View source for Miss Marple

{{Short description|Fictional character in Agatha Christie stories}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Miss Jane Marple
| image = 
| caption = [[Joan Hickson]] as Miss Jane Marple
| first = "[[The Thirteen Problems#The Tuesday Night Club|The Tuesday Night Club]]"
| last = ''[[Sleeping Murder]]''<br/>''Marple: Twelve New Stories'' (2022) other writers
| creator = [[Agatha Christie]]
| portrayer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Gracie Fields]]
* [[Margaret Rutherford]]
* [[Angela Lansbury]]
* [[Dulcie Gray]]
* [[Helen Hayes]]
* [[Ita Ever]]
* [[Joan Hickson]]
* [[Geraldine McEwan]]
* [[June Whitfield]]
* [[Julia McKenzie]]
* Isabella Parriss (young)
* Renée Michels
* [[Julie Cox]] (young)
}}
| occupation = Amateur detective
| gender = Female
| title = Miss
| family = {{Plainlist|
* [[Raymond West (character)|Raymond West]] (nephew)
* David West (great-nephew)
* Lionel West (great-nephew)
}}
| relatives = {{Plainlist|
* Joan West (niece-in-law)
* Mabel Denham (niece)
* Henry (uncle)
* Antony (cousin)
* Gordon (cousin)
* Fanny Godfrey (cousin)<ref>''[[At Bertram's Hotel]]'', p. 141</ref>
* Lady Ethel Merridew (cousin)<ref>''[[At Bertram's Hotel]]'', p. 138</ref>
* Thomas (uncle)
* Helen (aunt)
* Diana "Bunch" Harmon (goddaughter)
}}
| religion = [[Church of England]] (Christian)
| nationality = British
}}

'''Jane Marple''', better known as '''Miss Marple''', is a fictional character in [[Agatha Christie]]'s crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the fictional English village of [[St Mary Mead]] and acts as an [[amateur]] consulting [[detective]]. Often characterised as an elderly [[spinster]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mezel|first=Kathy|date=Winter 2007|title=Spinsters, Surveillance, and Speech: The Case of Miss Marple, Miss Mole, and Miss Jekyll|journal=Journal of Modern Literature|publisher=Indiana University Press|volume=30|issue=2|pages=103–120|doi=10.2979/JML.2007.30.2.103|jstor=4619330|s2cid=162411534}}</ref><ref>[https://www.agathachristie.com/news/2018/facts-about-miss-marple agathachristie.com: Facts about Miss Marple]</ref> she is one of Christie's best-known characters and has been portrayed numerous times on screen. Her first appearance was in a short story published in ''[[The Royal Magazine]]'' in December 1927, "[[The Tuesday Night Club]]",<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Curran|title=Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making|location=New York|publisher=Harper|year=2011|isbn=978-0-06-206542-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/agathachristiemu0000curr/page/140 140]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/agathachristiemu0000curr/page/140}}</ref> which later became the first chapter of ''[[The Thirteen Problems]]'' (1932). Her first appearance in a full-length novel was in ''[[The Murder at the Vicarage]]'' in 1930 and her last appearance was in ''[[Sleeping Murder]]'' in 1976.

==Origins==
Marple is based on friends of Christie's step grandmother, Margaret Miller (née West).<ref>Margaret West was the sister of Mary Ann Boehmer, Agatha Christie's maternal grandmother. Margaret married Christie's paternal grandfather, [[Nathaniel Frary Miller]], in 1863 in Westbourne, West Sussex. He died in 1869 and she dedicated a stained glass window to his memory in St. John's Church, Main Road, Southbourne, West Sussex. Margaret's stepson, [[Frederick Alvah Miller]], went on to marry her niece [[Clarissa Miller|Clarissa Boehmer]]. Apart from Agatha, they had two other children, [[Margaret Watts]] and [[Louis Montant Miller]]. {{cite news|last=Adams|first=Stephen|date=2008-09-16|title=Agatha Christie used her step grandmother as a model for Miss Marple, new tapes reveal|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2957794/Agatha-Christie-used-her-grandmother-as-a-model-for-Miss-Marple-new-tapes-reveal.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2957794/Agatha-Christie-used-her-grandmother-as-a-model-for-Miss-Marple-new-tapes-reveal.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Christie attributed the inspiration for the character to multiple sources, stating that Miss Marple was "the sort of old lady who would have been rather like some of my step grandmother's [[Ealing]] cronies – old ladies whom I have met in so many villages where I have gone to stay as a girl".<ref>{{cite book|last=Christie|first=Agatha|title=An Autobiography|year=2001|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-00-635328-7|page=449}}</ref> Christie also used material from her fictional creation, spinster Caroline Sheppard, who appeared in ''[[The Murder of Roger Ackroyd]]''. When [[Michael Morton (dramatist)|Michael Morton]] adapted the novel for the stage, he replaced the character of Caroline with a young girl. This change saddened Christie and she determined to give old maids a voice; thus, Miss Marple was born.<ref name="agathachristie.com">{{cite web|url=http://agathachristie.com/christies-work/detectives-and-sidekicks/miss-marple/|title=Characters – Miss Marple|work=Agatha Christie|access-date=2012-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010144904/http://agathachristie.com/christies-work/detectives-and-sidekicks/miss-marple/|archive-date=10 October 2012}}</ref>

