Appointment With Agatha discussion

For September, we are reading a set of Marple short stories!

Agatha Christie's website describes it thus:

The Tuesday Night Club is a venue where locals challenge Miss Marple to solve recent crimes. One Tuesday evening a group gathers at Miss Marple’s house and the conversation turns to unsolved crimes. The case of the disappearing bloodstains; the thief who committed his crime twice over; the message on the death-bed of a poisoned man which read ‘heap of fish’; the strange case of the invisible will; a spiritualist who warned that ‘Blue Geranium’ meant death. Now pit your wits against the powers of deduction of the ‘Tuesday Night Club’.

This is one of my favorite collections! The conceit of the Tuesday Night Club around which it is arranged is a lot of fun, and we encounter some of the characters who show up in the full length Marple novels, including Sir Henry Clithering, Colonel and Dolly Bantry and Raymond West.

Enjoy! No spoilers on this thread, please!

Thread is now open.

Looking forward to this re-read - I think I read it for the first time in about 1980. As I recall, it's a good collection.

This is a first read for me, although I probably won’t get to it for a week or two. As it’s been years since I’ve read any Christie besides lasts months short stories, I’m looking forward to seeing the contrast between the Poirot read in August to this month with Miss Marple.

The great thing about this group and its reads is that I have all the books already. :) I've just taken The Thirteen Problems down off the shelf and will start it this evening.

This will be a re-read for me. And I will probably prioritise other reads over it. I'm not a fan of Miss Marple (as some of you know) and I don't remember enjoying this book particularly when I read it last.
However, I also don't remember many (any?) of the stories, so who knows, maybe I'll enjoy the book more this time around? I'm certainly intrigued to find out if Miss has grown on me.

❂ Murder by Death wrote: "The great thing about this group and its reads is that I have all the books already. :) I've just taken The Thirteen Problems down off the shelf and will start it this evening."

I already have it on audio and I'm really looking forward to listening to it again.

I'm going with it early because it fits my Halloween Bingo card to a tee (13), and turns out to be first card called, to boot.

I ordered a paperback so it won’t arrive for a week or so. Very excited to get started!

Becky wrote: "I ordered a paperback so it won’t arrive for a week or so. Very excited to get started!"

Becks - so fun to see you here!

I have to be very careful with my edition - it's a 1975 paperback. I turn the pages gingerly.

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads wrote: "I'm going with it early because it fits my Halloween Bingo card to a tee (13), and turns out to be first card called, to boot."

And now you've just given me a reason to skip over Farjeon's 13 for Dinner. I don't know why I keep avoiding that book, but seeing as how I'm already reading this one...

My edition is 1977 so I will be taking it easy on my book as well. I am a bit worried as the pages have yellowed.

Just started it. Love the premise.

I've read the first three stories and am really enjoying it. Miss Marple is in fine form.

This is a fun collection of stories.

I finished a few days ago - I really enjoyed this collection of stories, even more than the Poirot stories.

I really like the way that she uses the frame of the Tuesday night club/conversations among friends to tie them together. That helps me to move forward because I'm enjoying the camaraderie between friends. My problem with short stories is that I really prefer longer works, so having some sort of a linkage between stories helps me to keep reading.

I don't know that I can pick a favorite, but I really enjoyed The Bloodstained Pavement and The Thumbmark of St. Peter, which show off Marple's skills to such excellent advantage. And I thought that Motive v Opportunity was such a clever little story. If there was a dud among them, I would say that Jane Helier's story was the weakest, but it was also completely in character for her to tell a story that was really just about herself.

Sir Henry Clithering is one of my favorite recurring characters in the Marple books, and seeing him here for the first time is so much fun. These stories really explain how Sir Henry becomes so respectful of Miss Marple's skill at understanding human nature, and he remains her champion throughout the novels.

I got the impression that Jane wasn't a very bright light!

