#16 – The Thirteen Problems

This collection contains two sets of six tales where a circle of friends each recounts a mysterious happening  which the others then have to solve, plus a final stand-alone story.

At Miss Marple’s home (published December 1927 – May 1928)

1.The Tuesday Night Club – Sir Henry Clithering’s tale of a domestic poisoning.

2. The Idol House of Astarte – Dr Pender’s tale of a supernatural grove.

3. Ingots of Gold – Raymond West’s tale of treasure hunting in Cornwall.

4. The Bloodstained Pavement – Joyce Lemprière’s tale of a Cornish legend come to life.

5. Motive v Opportunity – Mr Petherick’s tale of a vanishing will.

6. The Thumb Mark of St Peter – Miss Marple’s tale of a death in the family.

At the Bantrys’ home (published December 1929 – May 1930)

7. The Blue Geranium – Colonel Bantry’s tale of the flowers of death.

8. The Companion – Dr Lloyd’s tale of drowning abroad.

9. The Four Suspects – Sir Henry Clithering’s tale of the revenge of the Black Hand.

10. A Christmas Tragedy – Miss Marple’s tale of three festive deaths.

11. The Herb of Death – Mrs Bantry’s tale of a poisoning at the manor house.

12. The Affair at the Bungalow – Jane Helier’s tale of a “friend” and a strange burglary.

Stand-alone  (published in November 1931)

13. Death by Drowning – Sir Henry Clithering investigates at Miss Marple’s behest.

I enjoy the format of these stories – where one person recounts something that has happened to them, questions are asked, theories are proposed and refuted, before a suitable solution is reached (an excellent example is Isaac Asimov’s “Tales of the Black Widowers” where the waiter Henry takes the role of Miss Marple). 1 and 2 have the neatest solutions to my mind, and two of the stories have elements that end up in a later novel.

“The Four Suspects” best demonstrates Miss Marple’s feeling for human nature when she differs from Sir Henry in her view of who is most damaged by being under unfair suspicion.

Nothing exceptional in this collection but given the relative lack of Miss Marple novels her short stories should be in more demand than Poirot’s.

Recurring character development

Miss Marple

Has a niece called Mabel.

Dislikes staying in other people’s houses.

Had a maid called Clara and later one called Ethel.

Has some plate and a King Charles tankard which are stored at the bank when she is away from home.

Has no truck with doctors and their medicines.

Had the text “Ask and you will receive” above her bed as a girl and always says a little prayer when she is in bad trouble.

Has her grandmother’s recipe for tansy tea.

Has done a little nursing.

Suffers from rheumatism.

Believes strongly in capital punishment.

Signs of the Times

Mrs Jones asks for a bowl of cornflour which ends up being drunk by Miss Clark (1). I can find no definitive answer as to what this is but when I googled ” a bowl of cornflour” the top results related to Agatha Christie readers asking the same question relating to the same story!

Miss Clark is “banting” (1). William Banting was a 19th century undertaker. He lost weight under the advice of William Harvey, who had learned from Frenchman Claude Bernard, by restricting the amount of carbohydrates in his diet, especially those of a starchy or sugary nature. He publicised his success in the 1863 pamphlet “Letter on Corpulence, Address to the Public”, hence banting became the term for following his method.

Diana Ashley was one of the beauties of the Season (2). The Season was the time of year when elite families lived in London, as opposed to on their country estates. This coincided with the sitting of Parliament and lasted from after Christmas until midsummer. It peaked during the 19th century and then declined after World War I.

Miss Marple refers to the marks of St Peter’s thumb on a haddock (6). A haddock has a dark oval mark below its dorsal fin. The legend is that this is where Peter held the fish when he took a coin from its mouth to pay the Temple tax (Matthew 17: 24-27).

The two English ladies would “see what they wished to see, assisted by Baedeker, and be blind to everything else” (8). Karl Baedeker (1801 – 1859) was a German publisher and pioneer in the field of travel guides. The brand is still in use today.

