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"I don't think," he said gently, "that anything that you or I could say about murders is likely unduly to excite or shock Miss Marple. I can assure you, my dear Miss Knight, that Miss Marple can contemplate murder and sudden death and indeed crime of all kinds with the utmost equanimity." - The Mirror Crack'd, p. 203
The Sum of It:
Times, they are a'changin' (ain't that the truth, AGH) in St. Mary Mead, and Miss Marple is trying to come to terms with it. There's a new "development" with lots of brand new houses built all close together, a new supermarket (where they expect you to shop for your own groceries #ew), and even Miss Marple's friend Mrs. Dolly Bantry has sold her old estate, Gossington Hall, and is living in the lodge at the gates. Gossington has been purchased by an American film star, Marina Gregg, on the waning end of her fame, and her husband, which has the town all a-twitter with celebrity gossip. After a recent bout of illness, and getting quite on in years, Miss Marple is constantly frustrated with the limitations she finds on herself, from her inability to tend her own garden to dropped stitches in her knitting, and worst of all, to her new live-in help, Miss Knight, insisted upon by nephew Raymond and Miss Marple's doctor. Miss Knight is always up in Miss Marple's grill and treats her like a senile child (does that make sense? well, she does). What Miss Marple needs is a good murder to consider, and soon a party at Gossington Hall provides her with just that!
Dolly gets invited to the party, since it's her own former house, and she's just about to meet the movie star, Marina Gregg, when Ms. Gregg's face freezes with what appears to be "dread" during a conversation with the woman in line in front of Dolly, Heather Badcock. The book's title comes from Dolly's description of Ms. Gregg's face at this time, like Tennyson's Lady of Shalott when the curse has come upon her. Just a few minutes later at the party, Heather Badcock drops dead, #MURDERED with poison in her daquiri! Turns out she had switched drinks with Ms. Gregg so everyone is like uh oh, looks like someone's got it out for you, Marina! While Miss Marple tries to work out what exactly happened, a few more people die (or disappear!) before she's able to work out just what it was that came upon Marina Gregg that day at the party.
The YOA Treatment:
Honestly this is a rough week here in the states, and it feels a bit difficult to be cheerful and creative. Even so, it was nice to have a visit from one of our favorites, Miss Marple, who like a certain candidate we know, simply refuses to acknowledge anyone underestimating her, and just continues to do her thing like a boss #WEREWITHHER.
At this point, Miss Marple is quite an old lady, which she was a bit when Agatha first started writing about her, but now she's been poking around solving mysteries for quite some time, and people are starting to reference her as "about 100 years old" and telling her she needs to take midday naps and try easier knitting patterns. While she's quite aware of her physical capabilities, she's also quite aware that mentally she's still sharp as a tack, so she has to do a bit of sneaking to let her detective flag fly, especially behind the back of her live-in help, Miss Knight, who is just #theworst.
By the end of the book, though, Miss Marple has gathered about her some new allies, from police to her bright young housekeeper, Cherry, and has proved yet again that she's got what it takes to do her own thing, even if she needs a bit of help around the house now and then. I really enjoyed seeing her continue to hold her own, while being perfectly frank with herself about what she was and was not capable of. Sometimes that type of thing is depicted sadly, and with frustration, but the way Agatha wrote it came across as refreshing and encouraging, especially in a week when the ladies of the world could use a bit of encouragement.
- E.
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