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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
The Curse is Come Upon Me
Review of the William Morrow Paperbacks Kindle edition (June 15, 2004) of the Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover (November 12, 1962) & the Dodd, Mead & Company (US) hardcover (September 1963) originals.
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side returns us to the site of Gossington Hall which was one of the primary locations of the 2nd Miss Marple novel “The Body in the Library” (1942). Miss Marple's friend Mrs. Bantry is now a widow and has sold Gossington Hall, and now lives a downsized life at the gate house. The main house has been sold to film actress Marina Gregg and her film director husband.
The new owners host a garden fete to raise funds for charity and to open their home to visitors. During the party one of the guests dies due to a poisoned drink. It turns out that the drink had been intended for Marina Gregg and the suspicion is that a rival or enemy is trying to murder the actress. Mrs. Bantry enlists the aid of Miss Marple to help investigate. Other attempts are made and then yet another murder occurs before Miss Marple uncovers the diabolical reason for the crimes.
The front cover of the original 1962 Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Confusion for Completists
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side is the 8th Miss Marple novel. Some lists, including the Goodreads Miss Marple Listopia, count it as Miss Marple #9 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.
Trivia and Links
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side was adapted as a feature film The Mirror Crack’d (1980) directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple and Elizabeth Taylor as Marina Gregg-Rudd. You can see a trailer for the film here.
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side was adapted twice for English language television series. Both of the TV 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 TV adaptation was as part of the BBC's Miss Marple (1984-1992) series as the finale Episode 12 in 2 parts in 1992, which starred Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.
The second TV adaptation was as part of ITV's Agatha Christie’s Marple (2004-2013) reboot series as Series 5 Episode 4 in 2011 which starred Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple.
Review of the William Morrow Paperbacks Kindle edition (June 15, 2004) of the Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover (November 12, 1962) & the Dodd, Mead & Company (US) hardcover (September 1963) originals.
Out flew the web and floated wide—
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott. - excerpt from the poem "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Tennyson.
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side returns us to the site of Gossington Hall which was one of the primary locations of the 2nd Miss Marple novel “The Body in the Library” (1942). Miss Marple's friend Mrs. Bantry is now a widow and has sold Gossington Hall, and now lives a downsized life at the gate house. The main house has been sold to film actress Marina Gregg and her film director husband.
The new owners host a garden fete to raise funds for charity and to open their home to visitors. During the party one of the guests dies due to a poisoned drink. It turns out that the drink had been intended for Marina Gregg and the suspicion is that a rival or enemy is trying to murder the actress. Mrs. Bantry enlists the aid of Miss Marple to help investigate. Other attempts are made and then yet another murder occurs before Miss Marple uncovers the diabolical reason for the crimes.
The front cover of the original 1962 Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Confusion for Completists
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side is the 8th Miss Marple novel. Some lists, including the Goodreads Miss Marple Listopia, count it as Miss Marple #9 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.
Trivia and Links
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side was adapted as a feature film The Mirror Crack’d (1980) directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple and Elizabeth Taylor as Marina Gregg-Rudd. You can see a trailer for the film here.
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side was adapted twice for English language television series. Both of the TV 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 TV adaptation was as part of the BBC's Miss Marple (1984-1992) series as the finale Episode 12 in 2 parts in 1992, which starred Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.
The second TV adaptation was as part of ITV's Agatha Christie’s Marple (2004-2013) reboot series as Series 5 Episode 4 in 2011 which starred Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple.
This was (amazingly) my first Agatha Christie novel, and I read it out of an anthology that I snagged at a yard sale over 10 years ago. My first thought was how delightfully british it was, but the plot ultimately fell flat for me. It felt like a whole lot of dialogue, but none of the gripping uncertainty that I wanted from a whodunit. It picked up near the end but left a lot to be desired for the majority of the story. I think this book may be better suited to those who have already read a lot of Miss Marple stories. She's old and retired in this book, and I didn't feel I had the affection for her that I was supposed to. It removed me from the plot in a way. Something to keep in mind for those looking to delve into Agatha Christie.
Starring Marina Gregg...
From the oldest inhabitants to the newest of newcomers in the new housing development, all of St Mary Mead is agog. Gossington Hall has been sold, and the buyer is the famous movie actress Marina Gregg and her fourth – or is it fifth? – husband, film producer Jason Rudd. The villagers’ first chance to see the star up close is when Marina hosts a charity event in support of the St John’s Ambulance Society. While most of the villagers are restricted to attending the fête in the grounds of the Hall, a select few are invited to join Miss Gregg inside for cocktails. One of these lucky people is Heather Badcock, local representative of the Ambulance Society and lifelong fan of Marina Gregg. In fact, it’s while she’s boring Marina with a long story about how they met once before long ago that Mrs Badcock is taken suddenly ill, and then dies. Mrs Bantry, the previous owner of the Hall, witnesses the whole thing and rushes off to relay the story to her old friend, Miss Jane Marple...
First published in 1962, this is one of the later Christie stories, at the tail end of her own golden age, just before the quality of her books began to show serious decline. There is a bit of rambling and repetitiveness in this one, but not too much, and the portrayal of the changes to the village and a very elderly Miss Marple coping with modern life are great. I always feel that in these later books especially, Christie used Miss Marple as a conduit through which to muse on her own reactions to ageing and the changes in society.