Miss Marple was staying at a Hydro (10). This is short for a Hydropathic Spa, where customers would be able to take the water-cure, a range of treatment using hot and cold water, thought to treat many ailments.

Miss Marple says that an Egyptologist can tell by feel whether a scarab is genuine or a Birmingham imitation (10).  The city of Birmingham has a long history of jewellery manufacturing, some of which was either shoddy or deliberately counterfeit, giving rise to the term “Brummagem ware” – Brummagem being a local dialect name for the city. The implication here is of a cheap copy.

Jane Helier is acting in “Smith” by Somerset Maugham (12). “Smith” is a 1909 comedy in four parts. W. Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965) was a British playwright, novelist, and short story writer.

The expression “trying it on the dog” is used (12). This refers to refining a dramatic work, probably in a provincial location, before bringing it to a major stage e.g. London or New York.

Use of the word “pother” which could have been a typo for “bother” (13). Here it means a fuss or commotion.

Colonel Melchett believes that Sandford’s architectural style shows that he is a Bolshie i.e. Bolshevik, Communist (13).

References to previous works

Dr Haydock (The Murder at the Vicarage) has replaced Dr Lloyd by the time of the final story.

Vintage Reading Challenge

Published in the USA as “The Tuesday Club Murders” so fulfils “What – book published under more than one title”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#15 – Peril at End House

Nick Buckley, owner of the titular End House, has been the subject of a number of near-fatal accidents and is then almost killed under the very eyes of the holidaying Hercule Poirot.

He is determined to protect her but then murder is done. Having failed once is he able to redeem himself by catching a clever and cold-blooded killer?

One of my earliest Poirot’s and probably my most often read, watched and listened to, and still one of my favourites.

I can’t say more as I haven’t yet figured out how to put more description in the top part of my posts because I feel anything I say (or don’t say) will reveal something. Next time I read a new book, I think I will try to write the first half of the review half-way through my reading as then I won’t know what may or may not be a spoiler!

Recurring character development

Hercule Poirot

Is still retired and declines the Home Secretary’s request for help.

Asks Nick Buckley if she has read his books. Whether these are his own writings or Hastings publications is unclear.

Can identify that a bullet has been fired from a Mauser pistol.

Clings to the Continental breakfast and is distressed to see Hastings eating bacon and eggs.

Has not seen Inspector Japp since before “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”.

Has never disguised himself in the course of his investigations.

Captain Hastings

Has grown a moustache but it is not up to Poirot’s standards.

Has had malaria in the past and consequently has occasional bouts of fever.

Signs of the Times

Michael Seton is attempting a solo round-the-world flight. An American team using multiple planes had flown around the world in 1924, but it was not until 1933 that a solo trip in a single plane was accomplished by the American Wiley Post.

Hastings says that Michael Seton’s endeavours make him feel it is worth being an Englishman to which Poirot responds that it consoles for the defeats at Wimbledon. In 1932 when this book was published there hadn’t been British winners of the Singles since Arthur Gore in 1909 and Kitty Godfree in 1926. In 1934 there was a British double for Fred Perry and Dorothy Round.

Jim Lazarus asks when Nick Buckley is going to get her Moth. The Moths were a series of aeroplanes made by de Havilland in the 1920s and 30s but Moth was used in the UK to refer to any type of light aircraft.

He then says that she will be off to Australia like that girl, but has forgotten her name. This must be Amy Johnson who became the first aviatrix to fly from Britain to Australia in 1930.

The phrase “being in the Mrs. Harris-like position of ‘there ain’t no such person'” is used. This is a reference to Charles Dickens’ “Martin Chuzzlewit” where Mrs. Gamp tells stories of how she has helped Mrs. Harris over the years until her friend Betsey Prig realises that no such person exists.

References to previous works

Separately, Poirot and Mrs Croft mention “The Mystery of the Blue Train”, the previous book in the series.

Hastings tells Nick Buckley how Poirot solved “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”.

