The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple)

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Miss Marple: spinster living in St Mary Mead, next to the vicar. She is observant and knows human behaviour, is recognised in her village as astute and generally correct. There was one really good thing about this book though. It may have had the absolute best quote I've read in one of Christie's novels. While I like her as an author, I don't particularly find her quotable, but this is certainly an exception:

As you can imagine, no other citizen has more to offer in the solving of said crime than our Miss Marple. That woman misses nothing, usually because she's spying on everyone from the comfort of her garden. For many, this will be too on-the-nose or over-simplified when it comes to the layout at approach of Miss Marple's investigation. Though she's responsible for solving it, she's not the main character. The vicar tells us the story of what happened to the deceased, and he interacts with the detectives investigating the crime. Another priest is nearly murdered, but he's not very well liked, so it's okay, right? Some think so... but not all the 'little old biddies' (how the book refers to them) are in agreement. The gossip is out of control in this book, but I adored it for what it was -- a clever plot technique to reveal clues and keep us guessing. Add in the very peculiar marriages between the different priests and their wives, and it's baffling what life was like a century ago. But I'd give nearly anything to be part of it.I really enjoyed the mystery of this. It was completely engaging from the start. The murdered man, one Colonel Protheroe, was a bit of curmudgeon. He was a Judge and definitely had more enemies than friends. Even the Vicar had a cross word for him a time or two. More importantly, he brought himself to the attention of Christie who, annoyed with the slow progress of the usual producer of her plays, Bertie Meyer, offered her latest play, The Hollow to Saunders instead. [4] This started an association between Saunders and Christie which was to last for many years and culminate in The Mousetrap, the play with the longest continuing original run in theatre history.

Colonel Lucius Protheroe: wealthy man, who is the churchwarden and the local magistrate in St Mary Mead who lives at the Old Hall. He has grown deaf, and shouts a lot as a result. I don't know why I didn't know that, but I liked it a lot. It was fun to get to know the icon, Miss Jane Marple, from an outside perspective. You get her pluses and her minuses. A more honest interpretation, you could say. Not only are we formally introduced to the village of St Mary Mead and the "Parish cats" otherwise known as Miss Marple and her friends, but several other recurring characters including the vicar and his wife, Leonard and Griselda Clement, who also appeared in The Body in the Library (1942) and 4.50 from Paddington (1957). Dorothy L Sayers was particularly complimentary of this novel. "Dear old Tabbies" she wrote to Christie, "are the only possible right kind of female detective and Miss M is lovely ... I think this is the best you have done - almost". Bill Archer has a larger role here than in the book. Here he has a relationship with Mary Wright, the maid of the Clements. He trips on a wire in the woods behind the vicarage. He is also present in the vicarage kitchen at various times, perhaps even when the murder is being committed. I am definitely continuing on with the series straight away. Next up is The Body in the Library: A Miss Marple Mystery, which will be a reread for me.

The Murder at the Vicarage is the first full-length novel in the series and I was actually surprised that Miss Marple is not the MC/narrator. The Vicar, Leonard Clement, is! The novel was adapted as a 2016 episode of the French television series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie. Well, it would have been, but then I put off starting the first one until March; now I am behind and the pressure is on...

Ann Protheroe kills herself at the end of the episode whereas in the novel she was arrested and tried. This is the first time that we are introduced to Christie's celebrated lady detective - the old Miss Jane Marple. Miss Marple who has made it her hobby to observe human nature rarely misses out on the important happenings in St. Mary Mead. She is sharp-witted and shrewd, and although she is no professional, it is no easy matter to delude her. The character of Miss Marple had previously appeared in short stories published in magazines starting in December 1927. These earlier stories were collected in book form in The Thirteen Problems in 1932. La novela, en general, es sólida, pero no es lo mejor que leí de la autora y estoy seguro de que puede ofrecer aún más. El desarrollo se me hizo un poco denso y, en muchos casos, llegué a confundirme entre tantos personajes y datos.

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Since there are twelve full-length novels, I told myself, very sternly I might add, that I would read one per month for all of 2023. That sounds like a solid plan, right? No puedo evitar sorprenderme ante la astucia de las resoluciones de los crímenes, siendo este mi quinto libro de Christie, ya estoy más que acostumbrado a estas explicaciones desprevenidas. Especialmente en este libro, mi desconcierto fue mayor que en sus previas obras, me resigné en pensar en culpables y simplemente me dejé impresionar.