Marina Gregg was played by the beautiful and much-married Elizabeth Taylor in the 1980 film, opposite a marvellous performance from Kim Novak as Lola Brewster, her rival and now to be her co-star. This is a bit of a deviation from the plot of the book but the two women ham it up for all they’re worth and make the parts so much their own that now, when I read the book, it’s them I see in the roles. I always felt that Marina’s life mirrored Elizabeth Taylor’s own scandalous (for the time) life, and wondered if Agatha Christie had had her in mind while writing. However, wikipedia tells me Christie probably had a different actress in mind, but Marina will always be Elizabeth Taylor to me! (Do not look this up on wikipedia if you intend to read the book, as it is a major plot spoiler.)
Inspector Dermot Craddock is assigned to the case. He already knows Miss Marple from a previous case so has no hesitation in discussing this one with her and seeking her assistance in understanding the locals. It’s good to have Mrs Bantry back too – one of my favourite occasional characters. I find it a little sad to see Miss Marple quite so old and physically frail in this one, although her mind is still as sharp as ever. But the star is the star – Marina Gregg’s personality and presence dominate the book, and Christie gives an excellent and credible portrayal of the mixture of egocentricity and vulnerability of this woman, always on show, never able to be scruffy or rude, loved by so many but unable to find true happiness in her private life.
The plot is great, with one of Christie’s best motives at the root of it. It is fair play but I’d be amazed if anyone gets the whole thing – the who perhaps would be possible, but the why is brilliantly hidden in plain sight. One of my pleasures in re-reading these Christies is knowing the solution and so being able to spot how cleverly she conceals the real clues among the red herrings. She hardly ever cheats and it’s a joy to see a mistress of the craft at work. And, of course, Joan Hickson is, as always, the perfect narrator for the Miss Marple books. Great stuff! 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
From the oldest inhabitants to the newest of newcomers in the new housing development, all of St Mary Mead is agog. Gossington Hall has been sold, and the buyer is the famous movie actress Marina Gregg and her fourth – or is it fifth? – husband, film producer Jason Rudd. The villagers’ first chance to see the star up close is when Marina hosts a charity event in support of the St John’s Ambulance Society. While most of the villagers are restricted to attending the fête in the grounds of the Hall, a select few are invited to join Miss Gregg inside for cocktails. One of these lucky people is Heather Badcock, local representative of the Ambulance Society and lifelong fan of Marina Gregg. In fact, it’s while she’s boring Marina with a long story about how they met once before long ago that Mrs Badcock is taken suddenly ill, and then dies. Mrs Bantry, the previous owner of the Hall, witnesses the whole thing and rushes off to relay the story to her old friend, Miss Jane Marple...
First published in 1962, this is one of the later Christie stories, at the tail end of her own golden age, just before the quality of her books began to show serious decline. There is a bit of rambling and repetitiveness in this one, but not too much, and the portrayal of the changes to the village and a very elderly Miss Marple coping with modern life are great. I always feel that in these later books especially, Christie used Miss Marple as a conduit through which to muse on her own reactions to ageing and the changes in society.
Marina Gregg was played by the beautiful and much-married Elizabeth Taylor in the 1980 film, opposite a marvellous performance from Kim Novak as Lola Brewster, her rival and now to be her co-star. This is a bit of a deviation from the plot of the book but the two women ham it up for all they’re worth and make the parts so much their own that now, when I read the book, it’s them I see in the roles. I always felt that Marina’s life mirrored Elizabeth Taylor’s own scandalous (for the time) life, and wondered if Agatha Christie had had her in mind while writing. However, wikipedia tells me Christie probably had a different actress in mind, but Marina will always be Elizabeth Taylor to me! (Do not look this up on wikipedia if you intend to read the book, as it is a major plot spoiler.)
Inspector Dermot Craddock is assigned to the case. He already knows Miss Marple from a previous case so has no hesitation in discussing this one with her and seeking her assistance in understanding the locals. It’s good to have Mrs Bantry back too – one of my favourite occasional characters. I find it a little sad to see Miss Marple quite so old and physically frail in this one, although her mind is still as sharp as ever. But the star is the star – Marina Gregg’s personality and presence dominate the book, and Christie gives an excellent and credible portrayal of the mixture of egocentricity and vulnerability of this woman, always on show, never able to be scruffy or rude, loved by so many but unable to find true happiness in her private life.
The plot is great, with one of Christie’s best motives at the root of it. It is fair play but I’d be amazed if anyone gets the whole thing – the who perhaps would be possible, but the why is brilliantly hidden in plain sight. One of my pleasures in re-reading these Christies is knowing the solution and so being able to spot how cleverly she conceals the real clues among the red herrings. She hardly ever cheats and it’s a joy to see a mistress of the craft at work. And, of course, Joan Hickson is, as always, the perfect narrator for the Miss Marple books. Great stuff! 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
My first Miss Marple but definitely not the last. Love her character.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of Christie's more entertaining mysteries!
mysterious
medium-paced
This was a Marple story that I had never read before and it is set in her village of St Mary Mead where a famous movie star holds a party and one of her guests is murdered. Was this person the intended target? Or was it the movie star? Marple and the police investigate and of course there are a lot of people who were there who could have committed the crime.
I loved how Christie writes the dialogue with Marple finding out the latest gossip and her irritation too with people fussing over her due to her age. It did make me smile.
It was a great murder mystery that is one of the best Marple’s I have read.
mysterious
fast-paced
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes