Cambridge Revisited: The Incredible Crime | 1931

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"It was a fine, windy morning in Cambridge. Down King's Parade the wind came swirling along, sweeping the insecurely-propped bicycles on to the road and pavement, picking up sheaves of loose white papers and sending them dancing along. Those who had hats were holding them on, and those who wore gowns were holding them down. Young women with bundles of books under their arms and preoccupied expressions, hurrying tradesfolk, and gowned figures of all ages and sizes, filled the street. Among all this busy, familiar crowd one alien figure, watching it all with obvious interest, was making his leisurely way." - The Incredible Crime, p. 213

The Sum of It:

Prudence Pinsent does not have time for the romantic tales of life in British country-houses, nor the dramatic and bubble-headed ladies of detective fiction. On the first page of The Incredible Crime, she tosses a work of detective fiction on the floor in a huff about this very thing, setting up a different type of lady-led mystery story than those readers of the 1930's might have been used to. 

Prudence is the charming, auburn-haired (#donttellHastings) daughter of the Master of Prince's College, Cambridge, where she spends her days doing the duties of the hostess of the college and hanging out with her pals, mostly the wives of professors and fellows. Though adored, she doesn't quite fit in with them, provoking one of her friends to say of her "I love her, but I should never be surprised if one day she kicked over the traces altogether" and a bit later in the conversation, another friend responds "I don't trust her conventionalism...she is too independent now to want a man, or to marry; but at bottom she is completely indifferent to public opinion, and if she wanted to flout it, she would do so without hesitation."

Perhaps a bit heavy-handed, but we certainly come quickly to understand that Prudence is unique, and that we might want to follow her adventures. To get away from the responsibilities and uprightness of her daily life, she regularly escapes to her cousin's country estate, Wellende Hall, on the Suffolk coast (home to some lovely descriptions of russet-toned landscapes). Lord Wellende is described as outdoorsy, athletic, maybe not handsome but attractive, and Austen-Leigh always arranges him in attractive settings, studying a book about veterinary science next to a huge fireplace or riding to hounds on a powerful horse. But does the straightforward and charming Lord Wellende have a secret in the tunnels beneath his family estate? And why is the author constantly bringing up links between him and a rather unusual nutty-professor style character back in Cambridge? Aside from alleged drug smuggling, that's where the mysteries lie.

The YOA Treatment:

A bit over a month since our trip, and do we miss England? MAYBE. Do we miss our walks through Cambridge, strolling along the river and past the magnificent campus? MAYBE. Do we wish we could have installed ourselves in some little cubbyhole there and never left? MAYBE. Needless to say, our nostalgia for the beautiful college town started even before we came home, and we couldn't wait to read The Incredible Crime: A Cambridge Mystery, one of the newest British Library Crime Classics releases. 

We first discovered the book at the British Library's Bodies from the Library crime fiction conference while we were in London, a seriously fascinating deep dive into the Golden Age of detective fiction with some of the foremost experts on the topic. One of the coolest things about this book is that it was written by a the granddaughter of Jane Austen's nephew, Lois Austen-Leigh #bookroyalty. The first of four Golden Age crime fiction tales by Austen-Leigh, The Incredible Crime lavishes finely wrought detail on vivid descriptions of the town of Cambridge, college life, the classic English manor of Wellende Hall, and the quintessential Suffolk country village. The atmosphere evoked in each of these settings is crisp and clear, not overly flowery but so enveloping you can almost feel the breeze as Prudence speeds along amid the marshes in her cousin's motor-boat;

"The bright winter sun touched the shingle banks near the mouth and turned them into gold. A flock of very white gulls was circling overhead, and a single curlew was calling. Prudence drove fast. Arriving at the mouth, she saw a heap of shingle left bare and wet; and in another place a rougher tumble of water. She appeared to have forgotten what she had said to her cousin at breakfast, for without a moment's hesitation she left the shingle heap on the starboard, and headed straight out to sea." 

or hear the crackle of a fire in the cozy hall at Prince's College: 

"Men with brains and ability can be found all over the world, moreover there are always others coming up to fill their places, but such Jacobean rooms as this are not to be found all over the world, nor are they to be reproduced. The ceiling was finely moulded, and the walls panelled with oak, stained and darkened by the passing years. The dominant colour of the room was dark red or red-brown, the carpet was one or the other, the drawn curtains dark read, and two generous fires at each end of the room lit up the ruby tints of the decanters of port on the table and the splash of scarlet of a doctor's hood someone had thrown down on a chair."

