Thank you, it's good to be back Time to resume our regular visits to the Classic Mysteries vault.
Why is the phrase "that little old lady" usually considered to be a pejorative? It shouldn't be, as has been proved over and over again in detective fiction. Consider the case of Miss Jane Marple, Agatha Christie's #2 sleuth (after Hercule Poirot). She may look quiet and demure, but a fair number of murderers have learned too late that underestimating Miss Marple is a serious error. Between 1930 and 1976, Christie produced a dozen novels starring Miss Marple. One of the best, I think, was 4:50 from Paddington, which appeared in 1957, the seventh of those books. I gave the book an audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast several years ago, and I offer a transcript of that review for your reading enjoyment now. As usual, it has been slightly edited:
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Inspector Craddock was quite open with his friend Miss Jane Marple about why he’d been sent down by Scotland Yard to investigate the murder. Inspector Craddock quotes his boss as saying:
"Well, as this seems a completely cockeyed business, all thought up by a couple of old ladies who’ve turned out, against all probability to be right, and since you already know one of these old ladies, I’m sending you down on the case. So here I am!"
What Inspector Craddock was sent to investigate was the alleged murder of an unknown woman aboard a train – and the disappearance of her body. Unfortunately for the murderer, there was a witness to that crime – and that witness was a good friend of Miss Marple. It happened on 4:50 from Paddington – which is the name of the book by Agatha Christie.
The seemingly improbable murder was only observed by Elspeth McGillicuddy because she happened to be looking out the window of the railroad car in which she was riding as another train overtook hers and passed it slowly. What she saw in one of the passing compartments in a carriage of the other train was a man strangling a woman. She duly reported what she had seen to the railroad authorities and to the police – and they did investigate. But there was no body to be found anywhere. Perhaps the elderly woman had merely dreamed it.
Elspeth McGillicuddy said no – and she told her story to her good friend, Miss Jane Marple. Curiously enough, Miss Marple believed her – believed her enough to set some wheels of her own in motion in an effort to find that missing woman’s body. But when a body was found, it appeared that nobody could figure out who the victim was – or why she was killed where she was killed – or who might have been involved. It took a lot of ingenuity on Miss Marple’s part to figure out what had really happened. But then Miss Marple’s knowledge of human nature – knowledge acquired by her living in the small village of St. Mary Mead – enabled her to imagine and understand all kinds of wrongdoing. This rather shocked Inspector Craddock. At one point, he says to Miss Marple:
"You imagined what you’d do if you were a cruel and cold-blooded murderer?" said Craddock, looking thoughtfully at Miss Marple’s pink and white elderly fragility. “Really, your mind…”
“Like a sink, my nephew Raymond used to say,” Miss Marple agreed, nodding her head briskly. But as I always told him, sinks are necessary domestic equipment and actually very hygienic.”
As it turned out, Inspector Craddock was fortunate to have Miss Marple’s help – although neither of them could foresee or forestall additional killings. What they did find led them to the country estate of a family with more than its share of tensions – and a wealthy patriarch whose wealth just might be enough temptation to attract a murderer.
In its American edition, 4:50 from Paddington was originally entitled What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw when it was published, in 1957. I think it’s one of Miss Marple’s stronger outings. Although Agatha Christie had been writing mysteries for more than 30 years by this time, she still was able to come up with some first-rate characters and some remarkably astute tricks to deceive her readers. I suspect that the revelation of what really happened…and why…is likely to surprise most readers. Misdirection was Christie’s strong suit, of course, and it’s nicely on display in 4:50 from Paddington.
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You can listen to the original audio review by clicking here.
Next: The Lake District Murder, by John Bude.
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