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 longer title was used for the original British edition; the shorter title was used by the American publisher.
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[edit] Plot introduction
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.
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
The title comes from the poem The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
[edit] Plot summary
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 anecdote about how, years before, she had been ill, but had sneaked out to meet Marina and get her autograph. A terrible expression appeared on Marina's face as she heard this story, reminding a witness of the line from Tennyson's poem. Marina had always desperately wanted children but had found it difficult to conceive. However, after adopting three children, she had finally become 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.
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.[citation needed]
[edit] Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
There can be little doubt that Christie used the real-life tragedy of American actress Gene Tierney as the basis of her plot. As related in Tierney's autobiography (Self-Portrait, New York: Wyden, 1978, but well-publicized for years previously), in June 1943, while pregnant with her first child, Tierney came down with German measles, contracted during her only appearance at the Hollywood Canteen.[citation needed] The baby, Daria, was born prematurely, weighing only 3 pounds, 2 ounces, and requiring a total blood transfusion. The infant was also deaf, partially blind with cataracts, was severely retarded and ultimately had to be institutionalized. Some time after, Tierney learned from a fan who approached her for an autograph that the woman, who had been a member of the women's branch of the Marine Corps, had sneaked out of quarantine while sick with German measles to meet her at her Hollywood Canteen appearance. This incident, as well as the circumstances under which the actress was imparted the information, is repeated almost verbatum in the story.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
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).
