Book Club

Marple Stories

Christie never intended Miss Marple to rival Poirot in the publics affections, but this spinster sleuth soon proved a hit with the public.  Here's the place to discuss her stories - but beware spoilers!

If you can't find your favourite Miss Marple story, don't worry - more will be added shortly.

Warning: These discussions may contain spoilers!

4.50 from Paddington

Moderator1 10 Nov 09 at 11:30 a.m. GMT

Miss Marple's friend Mrs McGillicuddy claims she saw a murder happen on a train but there is report of one.  Jane Marple believes her friend though and consulting a map realises that if a body was thrown from a train Rutherford Hall, home of the Crackenthorpe family, would be the obvious place.  Unable to infiltrate the house herself, Miss Marple enlists the help of the super-competent Lucy Eyelesbarrow

Is Lucy Eyelesbarrow another of Christie's 'heroic young women' or just a useful character who can do Miss Marple's snooping?  Was Christie wrong not to pair Lucy up with Miss Marple in a further story or two? 

Login or register to add posts and reply

44 replies

Reverse order

Epsilon14 28 Dec 11 at 4:09 p.m. GMT

It was nice to notice that the main character shifted but Miss Marple should have been given more role. Also, there was everything except detective work. Marple kept suggesting she had a doubt. In the end, Mrs. Elspeth just said it was him. For a read, it is okay.   

MaliniBose 15 Nov 11 at 7:32 p.m. GMT

This was my first Agatha Christie so it'll always be special. To my nine year old mind, it was the best story I'd ever read. I must admit though, that what really bowled me over were the names Elspeth McGillicuddy and Eylesbarrow.

I remember having liked Lucy immensely because of her innate confidence and native intelligence. That said, she wasn't, in my opinion, an extraordinary AC character. Perhaps she could have been given another story but I'm not crying into my pillow because she wasn't.

de_misteri 29 Sep 11 at 6:16 p.m. GMT

I also found it a little far fetched how they just guessed who the woman wad, and happened to be right... But it was still one of my favourites...

de_misteri 29 Sep 11 at 6:15 p.m. GMT

I am just writing a  murder-mystery, and I realised how much alike Lucy Eyelesbarrow and my character, Lucy Fox are!  I was just a little disappointed to find that Lucy was the main character in the book, not the usual Miss Marple. I still loved the story, and I found the characters particularly good in this book. Curistie always seems to create the most detailed, realistic characters- that's one thing I realy like about her writing!!! 

originality_querido 07 Sep 11 at 8:11 p.m. GMT

THIS BOOK IS ONE OF THE WORST I READ SO FAR!!! THE DOCTOR WASN'T EVEN NEAR TO BE ON THE SPOT. AND THE FACT THAT ONLY AT THE END ONLY BECAUSE THE WOMAN SAW HIM MAKES IT FOR ME SOOOO LAME. I MEAN, THAT WAY I SHOULD HAVE READ THE BEGGING AND THE END AND THAT WAS IT. I HAD TO STRUGGLE SO HARD TO KEEP ON GOING, NOTHING OTHER SEEMED TO BE REALLY HAPPENING. SO FAR I DIDN'T READ ANY OTHER NEGATIVE COMMENT THAN MINE .

deboluccia 29 Nov 10 at 2:14 a.m. GMT

It was really uncharacteristic of AC to leave the Lucy's husband question so open. I think she picked Craddock, based on Miss Marple's twinkling at him (otherwise the twinkling makes no sense), because Lucy makes Craddock feel inferior, and because of his rampant handsomeness. Also because the heroines never end up with anyone AC obviously thinks is a schmoe. Cedric has too high an opinion of himself and Eastley is just too ineffectual. Even if AC originally planned to pair Lucy up with Cedric I think she changed her mind. But she definitely left us hanging and I'm wondering where and when that particular book was finished--was she packing up to go on a dig or was there some other reason she had to finish it up quickly? As to the story being "unlikely" and "flawed", does anybody seriously read AC for accurate accounts of true crime? I love her wit and her character description most of all. Each one of her books is a friend.

englishriviera 23 Nov 10 at 6:59 p.m. GMT

Well, as I have read the book many times, saw the adptations many, many times aswell, now the real fun is discovering details, such as, how and when  AC built the plot to create 4:50 from Paddington?  In The Secret diaries of AC,  notebook 47, before writing about the plot, she made a list about locations including - a crime seeing from a train, dated middle 50´s.