Poirot refers to his failure in the affair of the box of chocolates, which is recounted in “Poirot’s Early Cases”, a 1975 anthology.

Vintage Reading Challenge

A murder occurs during a firework display so fulfils “When – during a special event”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#15 – Peril at End House – WITH SPOILERS

Nick Buckley, owner of the titular End House, has been the subject of a number of near-fatal accidents and is then almost killed under the very eyes of the holidaying Hercule Poirot.

He is determined to protect her but then murder is done. Having failed once is he able to redeem himself by catching a clever and cold-blooded killer?

One of my earliest Poirot’s and probably my most often read, watched and listened to, and still one of my favourites.

I can’t say more as I haven’t yet figured out how to put more description in the top part of my posts because I feel anything I say (or don’t say) will reveal something. Next time I read a new book, I think I will try to write the first half of the review half-way through my reading as then I won’t know what may or may not be a spoiler!

Recurring character development

Hercule Poirot

Is still retired and declines the Home Secretary’s request for help.

Asks Nick Buckley if she has read his books. Whether these are his own writings or Hastings publications is unclear.

Can identify that a bullet has been fired from a Mauser pistol.

Clings to the Continental breakfast and is distressed to see Hastings eating bacon and eggs.

Has not seen Inspector Japp since before “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”.

Has never disguised himself in the course of his investigations.

Captain Hastings

Has grown a moustache but it is not up to Poirot’s standards.

Has had malaria in the past and consequently has occasional bouts of fever.

Signs of the Times

Michael Seton is attempting a solo round-the-world flight. An American team using multiple planes had flown around the world in 1924, but it was not until 1933 that a solo trip in a single plane was accomplished by the American Wiley Post.

Hastings says that Michael Seton’s endeavours make him feel it is worth being an Englishman to which Poirot responds that it consoles for the defeats at Wimbledon. In 1932 when this book was published there hadn’t been British winners of the Singles since Arthur Gore in 1909 and Kitty Godfree in 1926. In 1934 there was a British double for Fred Perry and Dorothy Round.

Jim Lazarus asks when Nick Buckley is going to get her Moth. The Moths were a series of aeroplanes made by de Havilland in the 1920s and 30s but Moth was used in the UK to refer to any type of light aircraft.

He then says that she will be off to Australia like that girl, but has forgotten her name. This must be Amy Johnson who became the first aviatrix to fly from Britain to Australia in 1930.

The phrase “being in the Mrs. Harris-like position of ‘there ain’t no such person'” is used. This is a reference to Charles Dickens’ “Martin Chuzzlewit” where Mrs. Gamp tells stories of how she has helped Mrs. Harris over the years until her friend Betsey Prig realises that no such person exists.

References to previous works

Separately, Poirot and Mrs Croft mention “The Mystery of the Blue Train”, the previous book in the series.

Hastings tells Nick Buckley how Poirot solved “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”.

Poirot refers to his failure in the affair of the box of chocolates, which is recounted in “Poirot’s Early Cases”, a 1975 anthology.

Vintage Reading Challenge

A murder occurs during a firework display so fulfils “When – during a special event”.

SPOILERS

The next one in our series of the killer was never even included in the list of suspects because it’s “The One Where the Intended Victim Did It”.

As I’ve said, this was an early read, so I was completely taken in, but the set-up is beautiful.

Nick Buckley doesn’t come to Poirot for help – she doesn’t even know who is – rather he has to persuade her that the danger is real and that she is in need of protection.

There is no motive – until Nick reveals her relationship with Michael Seton – and here again it is Poirot who makes the running by finding the love letter confirming that he has made a will (and a wonderful fair-play clue that is entirely truthful but which is read as the author intends) remembering that her name was really Magdala.

We are told by a number of her friends that Nick is a liar, but we disbelieve them, or perhaps feel that she is the girl who cried wolf. Until Poirot realises that her friends are right – Nick Buckley is a cunning sociopath who has lead him up the garden path.

