Sleuthing Miss Marple mirrors the structure and playful analytic style of a detective novel. Beginning at the ‘scene of the crime’, this investigation places Agatha Christie and the clue-puzzle in historical context, casting light on the methods, the motives, and, in a sense, the alibis that underpin Christie’s crime fiction. In keeping with the clue-puzzle analytical method devised for this book, each chapter builds towards a conclusion that delivers a surprising intellectual payoff. This enquiry is unapologetically textual in approach. It constructs a rigorous evidence base drawn from the Marple short stories and novels, and presents a useful interpretation of crime fiction scholarship. This provides a foundation for original literary analyses that reveal Christie’s engagements with gender roles and genre rules, and the sleights of hand that they conceal. Christie’s modus operandi is uncovered, as are the narrative strategies and literary devices that she deployed to ambush unwary readers. Crucially, this investigation shows how Christie’s ingenious methods made it possible for an elderly spinster to get away with solving murder. Sleuthing Miss Marple will be invaluable for students and researchers of crime fiction, twentieth-century literature, and creative writing.

The rage for crime fiction today mysteriously includes a wide and enduring attraction to the few remaining wholly admirable role models still available to readers. The iconic Miss Marple, ‘faved’ by traditionalists and pop fans alike, deftly models her love of God and neighbor in concrete terms—and stands boldly for Truth and Good. This beloved, enigmatic, mild-mannered spinster champions the triumph of order over chaos in society, through her process of detection in which the solution rests in provable fact. ,

The Sittaford Mystery is Dame Agatha at her most intriguing, as a séance in a snowbound house predicts a particularly grisly murder. In a remote house in the middle of Dartmoor, six shadowy figures huddle around a table for a seance. Tension rises as the spirits spell out a chilling message: "Captain Trevelyan . . . dead . . . murder." Is this black magic or simply a macabre joke? The only way to be certain is to locate Captain Trevelyan. Unfortunately, his home is six miles away and, with snowdrifts blocking the roads, someone will have to make the journey on foot. . . .

A corpse is discovered in the home of Col. and Mrs. Bantry, and when suspicion fall on the colonel, Miss Marple set out to prove her innocence.

This book explores the inter-relationships between Agatha Christie and her works to seek the wholeness in the Christie experience. The authors perceive an integration in personal experience and moral and aesthetic values between the woman and her art.

In Utter Disbelief Miss Marple Read The Letter Addressed To Her From The Recently Deceased Mr Rafiel An Acquaintance She Had Met Briefly On Her Travels. Recognising In Miss Marple A Natural Flair For Justice, Mr Rafiel Had Left Instructions For Her To Investigate A Crime After His Death. The Only Problem Was, He Had Failed To Tell Her Who Was Involved Or Where And When The Crime Had Been Committed. It Was Most Intriguing.

The definitive companion to the MISS MARPLE novels, short stories, films and TV appearances, now revised and updated.