The Thirteen Problems

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The Thirteen Problems, originally published in 1933, and as The Tuesday Club Murders in 1982, is a collection of thirteen short stories by English author Agatha Christie. The stories feature her detective Miss Marple.

[edit] Plot

As in some of her other short story collections, Christie employs an over-arching narrative, making the book more like a novel. There are two sets of narrative, though they themselves interrelate. The first set of six are stories told by The Tuesday Night Club, a random gathering of young people, at which Miss Marple (by chance) happens to be at. Each week the group tell thrilling tales of mystery, which are always solved by Miss Marple, from the comfort of her armchair. One of the guests is Sir Henry Clithering, an ex-commisioner of Scotland Yard, and this allows Christie to resolve the story, with him usually pointing out that the criminals were caught. The next set occur as part of a dinner party Miss Marple is invited to by Sir Henry Clithering, partly as a result of her skill in the Tuesday Night Club. This employs a similar guessing game, and once more Miss Marple triumphs. The thirteenth story, Death by Drowning takes place the morning after the dinner party, and Miss Marple is called upon by Clithering to help in the investigation.

[edit] List of Stories

• The Tuesday Night Club
• The Idol House of Astarte
• Ingots of Gold
• The Blood-Stained Pavement
• Motive v. Opportunity
• The Thumb Mark of St. Peter
• The Blue Geranium
• The Companion
• The Four Suspects
• A Christmas Tragedy
• The Herb of Death
• The Affair at the Bungalow
• Death by Drowning

The stories can be loosely divided, with the first six as The Tuesday Night Murders, and the second six as The Dinner Party. The final story takes place the morning after the dinner party, and so can be collected there as well.

[edit] External links

• http://www.all-about-agatha-christie.com/the-thirteen-problems.html

Agatha Christie
Detectives: Hercule Poirot • Miss Marple • Tommy and Tuppence • Ariadne Oliver • Arthur Hastings • Superintendent Battle • Chief Inspector Japp • Parker Pyne
Novels: The Mysterious Affair at Styles • The Secret Adversary • Murder on the Links • The Man in the Brown Suit • The Secret of Chimneys • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd • The Big Four • The Mystery of the Blue Train • The Seven Dials Mystery • The Murder at the Vicarage • The Sittaford Mystery • Peril at End House • Lord Edgware Dies • Murder on the Orient Express • Three Act Tragedy • Why Didn't They Ask Evans? • Death in the Clouds • The A.B.C. Murders • Murder in Mesopotamia • Cards on the Table • Death on the Nile • Dumb Witness • Appointment with Death • And Then There Were None • Murder is Easy • Hercule Poirot's Christmas • Sad Cypress • Evil Under the Sun • N or M? • One, Two, Buckle My Shoe • The Body in the Library • Five Little Pigs • The Moving Finger • Towards Zero • Sparkling Cyanide • Death Comes as the End • The Hollow • Taken at the Flood • Crooked House • A Murder is Announced • They Came to Baghdad • Mrs McGinty's Dead • They Do It with Mirrors • A Pocket Full of Rye • After the Funeral • Hickory Dickory Dock • Destination Unknown • Dead Man's Folly • 4.50 From Paddington • Ordeal by Innocence • Cat Among the Pigeons • The Pale Horse • The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side • The Clocks • A Caribbean Mystery • At Bertram's Hotel • Third Girl • Endless Night • By the Pricking of My Thumbs • Hallowe'en Party • Passenger to Frankfurt • Nemesis • Elephants Can Remember • Postern of Fate • Curtain • Sleeping Murder
As Mary Westmacott: Giant's Bread • Unfinished Portrait • Absent in the Spring • The Rose and the Yew Tree • A Daughter's a Daughter • The Burden
Short story collections: Poirot Investigates • Partners in Crime • The Mysterious Mr. Quin • The Hound of Death • The Thirteen Problems • Parker Pyne Investigates • The Listerdale Mystery • Murder in the Mews • The Regatta Mystery • The Labours of Hercules • Poirot's Early Cases • The Harlequin Tea Set
Plays: Akhnaton • The Mousetrap • Witness for the Prosecution • Verdict • Rule of Three • Fiddlers Three