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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
Miss Marple Goes Back
Review of the Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers hardcover edition (2007) of the original Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover (1965).
At Bertram’s Hotel finds Miss Marple on yet another vacation, this time at a period hotel in London which she had originally visited in her childhood. She plays more of a cameo role in the investigation though, acting as a sort of insider agent for Chief Inspector Fred Davy who is on the trail of a criminal conspiracy, could it possibly be centred around a luxury period hotel? Along the way a guest at the hotel goes missing and a hotel worker is murdered.
The front cover of the original 1965 Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Although it didn't feel like a regular Miss Marple story, I still enjoyed At Bertram's Hotel for the period atmosphere and the hotel setting.
The Berengaria Ease of Solving Rating* (with 1 being the easiest, and 10 being impossible).
The overall conspiracy = 3. This is basically a gimme, as it is revealed early on that the police are investigating a criminal network. Only the exact people involved aren’t immediately apparent, although they are somewhat guessable.
The murder = 10. This just came out of nowhere. You didn’t have enough information to know the basis for the crime until the actual reveal.
* A new rating scale for mysteries invented by my GR friend Berengaria, see her review of Agatha Christie's A Pocket Full of Rye for its first use
Review of the Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers hardcover edition (2007) of the original Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover (1965).
Miss Marple sighed.
‘It seemed wonderful at first—unchanged you know—like stepping back into the past—to the part of the past that one had loved and enjoyed.’
She paused.
‘But of course, it wasn't really like that. I learned (what I suppose I really knew already) that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back—that the essence of life is going forward. Life is really a One Way Street, isn't it?’
At Bertram’s Hotel finds Miss Marple on yet another vacation, this time at a period hotel in London which she had originally visited in her childhood. She plays more of a cameo role in the investigation though, acting as a sort of insider agent for Chief Inspector Fred Davy who is on the trail of a criminal conspiracy, could it possibly be centred around a luxury period hotel? Along the way a guest at the hotel goes missing and a hotel worker is murdered.
The front cover of the original 1965 Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Although it didn't feel like a regular Miss Marple story, I still enjoyed At Bertram's Hotel for the period atmosphere and the hotel setting.
The Berengaria Ease of Solving Rating* (with 1 being the easiest, and 10 being impossible).
The overall conspiracy = 3. This is basically a gimme, as it is revealed early on that the police are investigating a criminal network. Only the exact people involved aren’t immediately apparent, although they are somewhat guessable.
The murder = 10. This just came out of nowhere. You didn’t have enough information to know the basis for the crime until the actual reveal.
* A new rating scale for mysteries invented by my GR friend Berengaria, see her review of Agatha Christie's A Pocket Full of Rye for its first use
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Muffins for tea…
When Joan West asks her elderly Aunt Jane if she’d like a little holiday in Bournemouth, Miss Marple says she’d rather go to London to stay at Bertram’s Hotel. The trip will be a nostalgic one, since Miss Marple stayed at the hotel as a girl many years ago with her uncle and aunt. Joan obligingly agrees, but warns Miss Marple that things will have changed – London in the 1960s is a very different place to Miss Marple’s Edwardian memories. But the odd thing is that Bertram’s hasn’t changed at all. It’s full of retired military men and titled gentlewomen with a good sprinkling of the Anglican clergy, and the service is just as it was back in those more leisurely and deferential days of Miss Marple’s youth. In fact, it’s so unchanged that Miss Marple begins to feel that it can’t be quite real.
Funnily enough, Chief Inspector Fred Davy, known affectionately as Father to his younger colleagues, is coming to the same conclusion about Bertram’s. A series of daring robberies share one odd characteristic – in each case, witnesses have spotted a well-known face, always someone whose social standing puts them above reproach, in the vicinity of the crime, and Davy has found that in many cases these upright citizens have recently been staying in the hotel. When forgetful Canon Pennyfeather is reported missing, having been last seen at Bertram’s, Davy decides to use this as an excuse to do a bit of quiet investigating, in which he will be helped by the sharp observations of that elderly guest, Miss Marple.
This is one of Agatha Christie’s later novels, from 1965, and the plotting is not as tight as in the novels from her peak years. Her ventures into organised crime are never quite as successful as her domestic mysteries, tending to stretch credibility too far. However, there is also a human mystery in the novel which works much better. Bess Sedgwick seems an unlikely resident of Bertram’s – a lady with a scandalous and adventurous past, she seems too modern, too alive, to fit in with the respectable but fusty elderly people who make up most of the clientele. When her estranged daughter Elvira turns up at the hotel in the care of her guardian, it looks like part of Bess’ past may be about to catch up with her.
What I love about this one is the description of Bertram’s itself, and Miss Marple’s nostalgic ramblings around the big London department stores her aunt took her to in her youth. She is charmed to find so many things unchanged, but also distressed by some of the places that have been bulldozed to make way for the modern city. Philosophical as always, she recognises time can’t stand still, but like most elderly people, she wonders if the changes have necessarily been for the better. Hotel life suits her perfectly, though, giving her the chance to sit quietly and observe the doings of the other guests. Not that she’d ever eavesdrop intentionally, of course, but if people will carry on conversations in public places, well, it’s hard not to hear them, isn’t it? But the more she observes, the more worried she becomes that all is not quite right at Bertrams’, and she worries particularly about young Elvira Blake who seems to Miss Marple to have become involved with an entirely unsuitable young man, the famous racing driver Ladislaus Malinowski. Her anxiety makes her happy to share her worries with Davy and her observations are of great assistance to him in his investigations.
