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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
The Body Snatcher
Review of the William Morrow Paperbacks edition (2022) of the Dodd, Mead & Co. (US)/Collins Crime Club hardcover originals (1942)
The Body in the Library is quite diabolical for a so-called "cozy". A murdered girl is found in the library of Mr. & Mrs. Bantry, both of whom have never seen her before in their lives. Meanwhile another girl from the village has gone missing. Then a stolen car is discovered burnt out with a corpse inside it. There is nothing to be done, except call in Miss Marple to sort out the suspects and the victims. The authorities, as usual, are lost without her.
The front cover of the original 1942 Dodd, Mead & Company (US) hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Confusion for Completists
The Body in the Library is the 2nd Miss Marple novel. Some lists, including the Goodreads Miss Marple Listopia, count it as Miss Marple #3 as the short story collection [b:The Thirteen Problems|31309|The Thirteen Problems|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309305370l/31309._SY75_.jpg|739911] (1932) is counted as #1 only because some of those stories appeared in 1927.
Trivia and Links
The Body in the Library was adapted twice for English language television. Both of the adaptations are reasonably faithful to the original plot. I did not find any free trailers or postings of either of them, but they are both available on the Britbox streaming service here in Canada.
The first adaptation was as part of the BBC's Miss Marple (1984-1992) series as Season 1 Episodes 1 to 3 in 1984 which starred Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.
The second adaptation was as part of ITV's Agatha Christie’s Marple (2004-2013) reboot series as Season 1 Episode 1 in 2004 which starred Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple. Although faithful to the book for about 95% of the time, this version makes a switch in the final reveal about which it would be a spoiler to say more.
There was a French language adaptation for the Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie [French: The Little Murders of Agatha Christie] (2009 - ongoing) series. The episode based on The Body in the Library was Season 1 Episode 9's Un Cadavre sur l'Oreille (2011).This series does not feature a Miss Marple character and instead has a police detective and a reporter as the leads. The plots are transplanted to France and are considerably changed from the originals.
There was a Korean language TV adaptation for the Ms. Ma, Nemesis (2018) limited series. There were 32 episodes to this series which adapted several Miss Marple stories including The Body in the Library into a modern day plot of an prison escapee who seeks to clear her own name of her daughter’s murder and solves that and other crimes in the process. The lead role was played by Yunjin Kim, best known to English language television from the TV series Lost (2004-2010).
Review of the William Morrow Paperbacks edition (2022) of the Dodd, Mead & Co. (US)/Collins Crime Club hardcover originals (1942)
“Downstairs in the lounge, by the third pillar from the left, there sits an old lady with a sweet, placid spinsterish face, and a mind that has plumbed the depths of human iniquity and taken it as all in the day’s work. Her name’s Miss Marple. She comes from the village of St. Mary Mead, which is a mile and a half from Gossington, she’s a friend of the Bantrys—and where crime is concerned she’s the goods.”
The Body in the Library is quite diabolical for a so-called "cozy". A murdered girl is found in the library of Mr. & Mrs. Bantry, both of whom have never seen her before in their lives. Meanwhile another girl from the village has gone missing. Then a stolen car is discovered burnt out with a corpse inside it. There is nothing to be done, except call in Miss Marple to sort out the suspects and the victims. The authorities, as usual, are lost without her.
The front cover of the original 1942 Dodd, Mead & Company (US) hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Confusion for Completists
The Body in the Library is the 2nd Miss Marple novel. Some lists, including the Goodreads Miss Marple Listopia, count it as Miss Marple #3 as the short story collection [b:The Thirteen Problems|31309|The Thirteen Problems|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309305370l/31309._SY75_.jpg|739911] (1932) is counted as #1 only because some of those stories appeared in 1927.
Trivia and Links
The Body in the Library was adapted twice for English language television. Both of the adaptations are reasonably faithful to the original plot. I did not find any free trailers or postings of either of them, but they are both available on the Britbox streaming service here in Canada.
The first adaptation was as part of the BBC's Miss Marple (1984-1992) series as Season 1 Episodes 1 to 3 in 1984 which starred Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.
