The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
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The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (published in 1962), also known just as The Mirror Crack'd is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie set in the fictional English village of St. Mary Mead, featuring Miss Jane Marple.
The title comes from the poem The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
[edit] Plot
Miss Marple investigates the murder of Heather Badcock, who consumed a poisoned cocktail apparently meant for American film actress Marina Gregg, Heather's idol. As Marple investigates, she discovers dark secrets in Marina's past, secrets which also link to other seemingly innocent citizens of St. Mary Mead.
Because Marina Gregg gave Heather Badcock her own drink shortly after meeting her it was assumed that Marina Gregg must have been the intended victim. Also Marina was much more famous and correspondingly more likely to be a target. However, it eventually becomes apparent that Marina herself poisoned the drink and intended to kill Heather Badcock. Discovering the murderer is also complicated because the motive is so obscure. When Heather Badcock met Marina Gregg, she told her her favourite annecdote. When Heather was younger she was quarantined for a minor illness but she snuck out to meet Marina anyway. Marina had always desperately wanted children but had found it difficult to conceive. However, after adopting a child she was then pregnant. But when her baby was born it was found to be mentally retarded and was abandoned to a lifetime of institutions, leaving Marina emotionally scarred. (This is explored in a subplot where a terrible expression comes over Marina's face while she happens to see a picture of the Madonna and Child. After much speculation it is finally agreed that she was simply shocked by the 'mother and child' image).
Miss Marple later deduces what Marina instantly realised. Heather's minor illness was German measles she infected Marina and caused the mental retardation, and effectively the 'loss', of her only child. Marina then murders Heather for revenge.
The Name "Gregg" is an allusion to Norman McAllister Gregg who discovered the Congenital rubella syndrome.
[edit] Origins of the plot
Some have speculated that Christie used the real life tragedy of actress Gene Tierney to construct her fictional plot, as the motive behind the murder is similar to an incident that happened to her.
[edit] Film versions
The novel has twice been adapted for television:
- The Mirror Crack'd (1980 film starring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple), with Elizabeth Taylor and Kim Novak.
- The Mirror Crack'd (1992 TV film starring Joan Hickson as Miss Marple).