Though the settings are deftly handled, and reason enough to give the book a read, the mystery is a bit clunky (someone is shipping DRUGS into the country! For SHAME! The coast guard is quite flustered. Just a bit trite, as crime hooks go, and some of the very 1930's attempts at descriptions of illicit drugs are chuckle-worthy). Until very near the end when some of our favorite characters seem to be in danger (and in fact ARE), the setting is really what keeps the reader invested in the book. In fact this is not a murder mystery until the end, and for the most part is something of a spy caper (-ish). There are certainly shades of Agatha in the book, particularly in the attitude and spunkiness of the main character, Prudence (interestingly reminiscent as a character of the plucky Tuppence Bereford, whose real name is Prudence -- we quite wondered if this was coincidence or homage). The dialogue is not quite as snappy as Tommy and Tuppence's repartee, and there are so many characters, many of whom are pre-middle-age British men, one can get a bit lost from time to time, but the scenes featuring Prudence are certainly the highlight. One thing we've always loved about Tuppence is the early feminism the character demonstrates, also present in Prudence Pinsent.

Man to Prudence: "I don't like talking secrets with a woman, it's damned risky, they nearly always blab, but there -- is there anywhere we can talk in private?"

Prudence's first impulse was to point out to him the unwisdom of belittling the trustworthiness of women in general, to the woman he apparently proposed to trust, but seeing how much in earnest he appeared, she refrained; besides which, she was really curious, and quite at sea as to what she was going to hear." 

Like Tuppence, Prudence Pinsent is an independent lady, despite the concerns of everyone around her that she will remain a spinster (she's in her very early 30's) forever if she doesn't settle down. She seeks out adventure on her own, riding horses, speeding along in motor-boats, and climbing down terrifying vertical tunnels to see if she can uncover illegal activity -- IN PANTS. Also like some of Agatha's earlier works, there's a bit of a romance line in this tale that the modern reader might do without, though it takes some interesting twists and turns along the way and there's kind of a hilarious reverse-My-Fair-Lady scene. Though this book feels a bit less fresh than much of Agatha's work from the same era, it was a fun read and a truly lovely way to revisit some of the quaintest and most beautiful parts of jolly old England. 

- E. 

Tommy & Tuppence Off Into the Sunset: Postern of Fate | 1973

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"I suppose without curiosity a man would be a tortoise. Very comfortable life, a tortoise has. Goes to sleep all winter and doesn't eat anything more than grass as far as I know, to live all the summer. Not an interesting life perhaps, but a very peaceful one." - Postern of Fate

The Sum of It

In this finale of the Tommy and Tuppence tales, our favorite bantering couple is in their sixties (aka elderly if you ask Agatha) and have acquired a new house in a cozy little seaside village in which to spend their sunset years. Along with the house, they bought a bunch of the old books in the shelves, as well as a shed full of random junk. As Tuppence is going through all the old books, she finds some strategic underlining that reveals a secret message: Mary Jordan did not die naturally. Clearly our curious friend Tuppence isn't just going to let such a message go, so she and Tommy start poking around their new little town to see if anyone has heard of Mary Jordan, or the little boy who left the cryptic message in his book, Alexander Parkinson. Turns out there are all kinds of rumors about a girl named Mary Jordan going back to WWI, some saying she was a German spy, some saying she was a British spy, all saying she died of accidental poisoning. Tommy and Tuppence have several very repetitive conversations with their neighbors, all of whom seem to have heard of the couple's apparently nationwide fame following their capture of a German spy in the last Tommy and Tuppence tale, N or M, and are very excited to talk about that over and over again. 

Tommy eventually starts going through some official channels to obtain information, including Mr. Pikeaway and Mr. Robinson, both of whom featured prominently in the non-Tommy and Tuppence story Passenger to Frankfurt. Meanwhile Tuppence is making the rounds to all the village's oldest inhabitants to see if they know anything useful about Mary Jordan, what she might have been spying about, and what perhaps might be hidden around the house, since so many people seem to think that something spy-related is on their property still. Despite a stated desire to keep their research on the down-low, Tuppence eventually enlists both their elderly gardener Isaac and a huge troop of neighborhood children in helping her track down information, which eventually results in old Isaac getting #MURDERED in Tuppence's own garden shed! There are some mysterious objects in there, including two garden stools in differing shades of blue known apparently as Oxford and Cambridge, as well as a giant wooden rocking horse thing, Mathilda, and a child's toy car, called Truelove for unknown reasons. Tommy and Tuppence narrow their search to these items, but while they're digging around to get close to a clue, someone takes a shot at poor Tuppence from a clump of grass! Their dog Hannibal chases the criminal off, and it takes a little intervention from Mr. Robinson and Mr. Pikeaway to finally clear up who the baddies in town still are. 