And so he stages his play. He always said there was a J, and J duly appears, but then he reveals there is also a K, but that they are not just another J.

I am amazed at the intricacies of the plotting such as Nick’s appendicitis which causes the Crofts’ to forge a will, making them credible suspects, but which is also used as evidence against Nick because it isn’t mentioned in Seton’s letters. Having a character called Frederica/Freddie so that it can be discussed compared to Margaret/Maggie/Margot/Madge/Peggy.

At the end we see Poirot’s mercy (mentioned in a previous post) as he allows Nick to take the wrist-watch full of cocaine. In the book he reveals this after the police have left but in the David Suchet adaptation Japp is still present but unrealistically is not perturbed by this information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#14 – The Sittaford Mystery

Six people conduct a séance at the remote Sittaford House. All is fun and games until “TREVELYAN DEAD MURDER” is spelled out. In the absence of a telephone, and despite a snowstorm, Major Burnaby is determined to check that no ill has befallen Captain Trevelyan, but when he arrives at his friend’s house in Exhampton he receives no answer. The police find the house broken into and Trevelyan bludgeoned to death, quite possibly at the exact time of the supernatural message.

This is a stand-alone mystery with the sleuthing being done by a local inspector (for the first time in a Christie, I believe, we see detective work from a police perspective), a journalist (following in the tradition of Gaston Leroux’s “The Mystery of the Yellow Room”, E. C. Bentley’s “Trent’s Last Case”, and J. S. Fletcher’s “The Middle Temple Murder”), and the fiancée of the prime suspect.

This split of activity keeps things moving along as relatives and villagers are interviewed and as answers are sought to the questions, among others, of why the Willetts paid an exorbitant rent for a lonely property, who is the mysterious Mr Duke, and what is missing from Trevelyan’s house?

I only read this for the first time last year in an English version published in Russia where the number of footnotes served to illustrate how idiomatic language is. Somehow I already knew who the killer was, but I was still surprised by one element, and so having never having had the wool pulled over my eyes I find it hard to properly rate this book but I do like it more than some of the titles I read earlier in the year.

Signs of the Times

The story is set in 1928.

A reference to Xmas cards. I had thought that this was a fairly modern word, but it dates back to at least the 18^th century. It turns out that Xρ and Xt have been used as abbreviations for Christ since the eleventh century.

Major Burnaby wears a British Warm. This is a military greatcoat from World War I with the Scottish firm Crombie’s claiming to have coined the term for their version.

Major Burnaby once won the Army Racquets Championship. Racquets is the forerunner of squash; the main difference is that it is played with a hard ball as opposed to a rubber ball.

Mr Rycroft is a member of the Psychical Research Society. The Society for Psychical Research was founded in 1882 and continues to publish a quarterly journal and the magazine, Paranormal Review.

Major Burnaby has fond memories of playing “Up Jenkins” – as do I. In this game, two teams sit opposite each other across a table. One team passes a coin between themselves until the other team calls “Up Jenkins” whereupon they raise their closed fists above the table. “Down Jenkins” is then called and they have to slam their hands palm down on the table, whilst trying to disguise the sound of the coin. The other team then try to guess which hand the coin is in by a process of elimination.

Robert Gardner tells Nurse Davis to have her tea at Boots on him. Boots is a pharmacy chain founded in 1883 and I was unaware that it had ever had cafés, but a little research shows that it also had a lending library service from 1898 until 1966 (local councils became required to provide libraries from 1964). I’ve just realised that a secondhand book that I recently bought has their sticker on the front.

Charles Enderby considers asking for opinions on the séance from Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The former was a physicist involved in the development of the radio; the latter best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Both lost sons in World War I which increased their interest in spiritualism.

Mrs Belling bought “The Syringa Murders” at Woolworth’s. The former is a fictional book; the latter started as a five and dime store in the USA in 1878, with the first British branch opening in Livcrpool in 1909. The UK stores all closed December 2008 – January 2009.