It is popularly believed that Christie may have taken Marple's iconic character's name from [[Marple railway station]], through which she passed,<ref name="Cheshire Life">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.cheshirelife.co.uk/out-about/was-miss-marple-born-in-cheshire-1-1631050 | title=Was Miss Marple Born in Cheshire? | date=15 September 2010 | magazine=Cheshire Life | access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref><ref>[http://www.poirot.us/mprofile.php "Marple's Profile"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126123518/http://poirot.us/mprofile.php |date=26 November 2010 }}, Hercule Poirot Central, accessed 30 March 2009.</ref> while a letter – ostensibly from Christie to a fan – appeared to prove that the name was inspired by a visit to a sale at Marple Hall in the same town,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marplelocalhistorysociety.org.uk/stories-from-the-archive/stories-of-people/294-what-s-in-a-name.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027115922/https://www.marplelocalhistorysociety.org.uk/stories-from-the-archive/stories-of-people/294-what-s-in-a-name.html|archivedate=27 October 2020 |title=What's in a name ? |first=Hilary |last=Atkinson |date=March 2017 |publisher=Marple Local History Society |access-date=24 August 2022}}</ref> near her sister [[Agatha Christie|Margaret Watts]]' home at [[Abney Hall]]. The letter has been established as a fake as the auction had been held after the date of publication of the first Miss Marple story.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==Character==
Marple makes her first full-length appearance in ''[[The Murder at the Vicarage]]''. In this early portrayal she is a gleeful gossip, sharp-tongued, and not always sympathetic. The residents of St Mary Mead respect her but often find her nosiness and habit of assuming the worst in others tiresome. In later novels, however, Christie softened her character: Miss Marple becomes a kinder, more thoughtful figure, though still an astute observer of human nature.

Marple's method of detection rests on shrewd intelligence and long observation of village life, which she believes reveals the full range of human failings. She frequently interprets new crimes by recalling past incidents and she has a talent for recognising the hidden significance of apparently casual remarks. At times she is aided by her friend [[Sir Henry Clithering]], a retired [[Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis|Metropolitan Police commissioner]], who supplies her with official information.

Marple never married and has no close family apart from her nephew, [[Raymond West (character)|Raymond West]], a “well-known author.” He appears in several stories with his wife, the artist Joyce Lemprière and is portrayed as overestimating his own intellect while underestimating his aunt’s. Following the retirement of her long-time maid Florence, Miss Marple occasionally employs girls from a local orphanage to train as housemaids. She also endures a brief period with the tiresome Miss Knight as her companion, before settling in later years with Cherry Baker, first introduced in ''The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side''.

Although of independent means, Marple is not wealthy and relies in her old age on financial support from Raymond. She is a [[gentlewoman]] rather than a member of the aristocracy, yet moves comfortably in upper-class circles. Christie hints at a broad education: in ''[[They Do It with Mirrors]],'' Miss Marple recalls growing up in a [[cathedral close]] and attending an Italian finishing school with Ruth Van Rydock and Caroline “Carrie” Louise Serrocold.

Christie was notably inconsistent about Marple's age. In ''4:50 from Paddington,'' Miss Marple claims she will be “90 next year,” but in ''At Bertram’s Hotel'' (1965) she is implied to be about 75, having first visited the hotel some sixty years earlier at the age of fourteen. Across the 41 years between her first and last novels—excluding the posthumously published ''Sleeping Murder''—she does age, though not in a strictly realistic fashion. Miss Marple herself sometimes shows frailty, such as needing a holiday after illness in ''[[A Caribbean Mystery]]'', yet she is vigorous again in ''[[Nemesis (Christie novel)|Nemesis]]'', set only sixteen months later.

Marple's wider family is mentioned only in passing. She has a sister, Raymond’s mother, and a large network of cousins and nieces, including Mabel Denham, accused of poisoning her husband in ''[[The Thirteen Problems|The Thumb Mark of St Peter]]''.

