The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple)

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The vicar and his wife, Leonard and Griselda Clement respectively, who made their first appearance in this novel, continue to show up in Miss Marple stories: notably, in The Body in the Library (1942) and 4.50 from Paddington (1957) It is the first novel to feature the character of Miss Marple and her village of St Mary Mead. This first look at St Mary Mead led a reviewer in 1990 to ask why these are called cosy mysteries: "Our first glimpse of St Mary Mead, a hotbed of burglary, impersonation, adultery and ultimately murder. What is it precisely that people find so cosy about such stories?" [4] As in Christie's cases featuring Poirot, the police assigned to this case appear to be inept at best. All of the old women in St Mary Mead believe that they can solve the crime better than the inspectors can. No meddling spinster has much to offer Clement on this cases except for his neighbor, the witty Jane Marple. Miss Marple immediately declares that she has seven suspects, but she is pretty sure she knows whodunit. As in many modern cases featuring private eyes, the police do not appreciate Marple getting in their way, and beg her off the case. Yet, she has eyes and ears everywhere, and early on it is obvious that Miss Marple will solve the case while the police are slugging through basic evidence. There is a certain formula in the books I read by Agatha and I think it was missing here! I think the main problem here is that Marple is supposed to be the hero of the story but she is absent for the most of it, she is not a detective, the main character narrating the story is also not a detective which makes the whole thing a bit disjointed and sounds less professional than Poirot books!

So, I finished this one and I've come to a conclusion... I'm not a Miss Marple fan. Yes, yes, I know, I'm one of those basic Christie fans that she couldn't stand that delights every time Poirot says something witty/arrogant, and looks at all her other characters with a "that's very nice... could you write more Poirot now?" stance. Sure, I would have been polite enough not to say that... but the thought would have occurred (that said my favorite Christie novel is Crooked House which does not feature any of her recurring characters). 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. When Colonel Protheroe, hated by all around, is found dead at the Vicarage, the villagers of St Mary Mead are left in an uproar. Miss Marple, an elderly spinster with a talent for snooping and solving little everyday puzzles, promptly joins the investigation.

An French adaptation L'affaire Protheroe was made as episode 14 of season 2 of the series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie, first broadcast on France 2 on 9 Sep 2016. There is no vicarage and the setting is changed to an advertising agency in Lille. The investigators are the French policeman commissaire Laurence, his secretary Marlene, and reporter Alice Avril. Otherwise, the adaptation manages to remain faithful to the main premise of the original.

Es un libro con un caso tan distinto a los de Poirot y por eso me encantó ya que juega mucho más con el humor situacional. Tiene una narrativa desenfadada y con muchísima ironía, comedia e intervenciones brillantes. Y la revelación del crimen, que ciertamente ya ha pasado una igual anteriormente aún así se convierte en uno de los casos de que más me sorprendió. Colonel Lucius Protheroe is wealthy, active in the church and a magistrate. Yet almost no one in his village, St Mary Mead, likes him; Vicar Leonard Clement endures his public insults while setting up an evening meeting to discuss irregularities in the accounts, and Protheroe's 16 year old daughter Lettice cannot bear him. Both express a wish for him to die, out of frustration with him. Clement sees Mrs Anne Protheroe in tight embrace with Lawrence Redding, clearly tired of her husband. That evening, the Colonel is found murdered in the Vicar's study.Bill Archer: local man who has been jailed periodically by Protheroe in his role as magistrate, for poaching. Me quedé con más ganas de Marple. En este libro, si bien es fundamental para la resolución, se encuentra en segundo plano. Su personaje me gusta mucho, creo que es un acierto utilizar al estereotipo de adulto mayor chismoso para ejercer el rol de detective. Además de aportar humor. Murder at the Vicarage is the first Miss Marple book to be written and published. Within the sleepy small village of St Mary Mead murder arrives when Colonel Protheroe, a much disliked prominent member of society is found dead in the study of Vicar, Reverend Clement’s study. Told through a first person narrative of Rev Clement, we observe and bumble along with the vicar the progress of the investigation to discovery of the murderer(s) through the deductions of Miss Marple. It was overall a good plot though not a novel one. The setting is a small village in England where life is slow and stagnant. In such a small village, it is not surprising that everybody knows everybody's business. Gossip mongers and story creators are all too common in such a closed community. In this setting, Agatha Christie brings in some interesting set of characters - old spinsters, widows, eccentric, spirited, and manipulative men and women. As always, her characters are a vibrant lot. Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors and her books are a comfort read for me when I want to distance myself away from my usual fantasy reads. Up to this point, I have been a bigger fan of Poirot and Miss Marple books were okay! This is my third book in the Miss Marple series that I read and is actually the book that introduces her!

Lo que necesitan es un poco de inmoralidad en sus vidas. Entonces no estarían tan ocupados buscándola en las de otras personas." The youngest of three children of the Miller family. The Millers had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880–1929), called Monty, ten years older than Agatha.Unlike the Hercule Poirot series, where the famous detective is generally sought out to help investigate the murder, Miss Marple is hardly ever requested for a consult. As a matter of fact, she is generally lumped together with the 'old cats', although the vicar does admit that she at least has a sense of humor.