Talk:Miss Marple

Talk on Miss Marple
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 but the copyrighted material needs to be unpicked from the non-copyrighted material. -- Graham &#9786; | Talk 22:34, 6 Sep 2004 (UTC)

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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  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).

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)


 * Since nobody has answered and the article isn't more explicit and I really don't recall any living characters in Sleeping Murder who had previously died, I'm going to remove it. I don't claim to be 100% sure, but if anyone wants to put it back, please state which characters they are. Stratford490 (talk) 16:47, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Sorry for not answering earlier - one character that is referred to as being alive is Colonel Bantry. Dolly Bantry is a widow in The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side.--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 07:13, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your reply, which I have slightly edited, just to make the wikilink work. Funnily, though I don't doubt what you say, I have no recollection of Colonel Bantry being mentioned in Sleeping Murder, and I can't find my copy right now. Anyway, he's only one character, and seems to be just referred to rather than being a major character, so it's probably not important enough to be in the article about Miss Marple. If necessary, I think it could go in the article on Sleeping Murder. Cheers. Stratford490 (talk) 00:34, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Joan Hickson
This page makes no reference to the BBC series 1984-1992 featuring Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. The Wikipedia entry for Joan Hickson refers to this part of her career. A link between the Joan Hickson page and an update of this page to include Joan Hickson's T.V. portrayal of Miss Marple would be very helpful. I don't wish to rush in to do this if someone else is planning to do so. Proxxt (talk) 07:53, 5 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The third paragraph under the "Television" heading seems to discuss this material. Accounting4Taste: talk 19:49, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

Incorrect Murder She Wrote claim
The article previously stated when referring to the American TV series Murder, She Wrote: "The character was based in part on Miss Marple and in part on another Christie character, Ariadne Oliver." There is no attribution for this statement and, as a matter of law, it cannot be correct. Even the Murder, She Wrote article here at Wikipedia notes that the rights were refused: "Murder, She Wrote was originally pitched as an American version of the Agatha Christie character Miss Marple, but the owners of the rights to that character refused to allow it." If the copyright holder refused to grant permission for a subsidiary right, as a matter of copyright law, it is not based on Miss Marple. I replaced the sentence with the somewhat less dubious one from the MSW article which nonetheless needs attribution: "The character of Jessica Fletcher is thought to be based on a combination of Miss Marple, Agatha Christie herself, and another Christie character, Ariadne Oliver, who often appears in the Hercule Poirot mysteries." 71.175.4.207 (talk) 02:14, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Julia McKenzie
I just removed a badly formed template link that should have worked as a picture of Julia McKenzie in the role. The removed text was:

It would improve the article if a valid link could be added for this purpose. DFH (talk) 22:05, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Not moved. Jafeluv (talk) 07:56, 25 April 2012 (UTC)

Miss Marple → Miss Marple (character) – In the light of Talk:Miss Marple (TV series), I figured that "Miss Marple" is becoming ambiguous. Is the name interpretted as either the character, the TV series, or both? Also, I have created Miss Marple (ITV TV series), just in case. --George Ho (talk) 16:22, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Oppose - unnecessary as this article isn't merely about the character but acts as an umbrella article for the whole Miss Marple universe, including all TV series, books, films etc. Rangoon11 (talk) 16:32, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Oppose - for the reasons User:Rangoon11 has already explained. Christopher Rath (talk) 00:53, 20 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Oppose – as Rangoon11 says, the article serves as a CONCEPTDAB. Kanguole 10:41, 22 April 2012 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Rutherford film music…
The sentence, "The main theme has a distinct 1960s feel to it and is known to be a highly complex piece of music due to the quick playing of the Violin"., strikes me as POV and/ or original research. I suppose the first part is alluding to the use of amplified or electric bass with an orchestra, but I’m not sure that actually constitutes a “Sixties” thing in and of itself. Likewise, I’m not aware of a scale of speed of playing as an measure of the complexity of a piece of music; can a player suggest if there is such a thing, or if it even warrants a mention with regards to the music being discussed here? I don’t play the violin myself, but I wouldn’t have thought that they were being played particularly fast; it is entirely possible that the fingering of the particular notes, or sequence of notes is difficult to accomplish - but again, would that be appropriate for inclusion in this article on Miss Marple, when it might be better in something about Ron Goodwin, or playing the fiddle. Jock123 (talk) 16:46, 8 June 2012 (UTC)

