a unique but unfair advantage to her over the reader. In a way it is like the "woman's instinct" that Agatha Christie's caricature of herself, Ariadne Oliver, lays her stock on, confidently suspecting each of the characters in turn, of being the perpetrator. Only, Miss Marple's first instinct invariably turn out to be correct.

Contrast this with other Christie mysteries, specially those starring Hercule Poirot. He has access to no information other than what the reader also has. Yet Poirot alone draws the correct interpretations and arrives at the solution to the mystery. That is why I believe Hercule Poirot mysteries are more fair to the reader than Miss Marple's. And that is why I like Poirot better than Miss Marple.

BTW, Christie has dedicated one of her mysteries ("The Mirror Cracked" ?) to Margaret Rutherford, "in admiration". Was this because AC was happy with MR's portrayal of MM? IMO Dame Rutherford's robust personality and her adventurous portrayals could not have been more in contrast with Jane Marple's slim, gentle, and "fly on the wall" personality portrayed in Christie's books. Rutherford's performances as Miss Marple were more like caricatures, and not convincing at all, as far as I am concerned.

ITV's Marple put into stories she didn't appear in

Luke — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 19:31:13 +0000

What are peoples views on this, that ITV took other AC stories and put Miss Marple in, should they have left them, or should there have been another series of AC that was specifically for non Poirot/Marple stories

The Innocents left behind

MarcWatson-Gray — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 18:52:16 +0000

Hi.Does anyone ever wonder what became of some of the characters in Miss Marple's stories (Or any Agatha Christie novel for that matter) For example: The Moving Finger...With Mona Symmington dead.Richard Symmington hanged (presumably) and Megan married to Jerry....I often wonder what became of the twins ??

Did they move away permanently to Boarding school ?

Did they grow up blindly blaming Megan and their mother for their father's behaviour ?

And did they return to Lymstock as adults to wreak revenge ??

Does anyone have any thoughts on other characters ?

DECEMBER'S BOOK OF THE MONTH

admin — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 17:12:49 +0000

4.50 from Paddington (in the US What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw) represents everything that we know and love about Agatha Christie’s mystery novels. We have the classic train journey from London into the English countryside; there’s a “did she or didn’t she see?” scenario in the first few pages when Mrs McGillicuddy thinks she saw a murder on an adjacent train – but how do you solve a crime that appears not to have happened?; there’s the familiar rambling stately home location; and of course all this is presided over by the indomitable Miss Marple.

Which is the best order to read the Miss Marple novels?

helsbels172 — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:11:22 +0000

Can anyone recommend the best order to read the Miss Marple books? I've read Murder at the vigarage so far. Some people say the publication order but some say read sleeping murder second as that was written after that one but wasn't published til alot later. I each case is seperate and can be read in any order but I want to read them in the order of how her life develops,her nephew,great niece etc Thanks

Miss Marple Tv Series Geraldine McEwan

curious greg — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 11:29:58 +0000

did Geraldine McEwan ever act in A Caribbean Mystery ....there is no record of it but I am extremely certain that she did ...can someone please help ...I think I am going crazy

I know Julia McKenzie acted in a recent adaptation and Joan Hickson starred in one in the 80s but Geraldine did one sometime between 2007 and 2009 ....thank you

curious greg

A murder is announced

mattjsweetlove — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:04:22 +0000

Hi there I just heard the good news that the University Kent Players are performing a Murder is Announced this coming October. It's being performed at the Gulbenkian at the Canterbury campus. I love this story and wanted everyone out there to know so they wouldn't miss out The story of an unusual announcement in the newspaper leads the curious villagers to Miss Blacklock's home, where they become withnesses to a murder. In true Agatha Christie style there are mixed motives, concealed identities, a determined inspector following the twists and turnsm and Miss Marple on hand to provide the final solution - at some risk to herself! The show is on from Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th October. Tickets sales are also going to charity (Age Ashford and Age Canterbury) Hope all can come and enjoy this excellent performance and discuss their love of Agatha Christie. see www.thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/theatre/2014/October/2014-10-08-09-10-11-a-murder-is-announced.html

A Miss Marple Collection

BrianBe — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 09:44:13 +0000

Can I ask if you are able to help me with this book........

The Complete Miss Marple, Limited to 500 copies, In special carrying case,red leather bound, over 4000 pages,mint.

The ISBN number is...9780007297191 and published by Harper Collins on the 20th May 2009. First Edition as stated.

I cannot find this book on any of the booksellers websites.

Can anyone give me some advice on this huge book.?
Many Thanks
Brian Behrman.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Miss-Marple/1431361063801876

Miss Jane Marple — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 19:05:05 +0000

Hello all,

I'm starting all over again with the first stories.... do pop over for a cup of tea if you have time....

INSIDE BERTRAM'S HOTEL

Rounak Ghosh — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 08:19:19 +0000

I have seen the TV versions of the novel several times and in fact did wonder whether it was worth my while reading the book.

I hadn't realised how much the story had been modified for television, with characters left out, and others inserted. There are a number of plot changes.

The main import of the novel is that nothing at Bertram's Hotel in 1955 is as its seems: all is a facade, from the appearance of the hotel, to the people who visit it, to the people who run it. Miss Marple realises that it is a mistake to try to step back to pre-war days. In fact the Bertram's Hotel she remembers is much older than that, a memory from her childhood.

The story also illustrates Agatha Christie's conviction of the prevalence of organised crime rings that underpinned facades of normality. The police inspector who carries out the investigation into Bertram's shady dealings and the disappearance of Canon Pennyfather is an avuncular old chap who has seen it all, but he is not the same as the bouncing lad of the television production. Nor is there the romantic element that TV gave us for public consumption.

I don't think Miss Marple comes out of thebook particularly well - Christie portrays her as an old busybody who eavesdrops on people's conversations when she can. On the other hand she does recognise evil when she sees it and she demonstrates an understanding of the foibles of the elderly. For example she knows that Canon Pennyfather had mistaken the day he should be flying to Lucerne, and when he returns to Bertram's Hotel, she instantly knows he is not the person she saw descending the stairs at 3 am.

So an interesting read. Perhaps not Christie's best.