I love that you love Miss Marple as much as I did when I read her in my twenties. I'm remembering this book as you describe it and as soon as my library opens I will read it again. Thank you for re-energizing my Delight in Agatha Christie
I love to hear your observations/ musings on all things Christie! I always learn something new I would've never thought of. Loved these short stories, it was a 5* read for me :)
Lol yes! She is definitely savage in this one. And i feel, with each story, we get to know miss marple a bit more and her personality feels like it’s coming through a little more each time. I love love all the dialogues in this collection. My favourite part is when Miss Marple said “I hope you dear young people will never realise how very wicked the world is.”. And I love what Mrs Bantry said when Sir Henry was complaining that the ladies have yet to tell any stories. She said,”We’ve displayed the true womanly attitude - not wishing to thrust ourselves into the limelight”. Lol I feel like that’s me making an excuse when I’m at a dinner party and feeling too shy to speak.
You are making me want to reread all the Miss Marple stories. Which means buying more books. Trying - to - resist. Or I could always go to the library - whew. I love Joan Hickson in the Miss Marple role... so much!
I adored your shade re: "The Idol House of Astarte", it definitely is a funny little story. I can actually remember how I felt reading that as a kid and being kind of confused as to what was going on back then. Also, imagine if no one bothered to go and look for her and she was just hovering around in the dark all night in her little outfit 😂. By the way, my best friend was in the room with me while I was listening to your review and you've totally sold him on reading this collection. 😊
She really is so hard core- which makes her fun, I'm finding. This little prim old lady who is secretly getting the noose ready for any criminal who crosses her path o_O
"just assume humans are terrible and capable of the worst you can think of" I mean, I work in tourism and see such a concentration of stupidity and entitlement that I'm well on my way to becoming a Miss Marple.
I do think we can't really fathom how big spiritism was at the turn of 1900. I just don't see people talking about it (as much) anymore (It made a big comeback in the late 90's, but died down way quicker!)
Now I can finally say that i read an Agatha Christie-novel 🤣🤣 I really enjoyed these short stories and I'm always impressed when authors manage to tie them together. With the setup of the Tuesday Night Club that makes things a bit easier, but still ... I was able to guess most of the answers to the stories the people told but honestly, I think that's fine. I didn't get the feeling that the big reveal is the thing one reads these stories for. It's more about the characters and their interaction and the appreciation they develop for Miss Marple over time. I liked the dynamic between her and that ex-detective a lot. And I totally underestimated the actress. That one actually caught me by surprise! I don't think those books will become my favourites but it was a pleasurable read and I preorderd The Body in the Library from my local library (lol). I guess nobody minds when I'm two weeks late for every video🤣
I do enjoy these short stories, which introduce us to Miss Marple. But in these first problems Marple is depicted as an intolerant, sanctimonious old biddy. In the later books she is far more human and more likeable.
Sometimes with Christie's short stories I think she plays with trying her hand at the kind of stories other mystery writers at the time were writing. For instance, The Grove of Astarte feels almost exactly like a Father Brown story (G K Chesterton). While Father Brown has a faith (Catholic) and so does Miss Marple (Church of England), neither of them is a fool who believes every "spiritual" tale or situation presented to them. They both see through the fake spirituality. I agree this story is ludicrous, but no more so than the Father Brown stories. The theme of women going unnoticed or underestimated or ignored is very strong in all the Marple books and was clearly something Christie felt strongly about. The characters she reserves most of her satire for are usually men who dismiss women and put them down. They are always shown to be stupid in the end. It is tempting to think that Archie Christie might have been this kind of man and that Agatha was getting some literary revenge, especially in the earlier years after her divorce :)
@@bookslikewhoa I read and liked them when I was in my teens, but on rereading some a few years ago, they felt too contrived and the plots were so thin. Never mind, at least Christie hasn't disappointed on recent re-readings.