The YOA Treatment 

Alas, guys. As much as I love Tommy and Tuppence -- and YOU KNOW I truly do love them -- this book was pretty bad. All their old fun banter was replaced with deadly dull, amazingly repetitive conversations about not being able to remember things: names, places, nationalities, what a census is, quotes from books, etc., etc. That really took a lot of the wind out of my sails in terms of enjoying their detecting. The same was true of basically every conversation they had with anyone else, child or elderly neighbor, ALL of which consisted of someone trying to remember something that doesn't seem that hard to remember, "Err, she was German. Or maybe Russian. Or was it French?" "Oh yeah I remember who lived there, something like Parks. Or was it Parker? Or maybe Parkinson?" The whole time I'm like IT'S PARKINSON Why are we spending time on this conversation?? It was somewhat frustrating, but I had to remind myself that given that Agatha was getting on in years, this was probably a frustrating experience in her own life too!

Additionally, the mystery here -- who killed a British spy during WWI and what might she have hidden on their property before she was killed like 50 years ago -- was either not sufficiently compelling or not sufficiently established so as to really hold one's interest. I kept forgetting (maybe that was on purpose, in keeping with the book's theme) what Tommy and Tuppence were looking for. I think another thing that I have always loved about all the other Tommy and Tuppence stories has been the fairly rapid pace of the action. While some people prefer Agatha's more intellectual mysteries, like Poirot stories, I've always thought she writes a cracking good thriller, and those have been some of my favorite reads. However, I think in her later years, and this is one of the last three books she wrote, that just wasn't really her speed anymore. Over all, this last Tommy and Tuppence tale was definitely my least favorite of the books about them, and I found myself wishing she had allowed them to stay a little younger as she herself grew old, so that their mysteries would still feel fresh. 

We've only got two more books to report on before our Year of Agatha concludes! Stay tuned for Sleeping Murder and Curtain, the last Marple and Poirot books respectively, as well as a post letting you know about the direction we're planning on taking the blog in 2017.

- E. 

Ahhhhh, Witchy Woman: By the Pricking of My Thumbs | 1968

Image found on Pinterest, a perfectly creepy cover!

"I daresay people have liked murderers," said Tuppence very reasonably. "It's like swindlers and confidence tricksmen who always look so honest and seem so honest. I daresay murderers all seem very nice and particularly softhearted. That sort of thing."
-By the Pricking of My Thumbs p. 210

The Sum of It: 

TOMMY AND TUPPENCE ARE BACK!!!!!!! Yesssssssssssssssssss. Ok summarizing. 

Tommy and Tuppence (though referred to throughout as elderly #projecting) seem like they are maybe in their 50's at this point. Though they may be older, with grown-up children and grandchildren out in the world, their minds are still just as sharp and the banter is still #TOPNOTCH (phew!) As they're having breakfast one day, Tommy starts thinking he should probably go visit his old Aunt Ada at the little old ladies home where she's been living for the past couple years. Though Aunt Ada genuinely despises Tuppence, she decides to go along with Tommy anyway for solidarity and also because if being mean to her brings Aunt Ada some joy, then Tuppence doesn't grudge her that :). Upon arrival Aunt Ada immediately denies she knows Tuppence and kicks her out of the room, so Tuppence goes down to sit in the little sunroom, where she joins a "fluffy" old lady with a pretty face and white hair, who's drinking milk. The old lady chats a bit and then asks Tuppence, "Was it your poor child?" Tuppence is like huh what and the lady starts talking about a poor child buried behind the fireplace. Mercifully Tommy comes in to rescue her from this real awkward situation and back home they go. 

Only once they get there, Tuppence can't stop thinking about that old lady, Mrs. Lancaster, and her weird line of conversation. A few weeks later, Tommy's Aunt Ada dies, and when they go back to the old ladies home to sort her things, Tuppence intends to talk to Mrs. Lancaster again, because she's worried Mrs. L knows something about some child who was killed or some crime and might be in danger. HOWEVER when they get there they learn Mrs. L was recently disappeared from the home by some relative named Mrs. Johnson, who gave a false address. They also learn that Mrs. L gave Aunt Ada a painting of a pretty house by a canal and a little bridge, and Tuppence immediately realizes she saw the house once on a train journey, and decides that it's the only clue to find out where poor Mrs. L might be so Tuppence can make sure she's safe. When Tommy goes off on a business trip, Tuppence decides to figure out where the little house is, and hopefully Mrs. L, and heads off on a little trip of her own. Only, once she actually stumbles upon the pretty house and the little village nearby, Tuppence quickly realizes she's become mixed up in a mystery much bigger than the one she came to solve. The only question is whether anyone can save her from the danger she's stumbled upon!?

The YOA Treatment: 

I knew I was a big fan of Tommy and Tuppence in their early days, but given how dated the last couple novels of Agatha's felt, I was a little worried about how their charming repartee and page-turning plots might fare as their characters got older. But the GREAT news is that in my opinion, it felt like nothing had changed. Tuppence is still the same plucky adventurer she was when we first met her in London just after WWI. Tommy is still gruffly admiring of his wife's cunning, and clever and resourceful on his own. It was super delightful to see them again, and follow along with their action-packed adventures #CAPER!

We've also been waiting for this one since reading The Pale Horse, where Agatha first stumbled on the little plot device of a random old lady asking "Was it your poor child?" and going on about a baby buried behind a fireplace. In that book, it was just a throwaway anecdote, but clearly Agatha found it creepily inspiring and mulled over it for a few years before developing it into a full-blown plot, which served this tale quite well. 

Unlike some of the less action driven stories of late, the pace of this one moved along easily, and the twists along the way didn't feel manufactured, but instead felt clever and fun. Each of the newly introduced side characters felt fully fleshed out and familiar, filling their roles in a little country village, as opposed to the stilted design and flat nature of many of the "modern," city-based young people in some of the other recent novels #villagelife. It felt like a true return to form, and I really can't imagine why Agatha didn't write more Tommy & Tuppence books, because she is so very good at them! 

- E. 

When I'm Sixty Four (Hoo!): N or M? | 1941

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"'Tuppence and I, you see, aren't on those terms. We go into things -- together!' In his mind was that phrase, uttered years ago, at the close of an earlier war. A joint venture... That was what his life with Tuppence had been and would always be -- a Joint Venture..." 

- N or M?, p. 50

The Sum of It:

Agatha goes FULL ON WWII in this book, which reunites us with our favorite secret agent couple, Tommy and Tuppence. The war is well under way, and their grown twins are off doing their bit - Derek in the air and Deborah in the code breaking corps. Tommy and Tuppence want to get involved with the war effort too, but their advanced (we presume middle age) years have rendered them apparently useless to the entire war effort. Tuppence is knitting balaclavas and Tommy is begging for work in war offices. They're both pretty mopey about it, UNTIL Mr. Grant, who works in the Ministry of Requirements (v. Harry Potter) shows up and bluffs about an office job for Tommy. Once Tuppence is out of the room, he tells Tommy it's really a secret mission, like the old days, to try and root out the Fifth Column, aka Britishers who are working against England from inside! The only catch is, Tuppence isn't invited. Tuppence, sensing something afoot, figures out what is what and boy, does Tommy get a surprise when she turns up at his assigned location, a seaside guest house referenced by a dying agent, a place called Sans Souci. 

The dying agent also referenced two key operatives that Intelligence has been trying to catch, male and female agents known by the code names N and M. Tommy (along with Tuppence, once she invites herself) is assigned to try to track them down at Sans Souci, and so they both go about the business of befriending the odd assortment of guests in the hotel, as well as folks in the neighboring mansions. Everyone seems SO unassuming (well, maybe except for the German war refugee Carl von Deinim, but that just feels too obvious to T & T...) yet some among them must be evil secret agents, trying to destroy Great Britain and advance Herr Hitler's work! Both operating in disguise, they sneak and spy and suspect almost everyone before they finally get down to the real culprits. There are some great T & T capers that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and while you might guess one or the other of the culprits, you're sure to be surprised at the end!

The YOA Treatment:

So, we love a good Tommy and Tuppence caper (Emily especially) because there's a lot of excitement and "ack what's gonna happen next??" in these tales #pageturners. These are great spy stories, full of secret agents and hidden identities and double-blind fake outs. This book brings us a slightly older T & T, but their adorable personalities are still there, ready to take risks and get into scrapes for the sake of adventure. 

"You know," said the young man with enthusiasm, "I think you're splendid, simply splendid."

"Cut out the compliments," said Tuppence. "I'm admiring myself a good deal, so there's no need for you to chime in. What exactly is the big idea?"

Tony indicated the mass of crumpled material with a gesture. "That," he said, "is the remains of a parachute." 

"Aha," said Tuppence. Her eyes sparkled.

