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Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
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First published in Great Britain by Collins, The Crime Club 1932
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Copyright © 1932 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved.
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Source ISBN: 9780008196523
Ebook Edition © December 2016 ISBN: 9780007422876
Version: 2017-04-12
To Leonard and Katharine Woolley
Contents
12. The Affair at the Bungalow
These problems were Miss Marple’s first introduction to the world of detective story readers. Miss Marple has some faint affinity with my own grandmother, also a pink and white pretty old lady who, although having led the most sheltered and Victorian of lives, nevertheless always appeared to be intimately acquainted with all the depths of human depravity. One could be made to feel incredibly naïve and credulous by her reproachful remark: ‘But did you believe what they said to you? You shouldn’t do that. I never do!’
I enjoyed writing the Miss Marple stories very much, conceived a great affection for my fluffy old lady, and hoped that she might be a success. She was. After the first six stories had appeared, six more were requested. Miss Marple had definitely come to stay.
She has appeared now in several books and also in a play—and actually rivals Hercule Poirot in popularity. I get about an equal number of letters, one lot saying: ‘I wish you would always have Miss Marple and not Poirot,’ and the other ‘I wish you would have Poirot and not Miss Marple.’ I myself incline to her side. I think that she is at her best in the solving of short problems; they suit her more intimate style. Poirot, on the other hand, insists on a full length book to display his talents.
These Thirteen Problems contain, I consider, the real essence of Miss Marple for those who like her.
1953
‘Unsolved mysteries.’
Raymond West blew out a cloud of smoke and repeated the words with a kind of deliberate self-conscious pleasure.
‘Unsolved mysteries.’
He looked round him with satisfaction. The room was an old one with broad black beams across the ceiling and it was furnished with good old furniture that belonged to it. Hence Raymond West’s approving glance. By profession he was a writer and he liked the atmosphere to be flawless. His Aunt Jane’s house