Christine PNW wrote: "Sir Henry Clithering is one of my favorite recurring characters in the Marple books, and seeing him here for the first time is so much fun. These stories really explain how Sir Henry becomes so respectful of Miss Marple's skill at understanding human nature, and he remains her champion throughout the novels."

I've gotten through 8 of the stories so far, and Sir Henry has really stood out to me for exactly that reason. I know I've read some of the books he's in before, but I don't really remember him, so it's going to be interesting to return to them and see how these stories change how I read them.

It's interesting that there are two Janes- the smartest member of the group, Miss Marple-and her opposite.

Rosemarie wrote: "It's interesting that there are two Janes- the smartest member of the group, Miss Marple-and her opposite."

It is. We get another actress named Jane (Wilkinson) in Lord Edgware Dies. I wonder if Jane Helier was the (loose, since the two characters are quite different) inspiration for that Jane?

She does use the name Jane at least one other time off the top of my head - Jane Grey in Death in the Clouds. It's a common name, though, so it may mean nothing.

Christine PNW wrote: "Rosemarie wrote: "It's interesting that there are two Janes- the smartest member of the group, Miss Marple-and her opposite."

It is. We get another actress named Jane (Wilkinson) in [book:Lord Edg..."

Raymond's fiancée actually changes her name somewhere mid-season (Joyce / vs. Jane). That said, as my favorite example shows (Gladys the maid(s)), Christie certainly did reuse first names.

Btw, did the name "Little Paddocks" (as also seen / heard in "A Murder Is Announced") stand out to anyone else?

This was a re-read for me and I enjoyed it much better than when I first read the stories. I'm still not a fan of Miss M. but I do adore the other members of the Tuesday Night Club. Mrs. B - sorry - Mrs. Bantry will always be my favourite, followed by Sir Henry.

The Tuesday Night club setting really makes this collection stand out.

I loved re-discovering how some of my favourite stories started since Christie tended to re-work characters and ideas from short stories into her novels.
@Christine PNW - I think you said the same earlier, too.

My least favourite of the stories (The Four Suspects) actually made me laugh because I could see the story acting as a catalyst for two of the novels - one that I really like a lot, and one that is ... well ... I think to say more might be a spoiler.

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "Christine PNW wrote: "Rosemarie wrote: "It's interesting that there are two Janes- the smartest member of the group, Miss Marple-and her opposite."

It is. We get another actress named Jane (Wilkin..."

Re Little Paddocks - Yes, it did. As did the names - I found this quite confusing at times because some of the names are so similar (or the same) as those of characters in other books. So it was quite a task sometimes to disassociate the name from the characters in the other books.

Oh, and I did laugh at the comment about gardeners in of the stories. Christie had a thing about gardeners, usually poking fun at them. As she did here.

Christine PNW wrote: "Sir Henry Clithering is one of my favorite recurring characters in the Marple books, and seeing him here for the first time is so much fun. These stories really explain how Sir Henry becomes so respectful of Miss Marple's skill at understanding human nature, and he remains her champion throughout the novels."

I get a total kick out of hearing / reading him say, at the beginning of the second set of the "Tuesday Club" meetings, "None of us even realized she was playing, but to everybody's surprise she bested us every single time." He clearly still had a long way to go to his praise of her in later novels, but double thumbs up to him for having the stature to acknowledge and champion her abilities without any reserve whatsoever (and for insisting that she be invited to the second round in the first place).

My favorite here is probably Blue Geranium, but I enjoy all of them.

I have read the first 3. Normally I’m not a short story fan as I like something a bit longer and more consuming. I am enjoying these even more than the poirot stories

BrokenTune wrote: "My least favourite of the stories (The Four Suspects) actually made me laugh because I could see the story acting as a catalyst for two of the novels - one that I really like a lot, and one that is ... well ... I think to say more might be a spoiler.."

This one reminded me of some other stories as well - put it in spoiler tags in the spoiler thread & we'll see if we're the same!