Her notebooks were not written in cronological order so it is very difficult to situate the notes in a precise period, but fortunately this list was. It also included ideas for a crime in a hotel, probably (At Bertram´s) and at a school, maybe(Cat among the piegeons), so in the fifties she was probably builting all these plots...

Tommy_A_Jones 21 Nov 10 at 4:17 p.m. GMT

I love this one aswell, and I really like the Adaptations you mention, I will have to buy the Audiobook you mention, The Audiobook I have where MM is played by June Whitfield doesn't do the book Justice, I love the JH version also.

I agree it is fun to discover the Murderer is the one least expected. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER the fact alot of the Characters are related makes you think the Murderer is.

englishriviera 20 Nov 10 at 12:40 a.m. GMT

It is real fun to discover that the most unlikely character is actually the murderer. I love this book! I like very much the Margaret Rutherford version and the Geraldine McEwan aswell. The audiobook by Harper Collins read by Joan Hickson is also verygood.

jgoetsch 08 Nov 10 at 3:20 p.m. GMT

I really enjoyed the book. I really never would've guessed that it would be the doctor. But, with Agatha Christie, surprizes are inevitable!!

InspectorGrant 01 Nov 10 at 2:59 p.m. GMT

I liked the Margaret Rutherford version of this story as well - she was absolutely hilarious, especially when she dressed up as a French maid.

In the Joan Hickson version, I also liked the actress who portrayed Lucy - she was very attractive and I was hoping that she would marry Brian Eastly at the end.  I can't remember now whether it was left a bit open ended - that she had a choice between Brian and Cedric the artist. 

ivi21 01 Nov 10 at 12:25 p.m. GMT

This story is also one of my favourite. And I'd like to see Lucy in another story, but then we would lose the fun to guess who she could marry

englishriviera 30 Oct 10 at 1:29 a.m. GMT

Lucy seems to be a very practical and capable young woman who likes adventure. She can handle any problem with elegance and she is, of course, very confident.

Brian Eastly is a suitable companion for her.

I love the story and the films based on it. Recently I´ve seen the Margareth Rutherford "Miss Marple" series, despite the changing of thestries and characters I loved her acting as an old spinster sleuth.

Tommy_A_Jones 10 Sep 10 at 4:35 p.m. GMT

When I recently read it for the 2nd time I realised it in a couple of ways;

1) I thought Miss Marples ankles were describred as China-blue

2) I thought Lucy had chosen between Brian and Inspector Craddock.

ivi21 10 Sep 10 at 4:29 p.m. GMT

I was almost sure that it was inspector Craddock who could she marry when I read the book for the first time, because of what is at the end of the book. Miss Marple asks inspector if he didn't know who will Lucy marry. I think she wouln't ask him this, if she didn'tknow, that it's he. She would just said who it is. Now I'm less sure, but I still hope it was Craddock.

xrysoula 18 Aug 10 at 5:17 p.m. GMT

Well, in Lucy 's shoes, I would definately go for Brian Eastley. When it comes to marriage, I have a thing for reliable men above anything else.Besides, Brian is also handsome and warm-hearted, we can tell by his relationship with his son.

There is an an old saying in Greece,something like "Love passes  from the stomach first", and I think the fact that all these attractive men want to marry Lucy, the superb cook, is a proof of how true it turns out to be!

Yunakitty 15 Aug 10 at 1:41 a.m. GMT

I seem to be alone on this, but I always thought Miss Marple was hinting that Lucy wouldn't choose either.  She's a woman who values her independence and perhaps marriage isn't something she would want.

Li_Chang_Yen 06 Aug 10 at 5:39 a.m. GMT

I would also hope that it will be Inspector Craddock.

If you are Lucy, who would you pick?

xrysoula 01 Jul 10 at 3:43 p.m. GMT

No, I 've read quite a few of the others too.Today I found the time to add some more replies in a few of my favorites.

Lone_Wolf 01 Jul 10 at 2:42 p.m. GMT

The notebooks weren't the finalized plots. In the book, Christie left the ending ambigious.

I liked the BBC adaption more then the book, but then, I found the book quite uninspired.

BTW, Xrysoula, did you read a Poirot/non-series novel, or have you only read the Marples so far?