Agatha Christie
Murder at the Vicarage
It is Agatha Christie's novel from the Miss Marple series, published in October 1930. This is the first major work in which Miss Marple acts, and the next novel about her was not written until ten years later.
Plot:
The action takes place in the village of St. Mary Mead, where Miss Marple lives. The story is told on behalf of the vicar Clement, who is one of the main characters. Colonel Prothero arranges to visit the vicar to discuss an important matter. Shortly before the appointed time of the meeting, the vicar is summoned by telephone to a dying man, and he leaves. The colonel, who has come to the meeting, is found dead in the vicar's house - he has been shot in the back of the head with a pistol. On the table in front of the Colonel is an overturned stopped clock and an unfinished letter, which the Colonel seems to have started to write, having decided not to wait for the tardy host. The doors of the house were open; anyone could have entered and killed the Colonel. At a time close to the time of the murder, some witnesses heard a shot, but thought it was someone in the woods firing. The vicar, summoned by a phone call, learns that the call was false - the man he was summoned to see is not that bad at all and the priest was not invited to see him. It seems that the call was made, changing his voice, by a murderer to get the witness out of the way. Miss Marple takes the case on her own.
The action takes place in the village of St. Mary Mead, where Miss Marple lives. The story is told on behalf of the vicar Clement, who is one of the main characters. Colonel Prothero arranges to visit the vicar to discuss an important matter. Shortly before the appointed time of the meeting, the vicar is summoned by telephone to a dying man, and he leaves. The colonel, who has come to the meeting, is found dead in the vicar's house - he has been shot in the back of the head with a pistol. On the table in front of the Colonel is an overturned stopped clock and an unfinished letter, which the Colonel seems to have started to write, having decided not to wait for the tardy host. The doors of the house were open; anyone could have entered and killed the Colonel. At a time close to the time of the murder, some witnesses heard a shot, but thought it was someone in the woods firing. The vicar, summoned by a phone call, learns that the call was false - the man he was summoned to see is not that bad at all and the priest was not invited to see him. It seems that the call was made, changing his voice, by a murderer to get the witness out of the way. Miss Marple takes the case on her own.
Problematic:
Love is one of the most written-about topics in literature, and Christie attempts to add something to the conversation by portraying romantic love from different angles. Just as no two criminals are alike - some are beyond redemption, others just a little misguided - so too, the novel suggests, are no two loves alike. Any skilled mystery writer needs to be able to conjure up plausible motivations, and Christie expertly shows how love can lead to crime - as well as how it can lead to something more.
Love is one of the most written-about topics in literature, and Christie attempts to add something to the conversation by portraying romantic love from different angles. Just as no two criminals are alike - some are beyond redemption, others just a little misguided - so too, the novel suggests, are no two loves alike. Any skilled mystery writer needs to be able to conjure up plausible motivations, and Christie expertly shows how love can lead to crime - as well as how it can lead to something more.
Topic & issues:
1. Romantic love
2. Justice
3. Greediness
4. Blackmail
Characters:
1. Miss Marple
Peculiarities of text composition & genre features:
Compositionally, this novel cannot be divided into separate parts. The plot unfolds gradually, step by step. The key moments are the murder, the investigation of the murder and the solving of the murder. It is noteworthy that the protagonist Miss Marple does not really appear that often in the novel, most of the action takes place without her participation, however, she appears in all the important moments for the plot twist.
Compositionally, this novel cannot be divided into separate parts. The plot unfolds gradually, step by step. The key moments are the murder, the investigation of the murder and the solving of the murder. It is noteworthy that the protagonist Miss Marple does not really appear that often in the novel, most of the action takes place without her participation, however, she appears in all the important moments for the plot twist.
Genre features:
This detective is characterized by the following features: a strict course of events: the murder and its investigation and disclosure; stereotypical characters whose behavior is predictable; deduction of the detective, answers to all questions at the end of the novel. There are also "false moves" and false suspects.
This detective is characterized by the following features: a strict course of events: the murder and its investigation and disclosure; stereotypical characters whose behavior is predictable; deduction of the detective, answers to all questions at the end of the novel. There are also "false moves" and false suspects.
