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A review by beaconatnight
The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
4.0
"(...) (A)nyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe would be doing the world at large a service." (The Vicar)
"If this were only a book the old man would die—and a good riddance to everybody." (The Artist)
"By this time tomorrow you may he dead." (Mrs. Lestrange)
All throughout the opening act, people express similar attitudes. It's fair to say that Colonel Protheroe wasn't exactly popular in the village of St Mary Mead. In fact, later in the book our elderly detective lady, the not-quite-as-famous Miss Marple, identifies no fewer than seven main suspects (the people quoted above not even included). And then very early on two different people confess to the crime, a magnanimous act to protect who they think actually did it. The things love can do, right?
The Murder at the Vicarage is an exceptional example of how Agatha Christie transforms brutal crimes fiction into the perfect fit for a cozy Sunday afternoon. After the first shock, the murder is the welcomed diversion many villagers were secretly hoping for. In fact, there is at least one person (I think the Vicar's wife it was) that cheerfully announced she hoped something like this would happen. Lucky for them there is no indication that another crime would ensue.
One woman is particularly interested. Nothing appears to escape Miss Jane Marple's attention, a quality not admired by everyone. Especially when combined with her natural curiosity (or active inquisitiveness). Christie's most famous detective, the brilliant Hercule Poirot, prides himself for his skills of meticulous deduction. Miss Marple, on the other hand, acts on her intuition gained from experience: "Intuition is like reading a word without having to spell it out. A child can't do that because it has had so little experience. A grown-up person knows the word because they've seen it often before."
Reading the novel made me wonder how it was marketed upon release. The story is narrated by the Vicar and Miss Marple doesn't figure much in his early account of the events. It's only about halfway in that she makes herself heard. It's an interesting form of storytelling, since I think it tells us something about her character.
Unlike Poirot, who was already very well established when we are first introduced to him, The Murder at the Vicarage reads more like an origin story of another detective-to-be. When people talk of Miss Marple some remember how she solved some minor mystery in the past. Now she gradually finds the courage to take up this chance she later admits she was hoping for.
I loved how she novel portrays the life in St Mary Mead. I don't know what it is exactly but everything feels so very relaxed. Might be because there appears to be no need to work and everyone has the time for gardening and thorough tittle-tattle? To exchange the newest gossip the women appear to meet regularly. They also discuss how the newest trends offend their tried and tested rural ethics.
New in town is the dashing artist, Lawrence Redding, who turns many a female head in the village. He's certainly more of the progressive type and there is a bit of a scandal when it is discovered that he pained a young woman in her bathing suit (gosh!). Naturally, it's soon discovered that he successfully tempted a married woman, a relationship that will be crucial in the later investigation.
The investigation itself is full of great details and interesting discoveries, especially in the first half of the book. Maybe the book's most defining feature are the discussions surrounding the clock in the Vicar's study where the murder took place. He always keeps it one quarter of an hour fast, which is already confusing. They find that it was overturned, which might give the time of the crime at 6.22. Then right before his death the Colonel wrote something which in its header header says 6.20. Did he know that the time was off? Did he even write it himself? Did the murderer set the time on the clock to something else?
There are threads whose meaning is not immediately evident. For instance, there is Mrs Lestrange who is new in town and no one knows much about her (an insufferable state of affairs!). The Vicar strongly senses that she wants to tell him something and that maybe she needs help. We learn that she met with the Colonel the evening before his death. How is she involved? Then there is an archeologist who oversaw an exhumation on the Colonel's premises. The two didn't see eye to eye and it's later discovered that he was an imposter. What motive might he have had to kill the Colonel?
In the end another quote applies. Miss Marple observes: “I know that in books it is always the most unlikely person. But I never find that rule applies in real life. There it is so often the obvious that is true.” I loved how things are so very strikingly obvious in the end. Sure, there is the fake gunshot and other distractions. But at the end of the day everything turns out to be essentially what you suspected from the start.
I wonder if this was what Miss Marple had in mind when at the very beginning she announced that she thinks she knows who did it?
Rating: 4/5
"If this were only a book the old man would die—and a good riddance to everybody." (The Artist)
"By this time tomorrow you may he dead." (Mrs. Lestrange)
All throughout the opening act, people express similar attitudes. It's fair to say that Colonel Protheroe wasn't exactly popular in the village of St Mary Mead. In fact, later in the book our elderly detective lady, the not-quite-as-famous Miss Marple, identifies no fewer than seven main suspects (the people quoted above not even included). And then very early on two different people confess to the crime, a magnanimous act to protect who they think actually did it. The things love can do, right?
The Murder at the Vicarage is an exceptional example of how Agatha Christie transforms brutal crimes fiction into the perfect fit for a cozy Sunday afternoon. After the first shock, the murder is the welcomed diversion many villagers were secretly hoping for. In fact, there is at least one person (I think the Vicar's wife it was) that cheerfully announced she hoped something like this would happen. Lucky for them there is no indication that another crime would ensue.
One woman is particularly interested. Nothing appears to escape Miss Jane Marple's attention, a quality not admired by everyone. Especially when combined with her natural curiosity (or active inquisitiveness). Christie's most famous detective, the brilliant Hercule Poirot, prides himself for his skills of meticulous deduction. Miss Marple, on the other hand, acts on her intuition gained from experience: "Intuition is like reading a word without having to spell it out. A child can't do that because it has had so little experience. A grown-up person knows the word because they've seen it often before."
Reading the novel made me wonder how it was marketed upon release. The story is narrated by the Vicar and Miss Marple doesn't figure much in his early account of the events. It's only about halfway in that she makes herself heard. It's an interesting form of storytelling, since I think it tells us something about her character.
Unlike Poirot, who was already very well established when we are first introduced to him, The Murder at the Vicarage reads more like an origin story of another detective-to-be. When people talk of Miss Marple some remember how she solved some minor mystery in the past. Now she gradually finds the courage to take up this chance she later admits she was hoping for.
I loved how she novel portrays the life in St Mary Mead. I don't know what it is exactly but everything feels so very relaxed. Might be because there appears to be no need to work and everyone has the time for gardening and thorough tittle-tattle? To exchange the newest gossip the women appear to meet regularly. They also discuss how the newest trends offend their tried and tested rural ethics.
New in town is the dashing artist, Lawrence Redding, who turns many a female head in the village. He's certainly more of the progressive type and there is a bit of a scandal when it is discovered that he pained a young woman in her bathing suit (gosh!). Naturally, it's soon discovered that he successfully tempted a married woman, a relationship that will be crucial in the later investigation.
The investigation itself is full of great details and interesting discoveries, especially in the first half of the book. Maybe the book's most defining feature are the discussions surrounding the clock in the Vicar's study where the murder took place. He always keeps it one quarter of an hour fast, which is already confusing. They find that it was overturned, which might give the time of the crime at 6.22. Then right before his death the Colonel wrote something which in its header header says 6.20. Did he know that the time was off? Did he even write it himself? Did the murderer set the time on the clock to something else?
There are threads whose meaning is not immediately evident. For instance, there is Mrs Lestrange who is new in town and no one knows much about her (an insufferable state of affairs!). The Vicar strongly senses that she wants to tell him something and that maybe she needs help. We learn that she met with the Colonel the evening before his death. How is she involved? Then there is an archeologist who oversaw an exhumation on the Colonel's premises. The two didn't see eye to eye and it's later discovered that he was an imposter. What motive might he have had to kill the Colonel?
In the end another quote applies. Miss Marple observes: “I know that in books it is always the most unlikely person. But I never find that rule applies in real life. There it is so often the obvious that is true.” I loved how things are so very strikingly obvious in the end. Sure, there is the fake gunshot and other distractions. But at the end of the day everything turns out to be essentially what you suspected from the start.
I wonder if this was what Miss Marple had in mind when at the very beginning she announced that she thinks she knows who did it?
Rating: 4/5