“The Murder at the Vicarage” by Agatha Christie – Marple's Debut

Though Agatha Christie has certainly gained untold levels of notoriety for her stories featuring the unforgettable Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, it is sometimes easy to forget that somewhere down the line, she created a sort of counterpart: Miss Marple.

A lovely aged lady, Miss Marple is rather gifted when it comes to powers of deduction, and often unwittingly finds herself in the middle of quite morbid affairs which call upon her specific talents.

Her run in literature was no less impressive than Poirot's, netting an array of stories, and this review will focus on the beginning of it all, The Murder at the Vicarage.

As with most Agatha Christie novels, it begins with a rather simple premise which sets the stage for a very solid whodunit. The wildly unpopular Colonel Protheroe is suddenly found dead in the study of a vicar, and of course, a number of people out there have no qualms with things turning out this way, and they include his wife, daughter, a passing artist, a poacher, and because murder is blind to religion, to vicar himself.

And so, Miss Marple ends up finding herself embroiled in this whole chaotic mess, slowly but surely finding the right pieces and putting them together to unmask the real culprit behind it all.

First and foremost, as every single Agatha Christie review ought to mention this, it is written in accordance with a rule that the author has followed from the very beginning of her career; the reader has as much of a chance to solve the mystery as the acting investigator.

Of course, we are may not be bestowed with the investigative powers of these beloved protagonists, but we nevertheless have access to the same clues that they do, and you can rest assured there is no dramatic last-minute unveiling that changes the whole picture. Everything is fair and square.

Now, moving on from that, the story and its characters are basically the archetype for British whodunit mysteries, or at least so it seems. The events take place in a small and quaint village, and they unfold at a steady pace with the reader being measurably fed more and more clues until the climax where all is revealed.

Despite the nature of the situation (a murder), the book nevertheless manages to retain a rather calm and relaxing atmosphere, with the accent being placed on the actual solving of the crime, rather than the protagonist having to deal with some sort of physical danger.

Speaking of characters, they are exactly what you can expect from Agatha Christie; a tad one-sided, but nevertheless developed deeply enough that we can have some feelings towards and opinions about them. Perhaps they may feel somewhat stereotypical today, which is why it is important to keep in mind that this is what actually pioneered those stereotypes.

With everything taken into consideration, The Murder at the Vicarage is an excellent introduction to the character of Miss Marple for those who haven't gotten to know her that well, and of course, an all-around solid piece of work by the godmother of whodunit mysteries.

I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a more cerebral novel that takes its time and respects the reader's intelligence.

---

Agatha Christie (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) Personal site Agatha Christie is thought of by many as being the grandmother of murder mysteries. Throughout her novels, which include the classics And Then There Were None and Death on the Nile, Christie developed many groundbreaking techniques for her time, most of which are being used in one way or another by modern murder mystery writers.