[P.s. the Tony referenced here is named Antony Marsdon. That name may sound familiar to those of you who've read And Then There Were None, as there was a character in that tale called Antony Marston! They do not seem to be the same person at all, so we have here a case of Agatha recycling a character name, #SorkinStyle!]

Agatha does an interesting job of writing about WWII also, as the second world war that the two characters have been through (as well as the second one she herself has seen), and allowing her characters' age and experience to provide a slightly different view of the war. At one point in discussing how fun their spy work was in the past and how it feels different this time around, the two have the following exchange: 

"It's only that -- this time -- it won't be fun. It's the same in other ways. This is the second War we've been in  -- and we feel quite different about this one." 

"I know -- we see the pity of it and the waste -- and the horror. All the things we were too young to think about before." 

Even though the book was written in 1941, Agatha seemed to have a lot of concern and insight into what was at stake for the Allies when faced with Hitler's Germany. She even gives us a pretty chilling glimpse into some of the pro-Hitler opinions that were drifting around England throughout the war through a couple different characters. One of the main villains even offers this creepy propaganda speech: 

"Our Leader does not intend to conquer this country in the sense that you all think. He aims at creating a new Britain -- a Britain strong in its own power -- ruled over, not by Germans, but by Englishmen. And the best type of Englishmen -- Englishmen with brains and breeding and courage. A brave new world, as Shakespeare puts it...We want to do away with muddle and inefficiency, with bribery and corruption. With self-seeking and money-grubbing...You would be surprised if you knew how many there are in this country, as in others, who have sympathy with and belief in our aims. Among us all we will create a new Europe -- a Europe of peace and progress."

Agatha's own perspective on her second war is likely reflected by Tuppence, now a mother, as she comforts the German refugee staying with them at Sans Souci, after his frustrations at everyone being so awfully angry at him for simply being born in Germany: 

"Naturally we've got to call the other side names. They're doing just the same in Germany. Hundreds of Major Bletchleys -- foaming at the mouth. I hate the Germans myself. 'The Germans,' I say, and feel waves of loathing. But when I think of individual Germans, mothers sitting anxiously waiting for news of their sons, and boys leaving home to fight, and peasants getting in the harvests, and little shopkeepers and some of the nice kindly German people I know, I feel quite different. I know then they are just human beings and that we're all feeling alike. That's the real thing. The other is just the War mask that you put on. It's part of War -- probably a necessary part -- but it's ephemeral." 

It's really interesting to read these words so many years later, and in light of the ongoing tumult, so much of which is based on an ephemeral concept of 'other', all across the world and even here within the United States. Though as with many Tommy and Tuppence stories this is overall a cheery read, it also provides a little food for thought as well. 

- A. & E. 

The Tale of Jerry and Joanna: The Moving Finger | 1943

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"The great thing in these cases is to keep an absolutely open mind. Most crimes, you see, are so absurdly simple. This one was. Quite sane and straightforward—and quite understandable—in an unpleasant way, of course." - Miss Jane Marple, The Moving Finger, p. 180

The Sum of It:
The Moving Finger has always been one of my favorite Agatha stories (incidentally, it was one of her favorites too!): the plot is very clever, it has a lot of romance (always a plus), and has some very Tommy and Tuppence-esque witty characters in brother and sister protagonist duo Jerry and Joanna Burton.

Recently-injured-and-now-convelescing Jerry Burton (also this book's narrator) and his sister Joanna begin the book by moving to the small country village of Lymstock for some quality R&R. ALAS they find the village quite twitterpated because someone has been sending nasty anonymous letters to nearly every resident. Jerry and Joanna aren't really bothered by the whole thing, but are quite fascinated to know who is behind them. As they settle into their new house (called Little Furze #namegoals) they make nice with the neighbors, namely:

The Symmingtons: lawyer dad, neurotic mom, spacey yet lovable older daughter, two little boys, and a hot nanny.
Mr. Pye: eccentric bachelor who knows all the town gossip
The Dane Calthrops: Vicar and fairly terrifying wife
Miss Emily Barton: Jerry and Joanna's landlady (Bartons AND Burtons - that won't be confusing at all…will it?)
The Griffiths: Dr. Owen and nosy sister Aimee.
There is also an appropriate sprinkling of housekeepers and housemaids, etc.

The anonymous letters seem to just be an in-bad-taste prank until Mrs. Symmington is found #DEAD, apparently having committed suicide after reading one of the letters. It all seems a straightforward deal, but at the same time, something about it seems fishy and Jerry has more questions than the detectives are willing to ask. Things REALLY heat up when the Symmingtons's maid, Agnes Waddle, is found #MURDERED in a cupboard under the stairs (#notHarry'scupboard). Now that there's an actual murder to solve, a Superintendent Nash shows up to sort it all out. Or at least tries to...

BUT WAIT, you might ask (I certainly did), isn't this a Miss Marple book? Where is Miss Marple? Fear not, she does show up quite near the end as a seemingly random guest of the Dane Calthrops, knits unobtrusively during teas and get-togethers, chats with Jerry, and comes up with a sneaky little plan to oust the killer! I remember the first time I read this feeling SO confident that I had solved the whole thing, but of course the simple answer was quite different, yet right under my nose the whole time!

The YOA Treatment:
As with many of her novels, Agatha has chosen a man as the narrator for this novel. In much the same way as Luke Fitzgerald from Murder is Easy, Jerry Burton plays more of the being-nosy-from-the-sidelines sort of character instead of the pretty formal sidekick-esque Dr. Sheppard from Roger Ackroyd or observer who gets told a lot of secrets Leonard Clement from Murder at the Vicarage. I admire Agatha for not sticking too closely to a formulaic narration style. As much as I love the Hastings/Poirot repartee, you do know what to expect with a Hastings-narrated novel. Being open to telling her stories through the eyes of different men (and women! I'm lookin' at you, Nurse Amy Leatheren from Murder in Mesopotamia!) is part of what makes Dame Agatha such a writing star for me.

As I was considering the subject of narration, I found a couple of interesting articles about book narrators:

Check out this article about books with unreliable narrators and this article about books written by women with great male narrators

Spoiler alert: Agatha makes both lists :)

-A.

The Real Housewives of St. Mary Mead: The Murder at the Vicarage | 1930

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"If I were at any time to set out on a career of deceit, it would be of Miss Marple that I should be afraid."
- Leonard Clement, The Murder at the Vicarage, p. 194

The Sum of It:
This week we finally joined the host of delightful characters in the tiny village of St. Mary Mead in their crime adventures with #DameAgatha's first full-length novel "starring" Miss Jane Marple. We say "starring" because, while Miss Marple does in fact do the majority of the crime solving, the events of The Murder at the Vicarage actually unfold through the eyes (and narration) of the lovable, middle-aged vicar, Leonard Clement.

Leonard lives in St. Mary Mead with his MUCH younger wife (#cradlerobber), hysterically named Griselda (NOTE: Griselda has become one of our most beloved Agatha characters! See more about her below), and his teenage nephew, Dennis. The three are a fairly merry trio: Griselda loves the  gossip (#teaandscandal), Dennis loves the local bigwig's daughter, Lettice Protheroe, and Leonard loves to sit back and watch it all happen. Old Leonard's life get a bit more exciting when he stumbles upon the local bigwig's wife, Anne Protheroe, making out with young, local hottie/misunderstood artist, Lawrence Redding. Things get even MORE interesting when Leonard comes home one day to find Anne's cranky old husband, Lucias, #MURDERED in his study (and bleeding on the carpets, so rude)!

Just as the investigation gets underway, Lawrence Redding confesses! Then Anne Protheroe confesses! Everyone can't wait to confess! But, of course, it can't be that tidy. Their confessions don't fit in with the facts of the crime, literally everyone in St. Mary Mead had some sort of beef with dearly departed Lucias (Miss Marple counts 7 suspects), and so the true killer must be found. Who else but Miss Marple to help the police sort out the whole nasty business?

A Brief Interlude to Pay Homage to Griselda:
The pure delight of Vicarage rests in its characters, and in particular, the hilarious interactions between Leonard and Griselda Clement. Leonard first describes his wife thusly:

"My wife's name is Griselda - a highly suitable name for a parson's wife. But there the suitability ends. She is not in the least meek."

He goes on to recount how they had a whirlwind romance, she had loads of boyfriends, but chose him in the end because, in her words, "It's so much nicer to be a secret and delightful sin to anybody than to be a feather in his cap." Griselda hosts "tea and scandal" group with all the village biddies on Wednesday afternoons at 4:30 (Miss Marple included!), is proudly sitting for one of Lawrence Redding's paintings (she likes to tease that she sits in the nude), and is more than once called upon for Nephew Amusing Parties. Griselda is pure delight and her witty banter with Leonard is very reminiscent of the Tommy and Tuppence relationship that we also love so much!