Mrs Curtis says that one of King Charles’ men hid from Cromwell’s men in Pixie’s Cave. A similar story is referenced in the 1887 “A Handbook for Travellers in Devon”.

Martin Dering’s alibi could be on the Mauretania or the Berengaria somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. RMS Mauretania was built in 1906 for the Cunard Line, held both Eastward and Westward Atlantic crossing speed records, before being decommissioned in 1934 and scrapped in 1935. SS Imperator was built for the German Hamburg American Line in 1912, was briefly used by the US Navy following World War I, before being transferred to the Cunard Line as part of war reparations and renamed RMS Berengaria. The ship was decommissioned in 1938 and scrapped in 1946.

For his nocturnal adventure, Charles Enderby completes his toilet after the model of Tweedledee. This refers to Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There” where Tweedledum and Tweedledee bring Alice “bolsters, blankets, hearth-rugs, table-cloths, dish-covers and coal scuttles” so that they can prepare for battle. Alice remarks that “they’ll be more like bundles of old clothes than anything else, by the time they’re ready”. The implication is that he must have been wrapped up warmly in a number of layers of clothing, which for December is not surprising.

Reference is made to the Phidias. This ship was built in 1913 and was sunk in 1941 by a German U-boat.

Vintage Reading Challenge

The murder occurs during a snowstorm so fulfils “When – during a weather event”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#14 – The Sittaford Mystery – WITH SPOILERS

Six people conduct a séance at the remote Sittaford House. All is fun and games until “TREVELYAN DEAD MURDER” is spelled out. In the absence of a telephone, and despite a snowstorm, Major Burnaby is determined to check that no ill has befallen Captain Trevelyan, but when he arrives at his friend’s house in Exhampton he receives no answer. The police find the house broken into and Trevelyan bludgeoned to death, quite possibly at the exact time of the supernatural message.

This is a stand-alone mystery with the sleuthing being done by a local inspector (for the first time in a Christie, I believe, we see detective work from a police perspective), a journalist (following in the tradition of Gaston Leroux’s “The Mystery of the Yellow Room”, E. C. Bentley’s “Trent’s Last Case”, and J. S. Fletcher’s “The Middle Temple Murder”), and the fiancée of the prime suspect.

This split of activity keeps things moving along as relatives and villagers are interviewed and as answers are sought to the questions, among others, of why the Willetts paid an exorbitant rent for a lonely property, who is the mysterious Mr Duke, and what is missing from Trevelyan’s house?

I only read this for the first time last year in an English version published in Russia where the number of footnotes served to illustrate how idiomatic language is. Somehow I already knew who the killer was, but I was still surprised by one element, and so having never having had the wool pulled over my eyes I find it hard to properly rate this book but I do like it more than some of the titles I read earlier in the year.

Signs of the Times

The story is set in 1928.

A reference to Xmas cards. I had thought that this was a fairly modern word, but it dates back to at least the 18^th century. It turns out that Xρ and Xt have been used as abbreviations for Christ since the eleventh century.

Major Burnaby wears a British Warm. This is a military greatcoat from World War I with the Scottish firm Crombie’s claiming to have coined the term for their version.

Major Burnaby once won the Army Racquets Championship. Racquets is the forerunner of squash; the main difference is that it is played with a hard ball as opposed to a rubber ball.

Mr Rycroft is a member of the Psychical Research Society. The Society for Psychical Research was founded in 1882 and continues to publish a quarterly journal and the magazine, Paranormal Review.

Major Burnaby has fond memories of playing “Up Jenkins” – as do I. In this game, two teams sit opposite each other across a table. One team passes a coin between themselves until the other team calls “Up Jenkins” whereupon they raise their closed fists above the table. “Down Jenkins” is then called and they have to slam their hands palm down on the table, whilst trying to disguise the sound of the coin. The other team then try to guess which hand the coin is in by a process of elimination.

