Talk:Miss Marple

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Moved Jane Marple to Miss Marple because that's what she's better known as. -- Lee M

Parts of this page appear to be suspected copyrighted material; the text can be found at [1] but the copyrighted material needs to be unpicked from the non-copyrighted material. -- Graham ☺ | Talk 22:34, 6 Sep 2004 (UTC)

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[edit] tueday club murders

The book of Miss Marple mysteries 'The Tuesday Club Murders' is missing from the list of texts. It is supposedly the second volume to feature Miss Marple (this claim needs authentication). an outline might be made of the titles of these short stories and the characters featured. Additionally, Audio Partners Publishing <www.audiopartners.com> has produced a number of Miss Marple mysteries read by Joan Hickson. Mention might be made of these audio renditions, and others (if there are others).

[edit] Comparisons

Mention may be made of the contrasts between Miss Marple and Agatha Christie's other famous detective - Hercule Poirot. One could even say that Miss Marple is in fact Christie's signet character, since aspects of Poirot are a humorous caricature of Sherlock Holmes.

While Poirot is a financially well-off professional, Miss Marple is a few shades away from genteel poverty. In They do it with mirrors Miss Marple plays the part of a hard up elderly spinster, and that she does it convincingly is not because she is a great actor.

Where Poirot is vain and boastful, Miss Marple is quietly confident behind her "Oh, I'm so sorry" diffidence. It is my personal regret that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd did not feature Miss Marple, certainly the 'best' Christie villain deserved the better Christie detective!

Poirot often needs the Watson-like Hastings to serve as his foil, while Miss Marple operates by herself, betraying none of her confidences to those around her.

Yet, behind these contrasts, both Poirot and Miss Marple are individuals with strong belief systems of right and wrong, best summed up in the words of Mr.Rafiel.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.92.149.201 (talk • contribs)

I agree with you entirely about these contrasts (although on thinking about it, wasn't Poirot in a fairly bad financial state when he first arrived in England?), but it's important to remember that Wikipedia isn't here to provide direct comments and criticism. Our opinions, as editors, are irrelevant. See the page about Original Research for some more information. --JennyRad 19:21, 9 July 2006 (UTC)
Poirot apparently had been forced to depart Belgium for England in rather a hurry, ahead of the invading Germans in 1914. Few war refugees have good finanical resources, and Poirot had been living on the salary of a Police Inspector up until that time. the wealth he acquired later was from the work he did as a private investigator in England, exercising his "little gray cells" for the benefit of the wealthy and powerful in distress. THEN he entered the retirement that enabled him to travel to extensively. As for Jane Marple's "genteel poverty", the question I pose below may provide an insight -- or it may be that, in the Christie tradition, the producers of the new TV series have provided a tantalizing but misleading red herring. Michael Hopcroft 07:23, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Subtext in The McEwan Series?

One thing I have noticed about the new Grenada TV series is that most of the episodes I have seen have included a distinctive lesbian subtext. The Stilltford Mystery even features a young protege of Miss Marple who, at the end of the story, comes out as lesbian after her apprenticeship in amateur detective work. Is this something the producers inserted for their own reasons, or do serious Christie scholars see something similar in the original stories? Michael Hopcroft 07:17, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I don't remember much about The Sittaford Mystery except that it bore barely any relation to the book! However, the lesbian relationship in A Murder Is Announced is certainly implied in the novel - it's not a new element introduced by the screenwriters. (And I do like the phrase "serious Christie scholars".) Tobelia 21:13, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Source for claim about past

"Despite never having been married, The Murder at the Vicarage sheds light on a young Miss Marple. She reveals that she once loved a married man who wanted to leave his wife for her. He was called to World War I and Miss Marple made him promise not to have a divorce. He was killed in the war and Miss Marple never married." I do not recall any such passage in this book, which I re-read as recently as 6 weeks ago. Can anyone verify this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dgcuff (talk • contribs) 16:32, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

I seem to recall that it was a contrivance for the absolutely godawful ITV series "Marple". I'm almost certain it doesn't occur in the book, and unless someone can prove otherwise I suggest the claim be deleted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.19.1.165 (talk) 01:24, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

I am positive that this statement does not appear in any of the Miss Marple books and it should be removed. Special:Contributions 01:24, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unlisted book title: Thirteen Clues for Miss Marple

Amazon.com has the book "Thirteen Clues for Miss Marple" listed here: http://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Clues-Marple-Agatha-Christie/dp/0440187559 This title is not listed in this article nor in the Agatha Christie article. Looking at her other titles led me to suspect it is yet another name for "The Thirteen Problems (from the Miss Marple series)" aka "The Tuesday Club Murders." Googling "Clues for Miss Marple" brings up several pages that describe it as a collection of short stories, such as this one: http://www.loc.gov/nls/bibliographies/minibibs/achristie.html With this info I have very little doubt this is the same book, but can someone say for sure?Benbradley (talk) 04:40, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

According to Robert Barnard's book "A talent to Deceive - an appreciation of Agatha Christie", 13 clues was first published by Dodd Mead & Co in 1966 and the paperback version by Dell in 1967. It was not a reprint of 13 problems but instead featured the following stories (list that follows is alphabetical and probably not the order in the book itself):

  • The Bloodstained Pavement (from 13 problems)
  • The Blue Geranium (from 13 problems)
  • The Case of the Caretaker (from 3 Blind Mice - US - and Miss M's Final Cases - UK)
  • The Case of the Perfect Maid (from 3 Blind Mice - US - and Miss M's Final Cases - UK)
  • The Companion (from 13 problems)
  • The Four Suspects (from 13 problems)
  • Greenshaw's Folly (from Adventure of Xmas Pudding - UK - and Double Sin - US)
  • The Herb of Death (from 13 problems)
  • Motive v. Opportunity (from 13 problems)
  • Sanctuary (from Double Sin - US - and Miss M's Final Cases - UK)
  • Strange Jest (from 3 Blind Mice - US - and Miss M's Final Cases - UK)
  • The Tape Measure Murder (from 3 Blind Mice - US - and Miss M's Final Cases - UK)
  • The Thumb Mark of Saint Peter (from 13 problems)

Hope this helps--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 20:08, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Age

Deleted attempt to rationalise her age as late 50s in the first book. Text was

"About thirty years pass between her first and last mysteries ... . It would be safe to assume that Miss Marple was only about fifty or sixty in A Murder at the Vicarage, which would not be old by modern standards but would have been considered elderly in the 1930's. This would make Miss Marple about eighty or ninety in her final mysteries."

Actually it's 38 years from the first story in a magazine to At Bertram's Hotel, even discounting Sleeping Murder. And Christie wrote that she made a mistake making her so old, so I think it's safe to assume she was (genuinely) elderly at the start, at the youngest mid 60s (standards of age have not changed that much.) In any case, barring citation I don't think this text is reasonable and anyway it seems like original research. --81.179.228.169 (talk) 14:33, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Hold the phone. It's 44 years from the first story to Nemesis. If she was 56 in 1927 she would be 100 in 1971 and neither is really plausible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.251.209.181 (talk) 10:32, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sleeping Murder

The article says that characters who had previously been killed off by Christie appear alive in this book. Which characters are these? I don't recall noticing it. Stratford490 (talk) 20:04, 6 June 2008 (UTC)