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Miss Marple – Miss Marple and Mystery: The Complete Short Stories
Agatha Christie
An omnibus of 55 short stories, presented for the first time in chronological order.Described by her friend Dolly Bantry as ‘ the typical old maid of fiction’, Miss Marple has lived almost her entire life in the sleepy hamlet of St Mary Mead. Yet, by observing village life she has gained an unparalleled insight into human nature – and used it to devasting effect. As her friend Sir Henry Clithering, the ex-Commissioner of Scotland Yard has been heard to say: ‘She’s just the finest detective God ever made.’ – and many Agatha Christie fans would agree.Appearing for the first time in The Murder at The Vicarage (1930) her crime-fighting career spanned over forty years when she solved her final case in 1977 in Sleeping Murder. With every tale flawlessly plotted by the Queen of Crime herself, these short stories provide a feast for hardened Agatha Christie addicts as well as those who have grown to love the detective through her many film and television appearances.Here, for the first time, more than 50 of Agatha Christie’s mini masterpieces have been collected together in one volume, perfectly illustrating the true breadth of her talent. As well as every story featuring Miss Marple, the book includes additional stand-alone tales, from macabre tales of the supernatural, through suspense-ridden mysteries, to heart-stopping cases of murder.
Agatha Christie
Miss
Marple
and Mystery
The Complete
Short Stories
Copyright (#ulink_73d02901-9420-5ba3-ba56-eb7dc4a22498)
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
This collection first published 2008
Copyright © 2008 Agatha Christie Ltd
Agatha Christie asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library
The publishers would like to acknowledge the help of Karl Pike in the preparation of this volume.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Source ISBN: 9780007284184
Ebook Edition © JULY 2011 ISBN: 9780007438976
Version: 2018-10-08
Contents
Stories featuring Miss Marple appear in bold
Cover (#u17ef0fe1-6561-5338-b03d-5e07504d1d91)
Title Page (#uc423724a-8887-55a8-abbc-e8b8a376726e)
Copyright
Author’s Foreword to Miss Marple and the Thirteen Problems
1. The Actress
2. The Girl in the Train
3. While the Light Lasts
4. The Red Signal
5. The Mystery of the Blue Jar
6. Jane in Search of a Job
7. Mr Eastwood’s Adventure
8. Philomel Cottage
9. The Manhood of Edward Robinson
10. The Witness for the Prosecution
11. Wireless
12. Within a Wall
13. The Listerdale Mystery
14. The Fourth Man
15. The House of Dreams
16. S.O.S.
17. Magnolia Blossom
18. The Lonely God
19. The Rajah’s Emerald
20. Swan Song
21. The Last Séance
22. The Edge
23. The Tuesday Night Club
24. The Idol House of Astarte
25. Ingots of Gold
26. The Bloodstained Pavement
27. Motive v. Opportunity
28. The Thumb Mark of St Peter
29. A Fruitful Sunday
30. The Golden Ball
31. Accident
32. Next to a Dog
33. Sing a Song of Sixpence
34. The Blue Geranium
35. The Companion
36. The Four Suspects
37. A Christmas Tragedy
38. The Herb of Death
39. The Affair at the Bungalow
40. Manx Gold
41. Death by Drowning
42. The Hound of Death
43. The Gipsy
44. The Lamp
45. The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
46. The Call of Wings
47. In a Glass Darkly
48. Miss Marple Tells a Story
49. Strange Jest
50. Tape-Measure Murder
51. The Case of the Caretaker
52. The Case of the Perfect Maid
53. Sanctuary
54. Greenshaw’s Folly
55. The Dressmaker’s Doll
Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)
Appendix: Short Story Chronology
Also by the Author
Also in this Series
Agatha Christie: Miss Marple Omnibus
Agatha Christie: Miss Marple Omnibus
Agatha Christie: Miss Marple Omnibus
Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories
Also Available
Agatha Christie: The Mary Westmacott Collection
Agatha Christie: The Mary Westmacott Collection
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Author’s Foreword to Miss Marple and the Thirteen Problems (#ulink_49ec5f75-ef4d-5f6f-993d-d22b254fb33a)
These problems were Miss Marple’s first introduction to the world of detective story readers. Miss Marple has some faint affinity with my own grandmother, also a pink and white pretty old lady who, although having led the most sheltered and Victorian of lives, nevertheless always appeared to be intimately acquainted with all the depths of human depravity. One could be made to feel incredibly naïve and credulous by her reproachful remark: ‘But did you believe what they said to you? You shouldn’t do that. I never do!’
I enjoyed writing the Miss Marple stories very much, conceived a great affection for my fluffy old lady, and hoped that she might be a success. She was. After the first six stories had appeared, six more were requested, Miss Marple had definitely come to stay.
She has appeared now in several books and also in a play – and actually rivals Hercule Poirot in popularity. I get about an equal number of letters, one lot saying: ‘I wish you would always have Miss Marple and not Poirot,’ and the other ‘I wish you would have Poirot and not Miss Marple.’ I myself incline to her side. I think, that she is at her best in the solving of short problems; they suit her more intimate style. Poirot, on the other hand, insists on a full length book to display his talents.
These Thirteen Problems contain, I consider, the real essence of Miss Marple for those who like her.
AGATHA CHRISTIE
