|
In this 1930 book Agatha Christie first introduced her other famous detective, Miss Jane Marple. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead in England. In this book everybody hates Colonel Protheroe, including the vicar, his wife, his daughter, and the townsfolk. Then suddenly he is found in the study of the vicarage, shot in the head. Miss Marple states that she can think of a great number of people who could have killed him. She explains that she uses her knowledge of human nature, acquired throughout her life, to understand the way people act. She solves the crime by relating the suspects to characters from her past, thus understanding them in a more complete sense. In this book we also have a very accurate account of village life in 1930s England. Everyone knows everybody else, gossip and rumors abound, the people meddle in each other's business, and so on. Christie gives us an interesting and unexpected ending, keeping the reader off track until the very end, thus making the book one of her classics. The novel was dedicated to her daughter, Rosalind, only 12 when it was published.
Click to buy
|