The YOA Treatment:
With this story we get our first real introduction to Miss Marple in her natural habitat, the village busybody with keen observational skills and a tendency to expect the worst of people. After long familiarity with Miss Marple as a beloved figure in fiction, it was interesting to be reminded that not everyone finds her nosiness charming, with many of her neighbors talking about her with a verbal eye roll. By the time the mystery is solved, many of her fellow villagers have developed a bit more respect for her skill and nuance, but it was good to be reminded that she's not just the sweet old lady we get an impression of from the tv adaptations. (We also meet Nephew Raymond who is basically an early 20th century hipster, all snobbery and boredom, kind of hilarious).

Agatha seemed to take particular pleasure in writing Miss Marple, and her readers found a connection with her new character as well. Vicarage is considered one of Agatha's best works and even her contemporary, Dorothy L. Sayers, wrote to #DameAgatha to give her approval: "Dear old Tabbies [speaking of Miss Marple and her old lady cronies] are the only possible right kind of female detective and Miss M is lovely...I think this is the best you have done - almost."

-A. & E.

Banter, Blunts, and a Ham Merchant: Partners in Crime | 1929

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"I want things to happen. Exciting things. Wouldn't you like to go chasing German spies again, Tommy? Think of the wild days of peril we went through once." - Tuppence Beresford, Partners in Crime, p. 2

The Sum of It:
This week we have dived head first back into the adventurous and terrifically witty world of Tommy and Tuppence Beresford with Partners in Crime. The one-time Adventurers for Hire duo from The Secret Adversary are settling into married life, and settling rather badly. After all their excitement in Secret Adversary they want more than just home life. Lucky for the Beresfords, high-up-spy-man Mr. Carter comes to the rescue with a proposition: would Tommy and Tuppence like to pose as a Mr. Blunt and Secretary at the International Detective Agency in order to find out more about some fishy "foreign business" involving blue letters from a Russian ham merchant who just wants to find his refugee wife?? Um, #YASPLEASE

What follows is a truly jolly collection of short stories with many #DameAgatha classics: stabbings at costume parties, poisoned chocolates, a lady hiding from her fiance' while undergoing "slimming treatments" #dubiousscience, disappearing ladies, and that's just the start! We will be honest: the mysteries in Partners in Crime aren't necessarily mind blowing, but the dialogue is just so scintillating, it's a pure delight to read. Take this passage from chapter 1:

"Don't you ever have a wild secret yearning for romance - adventure - life?"
"What have you been reading, Tuppence?" asked Tommy.
"Think how exciting it would be," went on Tuppence, "if we heard a wild rapping at the door and went to open it and in staggered a dead man."
"If he was dead he couldn't stagger," said Tommy critically.
"You know what I mean," said Tuppence. "They always stagger in just before they die and fall at your feet just gasping out a few enigmatic words. 'The Spotted Leopard' or something like that."

Now tell us you don't want to read a whole book of that delightful repartee...

The YOA Treatment:
One of the particularly fun things about Partners in Crime is Agatha's not so subtle nods to the detective classics sprinkled throughout the cases. Tommy and Tuppence have great bookshelves of classic detective novels in their office and they often reference them in their exploits, and decide to try solving crimes in the style of many of their favorites (Tommy even pretends to be blind at one point while imitating Thornley Colton, the blind Problemist. Fortunately Agatha and Tommy avoid insensitivity by having him pledge to donate loads of money to a charity for the blind). One of Audrey's favorite instances is Tommy's attempts at the eccentricities of Sherlock Holmes:

"He picked up a violin which lay on the table, and drew the bow once or twice across the strings. Tuppence ground her teethe and even the explorer blenched...As the visitor left the office, Tuppence grabbed the violin and putting it in the cupboard turned the key in the lock. 'If you must be Sherlock Holmes,' she observed, 'I'll get you a nice little syringe and a bottle labeled Cocaine, but for God's sake leave that violin alone."

Sherlock Holmes isn't the only detective Agatha paid homage to - in fact she even left a few hints at Hercule Poirot! There are many instances of Tuppence or Tommy encouraging the other to "use your little grey cells, mon ami" #tresadorbs. Ol' Tommy at one point dresses up as a parson and imitates the well known clerical sleuth Father Brown.

Agatha owes the roots of her own mysteries to the work of her predecessors, and tells in her autobiography about a conversation with her sister Madge, who had introduced her to some of her favorite detective story authors, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Paul Beck, and Gaston Le Roux. She told Madge after reading a Paul Beck book called The Mystery of the Yellow Room that she would like to try her hand at writing a detective story. Madge basically said "yeah right good luck" but from that moment, Agatha says she was "fired by determination" that she would write a detective story. And how!