The unfortunate thing about the book is the gorgeous descriptions of the food at Bertram’s. Before starting, the reader should ensure she has a plentiful supply of jam doughnuts, buttery muffins and perfectly poached eggs to hand, so that when the cravings begin they can be satisfied. Otherwise the drooling may make a mess of the pages. I really think it’s time we brought back the tradition of afternoon tea!
So despite some minor niggles over the plotting and credibility issues, this is another thoroughly enjoyable outing for Miss Marple. Her role here is perhaps more as a witness than a detective, but her knowledge of human wickedness comes to the fore as always. She and Davy work well together, sharing a strong sense of moral justice. And most of all, Christie’s writing is as always pure pleasure to read. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When Joan West asks her elderly Aunt Jane if she’d like a little holiday in Bournemouth, Miss Marple says she’d rather go to London to stay at Bertram’s Hotel. The trip will be a nostalgic one, since Miss Marple stayed at the hotel as a girl many years ago with her uncle and aunt. Joan obligingly agrees, but warns Miss Marple that things will have changed – London in the 1960s is a very different place to Miss Marple’s Edwardian memories. But the odd thing is that Bertram’s hasn’t changed at all. It’s full of retired military men and titled gentlewomen with a good sprinkling of the Anglican clergy, and the service is just as it was back in those more leisurely and deferential days of Miss Marple’s youth. In fact, it’s so unchanged that Miss Marple begins to feel that it can’t be quite real.
Funnily enough, Chief Inspector Fred Davy, known affectionately as Father to his younger colleagues, is coming to the same conclusion about Bertram’s. A series of daring robberies share one odd characteristic – in each case, witnesses have spotted a well-known face, always someone whose social standing puts them above reproach, in the vicinity of the crime, and Davy has found that in many cases these upright citizens have recently been staying in the hotel. When forgetful Canon Pennyfeather is reported missing, having been last seen at Bertram’s, Davy decides to use this as an excuse to do a bit of quiet investigating, in which he will be helped by the sharp observations of that elderly guest, Miss Marple.
This is one of Agatha Christie’s later novels, from 1965, and the plotting is not as tight as in the novels from her peak years. Her ventures into organised crime are never quite as successful as her domestic mysteries, tending to stretch credibility too far. However, there is also a human mystery in the novel which works much better. Bess Sedgwick seems an unlikely resident of Bertram’s – a lady with a scandalous and adventurous past, she seems too modern, too alive, to fit in with the respectable but fusty elderly people who make up most of the clientele. When her estranged daughter Elvira turns up at the hotel in the care of her guardian, it looks like part of Bess’ past may be about to catch up with her.
What I love about this one is the description of Bertram’s itself, and Miss Marple’s nostalgic ramblings around the big London department stores her aunt took her to in her youth. She is charmed to find so many things unchanged, but also distressed by some of the places that have been bulldozed to make way for the modern city. Philosophical as always, she recognises time can’t stand still, but like most elderly people, she wonders if the changes have necessarily been for the better. Hotel life suits her perfectly, though, giving her the chance to sit quietly and observe the doings of the other guests. Not that she’d ever eavesdrop intentionally, of course, but if people will carry on conversations in public places, well, it’s hard not to hear them, isn’t it? But the more she observes, the more worried she becomes that all is not quite right at Bertrams’, and she worries particularly about young Elvira Blake who seems to Miss Marple to have become involved with an entirely unsuitable young man, the famous racing driver Ladislaus Malinowski. Her anxiety makes her happy to share her worries with Davy and her observations are of great assistance to him in his investigations.
The unfortunate thing about the book is the gorgeous descriptions of the food at Bertram’s. Before starting, the reader should ensure she has a plentiful supply of jam doughnuts, buttery muffins and perfectly poached eggs to hand, so that when the cravings begin they can be satisfied. Otherwise the drooling may make a mess of the pages. I really think it’s time we brought back the tradition of afternoon tea!
So despite some minor niggles over the plotting and credibility issues, this is another thoroughly enjoyable outing for Miss Marple. Her role here is perhaps more as a witness than a detective, but her knowledge of human wickedness comes to the fore as always. She and Davy work well together, sharing a strong sense of moral justice. And most of all, Christie’s writing is as always pure pleasure to read. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
There were so many characters involve making it sort of dragging in my part. There were also parts that the book could do without to make it less tedious. But nonetheless the plot and the twist of the story was great. Never expected the ending.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Es fing so langsam an
Miss Marple ist auch fast gar nicht vorgekommen
Das Ende war aber gut
Deswegen zwei Sterne
Miss Marple ist auch fast gar nicht vorgekommen
Das Ende war aber gut
Deswegen zwei Sterne
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Much better than the TV version where they make up random characters and completely change the plotline.