I am a little bored by both of my current reads for Halloween Bingo so I decided to start on 'The Thirteen Problems' so I could read something that would give me an incentive to reach the next page.

I found I was already engaged by the end of the foreword. I'm delighted that Christic prefers Marple to Poirot. I take it as a sign of my own good taste :-)

When she concluded with:

'These Thirteen Problems contain, I consider, the real essence of Miss Marple for those who like her.

I knew I was in for a treat.

In my ignorance, I had passed over this collection and moved from 'A Murder At The Vicarage' to 'The Body In The Library'. I'm so glad that this group has helped me correct that error.

I've read the first story and I'm alread applauding Miss Marple's wit and dry humour. She inserts herself into the game being played by these bright people and outwits effortlessly, except perhaps for dropping a stitch and even that may have been theatre on her part - no one present would have been able to challenge her statement.

She is playing with this group, gently but wickedly.

I love the:

‘I am right, am I not? It seems so clear to me. the XXXXXXXX XXX XXXXXXXXX—and the XXXXX—I mean, one cannot miss it.’

As if she weren't perfectly aware that none of these clever folks has a clue.

Then, after having demonstrated that her understanding of depravity is deeper than her companions, she ends with this piece of insincerity:

"It is all very distressing and painful, and not a very nice thing to talk about."

Mike wrote: "I am a little bored by both of my current reads for Halloween Bingo so I decided to start on 'The Thirteen Problems' so I could read something that would give me an incentive to reach the next page..."

And of course, "Oh, I'm expressing this so badly / I find it so difficult to express myself clearly" etc. ... just so as not to make everybody else feel too badly about having been bested by her yet again! :D

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "And of course, "Oh, I'm expressing this so badly / I find it so difficult to express myself clearly" ..."

She may do it to spare the feelings of others, but this is what drives me the craziest about Miss Marple. Comes to close to simpering for my tastes. (Though I like her better than Poirot.)

❂ Murder by Death wrote: "Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "And of course, "Oh, I'm expressing this so badly / I find it so difficult to express myself clearly" ..."

She may do it to spare the feelings of others, bu..."

I think her simpering is aggressive. She uses it as a test and a weapon. a test to see who is dumb enough to believe her and a weapon to warn off or enlist the ones smart enough to see what's she's doing.

I see it a lot that way too, Mike.

I'm finishing up an ARC I'm reading and then I'll start this. I''m looking forward to it, even more now that I've read the comments here.

I’m about halfway through. I like the mysteries so far, I think it’s a fun read. I don’t know that I do prefer Poirot over Marple at this point, they’re both amusing in their own way. I feel like I like the mysteries better in this collection than last months read. But I don’t think I’d put that to Poirot or Marple, I just find these mysteries a bit more exciting perhaps ?

I do see the points about Marple that can be aggravating. She rather sits in the sidelines very innocently and then dives in for the kill. « Oh I’m sorry, did I just put you in your place? Serves you right. Oh dear me, I’ve dropped a stick, now where was I... » lol

Brenda wrote: "I’m about halfway through. I like the mysteries so far, I think it’s a fun read. I don’t know that I do prefer Poirot over Marple at this point, they’re both amusing in their own way. I feel like I..."

I prefer Poirot, but I also enjoyed this book more than Poirot Investigates (which I am ashamed to admit that I haven't quite finished! Quelle horreur for the moderator to not have finished the book!).

I think I just enjoyed the set up of this book a lot more. It almost feels like a novel. I really liked "linked" short stories, as it turns out.

I finished this yesterday and really liked it. The characters were fun to read interacting with one another in their groups. My favorites were Jane Helier and Sir Henry. Picking a favorite story is a bit harder, but I think I'd have to go with A Christmas Tragedy.

I'm three stories in and it seems to me that Agatha Christie was having fun debunking the major tropes of her time and having a little old lady solve everything without looking up from her knitting. So far we've had spies and assassins, a pagan goddess and sunken galleons and Spanish gold and all of them have been taken off at the knees by some applied common sense and a knowledge of human nature gleaned from a close observation of village life. The whole thing takes the mickey out of mystery stories.

