Agatha Christie’s Redoubtable Miss Marple

One Of The Most-Loved Amateur Sleuths In Mystery

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Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple. Image Courtesy of ITV

Miss Marple is one of the most memorable characters in literary fiction. Agatha Christie’s elderly spinster lives in St. Mary Mead and enjoys gardening, knitting and socializing in her village. But she’s also a keen observer of human nature. Christie, when creating the amateur sleuth, is said to have loosely based her character on her own grandmother.

Prior to the creation of Miss Marple, famous fictional detectives were men, usually bachelors, including Christie’s very own Poirot. But Christie struck a chord when creating Miss Marple, giving an older woman a unique position in her stories — a quiet, unassuming elderly lady who was distinctly smarter than everyone around her, especially men, whether they were detective inspectors or murderers. In the 1930s, this was a rare depiction indeed.

“Everybody in St. Mary Mead knew Miss Marple; fluffy and dithery in appearance, but inwardly as sharp and as shrewd as they make them.”

— Sergeant Cornish, 4.50 From Paddington

The most recent Miss Marple, Julia McKenzie. Image Courtesy of ITV.

Miss Marple and her mysteries have been adapted for television twice as an ongoing series, as well as several feature films (including one starring Angela Lansbury, also known as the amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote, and if you already knew that, I know you’re a huge Christie fan).

Joan Dickson as Miss Marple. Image Courtesy of the BBC.

In the 1980s, it was Joan Dickson to embody the clever amateur detective for television. There’s a rumor that Agatha Christie went to a play — most likely an adaptation of one of her own books — and saw Joan Dickson onstage and was so impressed by her performance, she slipped Dickson a note that read, “I do hope you’ll one day play my Miss Marple.” At the time it was the 1940s, and Joan Dickson was in her late thirties. Then, almost forty years later, Joan Dickson did in fact step into the role Christie wished for her. She played Miss Marple on the BBC for eight years, from the age of 78 to 86. Agatha Christie didn’t live to see Dickson become her Miss Marple, but it’s widely known that Christie considered her the best actress to play her beloved character.

Angela Lansbury, prior to Murder She, Wrote, as Miss Marple in the movie The Mirror Crack’d. Images Courtesy of EMI Films and Columbia-Warner.

Many other actresses have played Miss Marple, with some of the most distinguished on television and screen being Margaret Rutherford, Geraldine McEwan, Julia McKenzie and Angela Lansbury. For Lansbury, her role in the film The Mirror Crack’d as Miss Marple came before she ever played Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. Her character, J.B. Fletcher, is said to be based on the mystery author P.D. James, but is certainly also influenced by Christie’s Miss Marple.

There are thirteen novels and twenty short stories featuring Miss Marple written by Agatha Christie. As to which of the following was Christie’s favorite Miss Marple story, she declared it to be A Murder is Announced. In a reply to a Japanese fan’s list of favorites, she wrote about A Murder is Announced: “I thought all of the characters interesting to write about, and I felt I knew them quite well by the time the book was finished.” I personally agree, with The Body in the Library being a close second.

If you’re looking for a classic cozy mystery, here’s the entire Miss Marple collection listed below. Enjoy!

Agatha Christie, Image Courtesy of The Official Agatha Christie Website

The Definitive Miss Marple Reading List

The Murder at the Vicarage [1930]

The Thirteen Problems (short stories) [1932]

The Body in the Library [1942]

The Moving Finger [1942]

Sleeping Murder [1976]

A Murder Is Announced [1950]

They Do It With Mirrors [1952]

A Pocket Full of Rye [1953]

‘Greenshaw’s Folly’ [1956]

4.50 from Paddington [1957]

The Mirror Crack’d From Side To Side [1962]

A Caribbean Mystery [1964]

At Bertram’s Hotel [1965]

Nemesis [1971]

Miss Marple’s Final Cases (short stories) [1979]

The Marple Quiz

Or take a ten-question quiz here to see which Miss Marple book you should read first here. (Apparently, I’m due to revisit 4.50 At Paddington).

The Best of Miss Marple in Television (in no particular order)

• Joan Hickson’s Best Episodes: Season 1, Episodes 6, 7 & 8 A Murder Is Announced; Season 3, Episode 2 A Caribbean Mystery; Season 3, Episode 3 They Do It With Mirrors

• Geraldine McEwan‘s Best Episodes: Season 1, Episodes 1 The Body In The Library; Season 3, Episode 4 Nemesis; Season 1, Episode 3 What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw

• Julia McKenzie‘s Best Episodes: Season 4, Episode 2 Murder Is Easy; Season 6, Episode 2 Green Shaw’s Folly; Season 4, Episode 4 Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?

Television for fans of: Poirot, Midsomer Murders, Father Brown, Murder, She Wrote, Rosemary & Thyme, Only Murders In The Building

This OMITI edition originally ran in November 2023.

Song of the Day: “It’s Happening Again” by Agnes Obel