Marple's history, specifically professional/financial
In the article, the following is stated: "Miss Marple has never worked for her living. She is of independent means, although she benefits in her old age from the financial support of Raymond West, her nephew (A Caribbean Mystery, 1964). She is not herself from the aristocracy or landed gentry, but is quite at home among them and would probably have been happy to describe herself as "genteel"; indeed, a gentlewoman. Miss Marple may thus be considered a female version of that staple of British detective fiction, the gentleman detective. She demonstrates a remarkably thorough education, including some art courses that involved study of human anatomy through the study of human cadavers. In They Do It with Mirrors (1952), it is revealed that Miss Marple grew up in a cathedral close, and that she studied at an Italian finishing school with Americans Ruth Van Rydock and Caroline "Carrie" Louise Serrocold."

The first issue - and probably the most pressing - is the statement that Miss Marple never worked for her living. I am almost positive that she used to be a schoolteacher, though. I realize this may very well not have been her entire source of income, but can anyone confirm or deny my memory of her referring to having been a teacher?

This connects to my issue with referring to her as a female version of "the gentleman detective". From my reading, I get the impression that gentleman detectives are "gentlemen" in the old English sense. This is NOT the same as what an American might mean when they say that a person is a gentleman or a gentlewoman. There used to be a very clear distinction in the terms, and a gentleman specifically referred to landed gentry. Miss Marple seems to occupy a very comfortable space economically, but I'm not so sure about using the term "gentlewoman". Having studied at finishing schools on the continent does not equal landed gentry.Terra Leigh (talk) 04:44, 19 August 2013 (UTC)


 * I must disagree with some of these assumptions. Even in Britain, "gentleman" would not necessarily refer to landed gentry. It might mean anyone of independent means, so any income derived from shares, government bonds or annuities would fit. Someone might also be a gentleman through membership of a profession e.g. solicitor, or surgeon. (Sherlock Holmes, for example, started his career as a dropout medical student.) An ordained clergyman e.g. Father Brown, anyone who had achieved an Oxbridge degree or had been a commissioned officer in the armed forces would also be regarded as a gentleman, by manners if not by wealth. The only "landed gentleman" detective I can think of is Lord Peter Wimsey. HLGallon (talk) 08:52, 10 September 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
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First name on first reference
Every now and then an editor will add Miss Marple's first name, Jane, to the very first reference, in bold. Normally this would be correct - full name on first reference - but the article title is "Miss Marple" and the character is very widely known by that name alone, so the consensus thus far is to keep first reference as "Miss Marple" and give "Jane Marple" on the second reference. As a parallel example, Tommy and Tuppence uses only those characters' first names and not their last names on first reference because that is how they are widely known. Consensus can, of course, change. - DavidWBrooks (talk) 00:27, 13 January 2020 (UTC)

Infobox color
The Infobox color (#FF5F5F) of black text on a red background means that it is almost unreadable by anyone who is color blind. I would change it, except that someone has obviously consciously chosen the color. Thoughts from the community on changing it? Christopher Rath (talk) 19:45, 22 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I looked at a few other British detective characters, and most of them, including Hercule Poirot, don't specify a color, so the bands are gray with black letters. The instructions for Template:Infobox character specifically state that if a another color is chosen, it "must meet AAA compliance standards outlines on WP:COLOR". Indyguy (talk) 20:01, 22 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I've removed the color. Christopher Rath (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 13:25, 23 November 2021 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Detective Fiction
— Assignment last updated by Happygirlyay21 (talk) 05:56, 29 May 2024 (UTC)