- A. & E.

How to be Charming: The Secret Adversary | 1922

"You must stifle this longing for vulgar sensation, Tuppence. Remember that if Mr. Brown is all he is reported to be, it's a wonder that he has not ere now done us to death. That's a good sentence, quite a literary flavor about it." "You're really more conceited than I am--with less excuse!" - Tommy & Tuppence banter exhibit 4 million from The Secret Adversary, p. 57

The Sum of It:
The Secret Adversary begins with a prologue set in the last above-sea-level minutes aboard the Lusitania. Two attractives notice each other in what could likely be the last moments of their lives. However, hope for end of life comfort is dashed by a secret mission as a document is handed off to a young American lady before she boards a lifeboat #womenandchildren.

Our story itself opens with the most charming greetings ever between the main characters (not the boat people): “Tommy old thing!” “Tuppence old bean!” (dolls). Tommy and Tuppence knew each other during WWI while Tuppence was acting as a nurse in a soldiers hospital. Turns out post-war they’re both broke and unemployed, like pretty much everyone else in their generation (remember that number from White Christmas where they dance around in the giant wooden cutouts of people and sing about how they wish they were back in the army because of the free meals and such? Pretty much like that but one war earlier). They hatch a plan to raise funds via adventures, “no unreasonable offer refused.”

Their tenure as young adventurers begins with an overheard name: Jane Finn, which Tuppence cleverly repeats to a mysterious man who heard their plan and basically stalks her in a park to try to hire her to move to Paris (nooothing shady, he promises. MHMM). Sleuths now “in earnest,” they follow the trail of the mysterious Mr. Whittington (the stalker) which leads them straight to a SECRET GOVERNMENT AGENT who is like “you dummies are in the middle of something FAR BIGGER THAN YOURSELVES” then naturally hires them as spies (presumably bc they are charming and...expendable?)

Tommy and Tuppence pursue Jane Finn, the secret document, and the mysterious Mr. Brown (COMMIE/CRIMINAL MASTERMIND) lit’rally all over Great Britain. They're fueled by cleverness and witty repartee and accompanied by an American named Julius, who proves his Americanness by saying things like "If that's the case, and there's such a thing as graft in this country, I'll buy her off!" and "See here, this isn't Sicily!" They also engage a young sidekick named Albert who is perpetually on the brink of saying "GEE WHIZ" and generally keeps an eye out.

In the interest of not getting too spoiler-y because this book is stuffed to its gills with suspenseful twists and turns and disappearances and kidnappings and intrigues and hidden rooms and secret communist meetings and nursing homes and car chases (for realz), I will not do much plot summarizing re: the rest of the book, but there is more charming banter than an episode of Gilmore Girls and the dadgum story is so exciting and suspenseful it cost me most of a night of sleep the first time I read it because I HAD to finish it in one sitting #AgathaReigns #YasKween.

Not Tuppence, but close

The YOA Treatment:
Of all the Christie books I've read before, this one is probably my favorite, even on a re-read. In addition to a legit suspenseful storyline and more than one major twist, favoritism is largely due to the crime fighters we meet in this, Agatha's second book; Tuppence Cowley and Tommy Beresford. Tommy and Tuppence are two 20-somethings with little to their names besides cleverness, and like most of Agatha's sleuths, they lean on their intuition to solve the mysteries rather than training.

Tuppence, a plucky, quick-witted, level-headed girl with progressive tendencies (she favors fashionable short skirts and refuses to play a supporting role) creates an archetype of #empoweredladies we'll see repeated in lots of Agatha's stories. Though Tommy and Tuppence are a duo, and Tommy calls upon his resourcefulness to get out of a number of scrapes, Tuppence is the brains of the operation. She pushes Tommy to think outside of the box and focus on their interest in adventure when they can't find jobs, she finds them their first mystery, roots out key suspects, goes under cover, and all kinds of other stuff on her own initiative #LeanIn. Agatha doesn't write many simpering heroines or weak damsels in distress, instead creating women who know what's up and take care of it (often while making snappy little jokes).

In her autobiography, Agatha mentions how one of her grandmothers was always complaining of some vague ailment or another, which Agatha eventually divined was really just an act to demonstrate the feminine frailty deemed attractive in the 19th century. Agatha recognized this as an antique mentality; 20th century girls were made of heartier stuff. In Tuppence she created a leading lady who not only embraced the bobbed hair and ankle-baring fashions of her day but also the why-not-me spirit of the post-war girl.

- E