When I first got this book, I was surprised to learn that Agatha Christie had written only 20 short stories featuring Miss Marple. The first thirteen short stories were published in book form in The Thirteen Problems in 1932 (aka The Tuesday Club Murders). The others were published in three other collections of Christie's stories, mixed in with stories from other sleuths.
I started reading the stories in this book in June 2023. (There were two previous posts in June and in September where I reviewed a few of the stories.) I just finished all the stories in the book with the very last story on December 30, 2023.
"Sanctuary"
Bunch Harmon, the vicar's wife, discovers a man's body in the church when she brings in flowers for the alter. The man is not dead but he is bleeding; she goes to get the doctor, and the police are called in. After the man dies, of a gunshot wound, his sister and her husband come to talk to Bunch. She gives them his belongings, including a coat that he was wearing. The police say that the man killed himself, but Bunch is not satisfied that everything has been resolved. Shortly after that she goes to visit Miss Marple, her godmother, who is staying at her nephew Raymond's flat in London. Between the two of them, the puzzle of the man's death is solved.
This was one of my favorite stories in the book. There are some interesting notes on this story at the Agatha Christie website.
16 comments:
Cool. A fairly serious and reflective story, sounds like. I've yet to read a Marple.
I've read The Thirteen Problems which I thought was superb. What I don't know is whether I've read all the other short stories in your book. I must check that out as Miss Marple is my favourite Christie character, much as I enjoy Poirot. I think I love her little anecdotes about people in the village, Joan Hickson did those so well.
I have read all the novels but not sure about the stories. So long ago now. Probably if they were collected I read them.
I always liked Agatha Christie's short stories, Tracy. The Miss Marple stories are great, too. I'm not sure I've read that exact collection, but I have read Sanctuary and enjoyed it. Not a lot of authors can do short stories as well as novels, but Christie did, in my opinion.
Tracy, I have read all of these Miss Marple short stories, but it has been a number of years since I did so. I'm not much of a short story reader in general. However, it's Miss Marple! Maybe a reread is in order. Joan Hickson was my favorite 'Miss Marple'.
Todd, You are correct it was a more serious story than some of the Miss Marple stories. The stories in The Thirteen Problems were more humorous and included recurring characters from her village. They were fun, but I preferred the last few stories in the book, which were structured differently.
Cath, I bet you have read all of the Miss Marple short stories, since they have been collected so many times. Most of them were new to me. I have read short stories featuring Tommy and Tuppence, Mr. Quin, and Hercule Poirot. But only a few of the Miss Marple stories.
Patti, I have not read all the Miss Marple novels. I still have the last four in the series to read. I would like to do that this year, but we will see. They are short and easy reads.
Margot, I look forward to reading more of Christie's Hercule Poirot stories. I don't know how many of those she wrote but the book I have says over 50 short stories. Maybe I have read 10 of those.
Kay, over the last 3 or 4 years, I have become more of a short story reader. Some are good, some are mediocre. I do find I enjoy short stories where the author features a series character.
I haven't read any of the Miss Marple books, so sampling them via a few short stories might just be the route to go. One of my goals this year is to read Agatha Christie for what will be the very first time. Can't believe I've been reading for so many decades without yet having read her.
Sam, I prefer the Miss Marple novels to the short stories but both are very good. I would start with one of the better known books by Agatha Christie because some of her later books are not as good. When I first started reading the Hercule Poirot stories, I found the character irritating. Now I have read nearly all of the novels in that series and I like his character a lot. Some of her standalone books are very good too.
I came across this one on an anthology fairly recently and thought it was excellent. I particularly liked meeting Bunch again - I'd liked her when she appeared in A Murder is Announced.
Fiction Fan, I had no idea Bunch Harmon was in A Murder is Announced also. She is a very well-developed character. How cool. Maybe someday I will go back and read that novel again.
I guess I didn't realize Christie wrote many short stories ... but so many novels! She was prolific. You sound very well read on her Marple books!
Susan, I don't think I was aware of how many short stories were written by Christie until I started blogging, and even then I did not enjoy short stories enough to pursue them.
I have read most of Hercule Poirot novels, but I have only read 8 of the Miss Marple novels, and have 4 left to read. I like the variety in the Miss Marple novels. Often she doesn't show up until the middle of the book or later, and the emphasis is often on other characters.
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