Mike wrote: "I'm three stories in and it seems to me that Agatha Christie was having fun debunking the major tropes of her time and having a little old lady solve everything without looking up from her knitting..."

I love this observation!

Finally started it this evening. Have enjoyed the first story.

This is not just my first time reading The Thirteen Problems; it's also my first time reading any of Agatha Christie's works. This is what intrigued me about the Celebration reads, and a collection of short stories seemed a fantastic place to start.

And though I started just last night, I'm already four stories in. I'm enjoying them, but I'm still figuring out how to read them -- whether I should take my time and pick up the clues, or just enjoy the ride. I'm finding that these stories really can be read either way: the hints are there, but I can just enjoy the set-ups and wait for the revelations. I am getting a little annoyed, though, with how Jane Marple seems the only one capable of working out the solutions. That may be fine in a novel, but in a succession of stories it feels more like one of those philosophical dialogues in which one interlocutor is meant to be "right" and everyone else is just a poor foil.

Mark wrote: "This is not just my first time reading The Thirteen Problems; it's also my first time reading any of Agatha Christie's works. This is what intrigued me about the Celebration reads, and a collection..."

Hooray! Hi Mark! I'm glad you're joining us.

I usually prefer to enjoy the ride but I have to say that with these short stories I found it more enjoyable to read them slowly and pick up on the clues.

And, yes, I share your thoughts on Miss Marple. ;)

Mike wrote: "I'm three stories in and it seems to me that Agatha Christie was having fun debunking the major tropes of her time and having a little old lady solve everything without looking up from her knitting..."

I agree that this is a great observation, though it's one that I don't quite fully appreciate as I haven't read many English mysteries before now.

BrokenTune wrote: "Hooray! Hi Mark! I'm glad you're joining us."

Thanks! I got a later start than I intended, though I should be done with the book by the end of the day.

One thing that I do appreciate is how deftly Christie walks a line in these stories. They can't help but be formulaic, yet they're different enough so that it doesn't feel repetitious. The eleventh chapter ("the Herb of Death") is an excellent example of this, as rather than have Mrs. Bantry relate the case with just the right amount of detail she does what seems far more realistic to me, which is that she relates the basic details and the rest comes out through careful questioning. It thought that made for a particularly effective variation on what Christie had done up to that point.

I'm up to seven and loving it!!

Honestly one of my favorites featuring Miss Marple. I loved the solutions to all of the problems and it's great to see call outs to this event in the longer books like The Body in the Library with people referencing how good Miss Marple is.

Obsidian wrote: "Honestly one of my favorites featuring Miss Marple. I loved the solutions to all of the problems and it's great to see call outs to this event in the longer books like [book:The Body in the Library..."

I totally agree. This was my second time reading and I loved it even more this time around. I am not a short story fan, but I make an exception for Agatha because her short stories are just so freaking good, and the Marples are some of the best.

Christine PNW wrote: "Obsidian wrote: "Honestly one of my favorites featuring Miss Marple. I loved the solutions to all of the problems and it's great to see call outs to this event in the longer books like [book:The Bo..."

Definitely! I am only a fan of those who can write exceptional short stories. In the wrong hands I find myself irritated because they author cannot develop the characters in the time/pages they have provided us and or the plot makes no sense since they are trying to get to an ending.

I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm nearly done. So far my two outstanding favorites are The Herb of Death and The Affair at the Bungalow but they're all well worth reading.

Teresa wrote: "I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm nearly done. So far my two outstanding favorites are The Herb of Death and The Affair at the Bungalow but they're all well worth reading."

I love seeing how everyone has favourites and how these all differ.
I rather like The Affair at the Bungalow, too, btw.

Yes I liked the different twist on this one. Had never read any of the short stories. One reason I love GR groups!!!