The second adaptation was as part of ITV's Agatha Christie’s Marple (2004-2013) reboot series as Season 1 Episode 1 in 2004 which starred Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple. Although faithful to the book for about 95% of the time, this version makes a switch in the final reveal about which it would be a spoiler to say more.
There was a French language adaptation for the Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie [French: The Little Murders of Agatha Christie] (2009 - ongoing) series. The episode based on The Body in the Library was Season 1 Episode 9's Un Cadavre sur l'Oreille (2011).This series does not feature a Miss Marple character and instead has a police detective and a reporter as the leads. The plots are transplanted to France and are considerably changed from the originals.
There was a Korean language TV adaptation for the Ms. Ma, Nemesis (2018) limited series. There were 32 episodes to this series which adapted several Miss Marple stories including The Body in the Library into a modern day plot of an prison escapee who seeks to clear her own name of her daughter’s murder and solves that and other crimes in the process. The lead role was played by Yunjin Kim, best known to English language television from the TV series Lost (2004-2010).
When Dolly Bantry is woken by her hysterical maid one morning with the startling news that there’s a dead body in the library, at first she feels it must be a dream. It’s simply so unlikely! While waiting for the police to arrive, she phones her old friend Miss Marple who, when she and Mrs Bantry sneak into the library to look at the body, agrees that the dead girl doesn’t at all match her surroundings. The first job is to identify her, and news soon comes of a missing girl – young Ruby Keene, a dance hostess at a hotel in the nearby resort of Danemouth. Mrs Bantry persuades Miss Marple to accompany her to the hotel to do a little digging, for as she says...
“What I feel is that if one has got to have a murder actually happening in one's house, one might as well enjoy it, if you know what I mean.”
But it soon becomes clear to Dolly that unless the murder is quickly solved, popular sentiment will attribute the crime to Colonel Bantry; and he won’t be able to bear such a stain on his reputation…
How I love this book! I have no idea how often I’ve read it, but it must easily be in the double figures. Dolly Bantry is one of my favourite recurring characters in Christie’s novels and this is the one where she gets most space. The plot is great with some wonderful clues that you will almost certainly miss or misinterpret, but Miss Marple will see their significance! It touches on class issues, the changes in society that were already beginning in 1940s Britain, the loneliness that can affect the elderly as their young relatives make lives for themselves, the destructive nature of rumour and gossip, the vulnerability of the young to flattery. And Miss Marple is at her best, using her knowledge of human nature in the pursuit of justice for a dead girl that no one else seems to care much about. Wonderful stuff! If you want to try Miss Marple for the first time, this would be a great place to start!
NB This new edition of the book was provided for review by the publisher, HarperCollins.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
“What I feel is that if one has got to have a murder actually happening in one's house, one might as well enjoy it, if you know what I mean.”
But it soon becomes clear to Dolly that unless the murder is quickly solved, popular sentiment will attribute the crime to Colonel Bantry; and he won’t be able to bear such a stain on his reputation…
How I love this book! I have no idea how often I’ve read it, but it must easily be in the double figures. Dolly Bantry is one of my favourite recurring characters in Christie’s novels and this is the one where she gets most space. The plot is great with some wonderful clues that you will almost certainly miss or misinterpret, but Miss Marple will see their significance! It touches on class issues, the changes in society that were already beginning in 1940s Britain, the loneliness that can affect the elderly as their young relatives make lives for themselves, the destructive nature of rumour and gossip, the vulnerability of the young to flattery. And Miss Marple is at her best, using her knowledge of human nature in the pursuit of justice for a dead girl that no one else seems to care much about. Wonderful stuff! If you want to try Miss Marple for the first time, this would be a great place to start!
NB This new edition of the book was provided for review by the publisher, HarperCollins.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
This was a fun and quirky cozy mystery. Christie’s are good becuase you know what you are going to get and they don’t disappoint.
Every time! Christie even tells you through her characters that the facts are questionable but I always question the wrong facts. Dagnabbit! One day, Christie, I will get my comeuppance and pick your murderer within the first 10 pages.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
No
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No