Robert Gardner tells Nurse Davis to have her tea at Boots on him. Boots is a pharmacy chain founded in 1883 and I was unaware that it had ever had cafés, but a little research shows that it also had a lending library service from 1898 until 1966 (local councils became required to provide libraries from 1964). I’ve just realised that a secondhand book that I recently bought has their sticker on the front.

Charles Enderby considers asking for opinions on the séance from Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The former was a physicist involved in the development of the radio; the latter best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Both lost sons in World War I which increased their interest in spiritualism.

Mrs Belling bought “The Syringa Murders” at Woolworth’s. The former is a fictional book; the latter started as a five and dime store in the USA in 1878, with the first British branch opening in Livcrpool in 1909. The UK stores all closed December 2008 – January 2009.

Mrs Curtis says that one of King Charles’ men hid from Cromwell’s men in Pixie’s Cave. A similar story is referenced in the 1887 “A Handbook for Travellers in Devon”.

Martin Dering’s alibi could be on the Mauretania or the Berengaria somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. RMS Mauretania was built in 1906 for the Cunard Line, held both Eastward and Westward Atlantic crossing speed records, before being decommissioned in 1934 and scrapped in 1935. SS Imperator was built for the German Hamburg American Line in 1912, was briefly used by the US Navy following World War I, before being transferred to the Cunard Line as part of war reparations and renamed RMS Berengaria. The ship was decommissioned in 1938 and scrapped in 1946.

For his nocturnal adventure, Charles Enderby completes his toilet after the model of Tweedledee. This refers to Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There” where Tweedledum and Tweedledee bring Alice “bolsters, blankets, hearth-rugs, table-cloths, dish-covers and coal scuttles” so that they can prepare for battle. Alice remarks that “they’ll be more like bundles of old clothes than anything else, by the time they’re ready”. The implication is that he must have been wrapped up warmly in a number of layers of clothing, which for December is not surprising.

Reference is made to the Phidias. This ship was built in 1913 and was sunk in 1941 by a German U-boat.

Vintage Reading Challenge

The murder occurs during a snowstorm so fulfils “When – during a weather event”.

SPOILERS

The key to this one is, as with a lot of Christie’s, if you ignore all the window dressing what has actually happened. Here Major Burnaby, although he has no plans to visit Captain Trevelyan due to the snow, ends up doing so, therefore there must be something suspect about him.

The motive is cleverly obscured because the competition prize could be seen as a plot device to introduce the journalist as one of the three sleuths and to have no significance beyond that.

It is the motive that sheds light upon the relationship between the Major and the Captain and hints at a darker reality. The Captain, rich and successful but with a miserly streak, lives in the big house that he has built for himself, whilst the poor Major, financially gullible, lives at his gates in a small cottage. The Captain rubs salt in the wound by using the Major’s address for his competition entries, due to his belief that a more common address is more likely to be selected as the winner, but ultimately this gives rise to his death.

The Major receives the letter notifying him of the win and he thinks on it during the day; he wants the money but how can he secure it? We don’t know if he has any other plan in mind – the table-turning is not his idea – but here we see that despite his reactionary character he is a man of action. During the séance he was “thinking of the snow. It was going to snow again this evening” and suddenly it comes to him – an unlikely, yet still plausible reason for visiting the Captain, whilst maintaining an alibi for the time of the crime. If for any reason he is seen on the journey down, he can call the whole thing off; the only risk is being seen leaving the house and making his way back to the main road. So he acts immediately, and to gain a significant sum of money kills his best friend, but a friend in whose shadow he has lived for most of his life, a friend he has come to envy, and probably to hate.

Two words are key to keeping this a fair play mystery – “as though”. After knocking at Trevelyan’s door and receiving no answer we are told that “The Major desisted. He stood for a moment as though perplexed – then he slowly went down the path”. If we had been told he stood there perplexed, that would be unfair – he isn’t perplexed, he knows why no one is answering – but we ignore the “as though” and believe that he is perplexed. I will be looking out for more of this type of phrasing in my ongoing reading.

As for the bit that surprised me, even though Emily Trefusis makes it clear that she will do anything to prove Jim Pearson’s innocence, like Charles Enderby, I was sure she had fallen for him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#13 – The Murder at the Vicarage

Colonel Protheroe is shot dead in the vicarage study, which is unfortunate as the vicar recently proclaimed that anyone who killed him would be doing the world a service.

There are two early confessions, made for the best of reasons, but easily proved to be false.

With the aggressive Inspector Slack putting everyone’s backs up, mysterious comings and goings in the local wood, and a number of malicious phone calls, can Miss Marple succeed in her first live investigation?

Whilst Miss Marple had already demonstrated her deductive ability in solving the first twelve of “The Thirteen Problems” (only published in book form after this novel and so will be reviewed later this month) those were cosy fireside chats with friends – here she has a ringside seat in a case involving her friends and acquaintances.

For some reason, this didn’t make much impression on me when I first read it, apart from the identity of the killer, and although the solution is clever, it still doesn’t excite me like I feel it should. Perhaps it didn’t excite Christie too much as Miss Marple didn’t get a second novel for another twelve years.

Recurring character development

Miss Jane Marple

Is “the worst cat in the village and she always knows every single thing that happens – and draws the worst inferences from it” but “has, at least, a sense of humour”.

Is “a white haired old lady with a gentle, appealing manner”.

Whilst Miss Wetherby is a mixture of vinegar and gush, Miss Marple is much the more dangerous.

Lives, conveniently, next door to the vicarage and to Dr Haydock.

Makes cherry brandy using her grandmother’s recipe.

Watches birds using field glasses.

Makes Japanese rock gardens.

Has a maid called Emily.

Her hobby “is – and always has been – Human Nature”.

Has read a lot of American detective stories in the hope that they might give her a pointer.

Inspector Slack

Is “a dark man, restless and energetic in manner, with black eyes that snap ceaselessly”.

Has “a rude and overbearing manner”.

Raymond West

A novelist and poet and nephew of Miss Marple.

An “exquisite young man who prides himself on his poise and air of general detachment”.

Signs of the Times

Griselda wishes that the vicar would embezzle the SPG funds. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was a Church of England missionary organisation founded in 1701. It has undergone a number of name changes and from 2016 has been called United Society Partners in the Gospel.

Griselda has been reading “The Stain on the Stairs”, a fictional title, which was later used for the title of a book written by J. B. Fletcher in the TV series “Murder, She Wrote”.

There is old silver at the Old Hall, including trencher salts and a Charles II tazza. The former are salt cellars to go at each place setting; the latter a wide, shallow dish mounted on a stem or foot.

Miss Cram came to offer to help with the Guides. The Girl Guides were formed in 1910 by Agnes Baden-Powell, following the succes of the Boy Scouts formed by her brother, Robert.

Dr Haydock believes that there may be no such thing as right and wrong and that it could be down to glandular secretions; thus capital punishment is inherently wrong and medical treatment would be more appropriate than punishment. I don’t know how prevalent such ideas were at the time, but it is an ongoing question – how much of criminal behaviour is influenced by nature and/or nurture and to what degree are individuals responsible for their actions.

Reference is made obliquely to one of G. K. Chesterton’s most famous Father Brown stories.

References to previous works

St Mary Mead was the original home of Katherine Grey in The Mystery of the Blue Train. In that book the local doctor is Harris, but here it is Haydock, who does not seem to be a newcomer. The attitude of the vicar’s wife also does not match that of Griselda, and again the Clements do not seem to be newcomers.

Vintage Reading Challenge

Set in St Mary Mead this fulfils “Where – set in a small village”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#13 – The Murder at the Vicarage – WITH SPOILERS

Colonel Protheroe is shot dead in the vicarage study, which is unfortunate as the vicar recently proclaimed that anyone who killed him would be doing the world a service.

There are two early confessions, made for the best of reasons, but easily proved to be false.

With the aggressive Inspector Slack putting everyone’s backs up, mysterious comings and goings in the local wood, and a number of malicious phone calls, can Miss Marple succeed in her first live investigation?

Whilst Miss Marple had already demonstrated her deductive ability in solving the first twelve of “The Thirteen Problems” (only published in book form after this novel and so will be reviewed later this month) those were cosy fireside chats with friends – here she has a ringside seat in a case involving her friends and acquaintances.

For some reason, this didn’t make much impression on me when I first read it, apart from the identity of the killer, and although the solution is clever, it still doesn’t excite me like I feel it should. Perhaps it didn’t excite Christie too much as Miss Marple didn’t get a second novel for another twelve years.

Recurring character development

Miss Jane Marple

Is “the worst cat in the village and she always knows every single thing that happens – and draws the worst inferences from it” but “has, at least, a sense of humour”.

Is “a white haired old lady with a gentle, appealing manner”.

Whilst Miss Wetherby is a mixture of vinegar and gush, Miss Marple is much the more dangerous.

Lives, conveniently, next door to the vicarage and to Dr Haydock.

Makes cherry brandy using her grandmother’s recipe.

Watches birds using field glasses.

Makes Japanese rock gardens.

Has a maid called Emily.

Her hobby “is – and always has been – Human Nature”.

Has read a lot of American detective stories in the hope that they might give her a pointer.

Inspector Slack

Is “a dark man, restless and energetic in manner, with black eyes that snap ceaselessly”.

Has “a rude and overbearing manner”.

Raymond West

A novelist and poet and nephew of Miss Marple.

An “exquisite young man who prides himself on his poise and air of general detachment”.

Signs of the Times

Griselda wishes that the vicar would embezzle the SPG funds. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was a Church of England missionary organisation founded in 1701. It has undergone a number of name changes and from 2016 has been called United Society Partners in the Gospel.

Griselda has been reading “The Stain on the Stairs”, a fictional title, which was later used for the title of a book written by J. B. Fletcher in the TV series “Murder, She Wrote”.

There is old silver at the Old Hall, including trencher salts and a Charles II tazza. The former are salt cellars to go at each place setting; the latter a wide, shallow dish mounted on a stem or foot.

Miss Cram came to offer to help with the Guides. The Girl Guides were formed in 1910 by Agnes Baden-Powell, following the succes of the Boy Scouts formed by her brother, Robert.

Dr Haydock believes that there may be no such thing as right and wrong and that it could be down to glandular secretions; thus capital punishment is inherently wrong and medical treatment would be more appropriate than punishment. I don’t know how prevalent such ideas were at the time, but it is an ongoing question – how much of criminal behaviour is influenced by nature and/or nurture and to what degree are individuals responsible for their actions.

Reference is made obliquely to one of G. K. Chesterton’s most famous Father Brown stories.

References to previous works

St Mary Mead was the original home of Katherine Grey in The Mystery of the Blue Train. In that book the local doctor is Harris, but here it is Haydock, who does not seem to be a newcomer. The attitude of the vicar’s wife also does not match that of Griselda, and again the Clements do not seem to be newcomers.

Vintage Reading Challenge

Set in St Mary Mead this fulfils “Where – set in a small village”.

SPOILERS

“The One Where the Two Who Confess Individually Did It Together”: in my mind the second Christie of the type where due to a basic, justifiable, but ultimately flawed assumption, the murderer isn’t even considered a potential suspect.

Like many other Christie villains, the killers try to make the detective their dupe, here by ensuring that Miss Marple is the one who sees Anne Protheroe entering the vicarage, who then states unprompted that she couldn’t have been carrying the murder weapon and that her confession is therefore false.

When starting a series to-be-recurring characters can be legitimate suspects and I felt that Dr Haydock was being set up as a suspect with his views on criminal treatment being a possible self-justification for the crime that he committed. I enjoyed his swift about-turn when confronted with what the murderers’ actual scheme.