==Bibliography==
Agatha Christie wrote 12 novels and 20 short stories<ref>{{Cite web |title=Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie |url=https://www.agathachristie.com/stories/miss-marple-the-complete-short-stories |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=www.agathachristie.com |language=en-US}}</ref> featuring Miss Marple.

===Miss Marple series===
# ''[[The Murder at the Vicarage]]'' (1930, Novel)
# ''[[The Body in the Library]]'' (1942, Novel)
# ''[[The Moving Finger]]'' (1943, Novel)
# ''[[A Murder Is Announced]]'' (1950, Novel)
# ''[[They Do It with Mirrors]]'' (1952, Novel) – also published in the United States as ''Murder With Mirrors''
# ''[[A Pocket Full of Rye]]'' (1953, Novel)
# ''[[4.50 from Paddington]]'' (1957, Novel) – also published in the United States as ''What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!''
# ''[[The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side]]'' (1962, Novel)
# ''[[A Caribbean Mystery]]'' (1964, Novel)
# ''[[At Bertram's Hotel]]'' (1965, Novel)
# ''[[Nemesis (Christie novel)|Nemesis]]'' (1971, Novel)
# ''[[Sleeping Murder]]'' (1976, Novel) – published last but written and set in the 1940s.

===Miss Marple short story collections===
* ''[[The Thirteen Problems]]'' (1932, short story collection featuring Miss Marple, also published as ''The Tuesday Club Murders'')
*''[[The Regatta Mystery]]'' (1939, Collection)
* ''[[Three Blind Mice and Other Stories]]'' (1950, Collection)
* ''[[The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding]]'' (1960, Collection)
* ''[[Double Sin and Other Stories]]'' (1961, Collection)
* ''[[Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories]]'' (short stories collected posthumously, also published as ''Miss Marple's Final Cases'', but only six of the eight stories actually feature Miss Marple) (written between 1939 and 1954, published 1979)
* ''Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories'', published 1985, includes 20 from 4 sets: ''[[The Thirteen Problems]]'', ''[[The Regatta Mystery]]'', ''[[Three Blind Mice and Other Stories]]'', and ''[[Double Sin and Other Stories]]''.

Miss Marple also appears in "Greenshaw's Folly", a short story included as part of the Poirot collection ''[[The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding]]'' (1960). Four stories in the ''[[Three Blind Mice and Other Stories|Three Blind Mice]]'' collection (1950) feature Miss Marple: "Strange Jest", "Tape-Measure Murder", "The Case of the Caretaker", and "The Case of the Perfect Maid".

The Autograph edition of ''Miss Marple's Final Cases'' includes the eight in the original plus "Greenshaw's Folly".

===Continuations not by Christie===
* ''Marple: Twelve New Stories (2022). A'' collection of stories written by 12 different authors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Flood |first1=Alison |title=Miss Marple back on the case in stories by Naomi Alderman, Ruth Ware and more |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/31/miss-marple-back-stories-by-val-mcdermid-kate-mosse-agatha-christie |website=The Guardian |date=31 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Feminist icon' Miss Marple returns in 12 new authorised mystery stories |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/15/feminist-icon-miss-marple-returns-in-12-new-authorised-mystery-stories-agatha-christie |work=the Guardian |date=15 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

===Books about Miss Marple===
* ''The Life and Times of Miss Jane Marple'' – a [[biography]] by [[Anne Hart (Canadian author)|Anne Hart]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The Life and Times of Miss Jane Marple |first= Anne |last=Hart |isbn=978-0008340285  |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2019 |location=London  }}</ref>
* ''Agatha Christie's Marple: Expert on Wickedness'' – by Mark Aldridge<ref>{{cite book |title=Agatha Christie's Marple: Expert on Wickedness |first= Mark |last=Aldridge |isbn=9780008522698  |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2024  }}</ref>

==Stage==
A stage adaptation of ''Murder at the Vicarage'', by Moie Charles and Barbara Toy, was first seen at [[Northampton]] on 17 October 1949;<ref>'Chit Chat', ''The Stage'', 29 September 1949</ref> it was directed by [[Reginald Tate]], starred the 35-year-old [[Barbara Mullen]] as Miss Marple, and after touring, reached the [[Playhouse Theatre]] in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] on 14 December. Having run till late March 1950, it then went on tour again.<ref>Frances Stephens (ed), ''Theatre World Annual (London)'' number 1, Rockliff Publishing Corporation 1950</ref>

In July 1974, Mullen (by then 60) returned to the role in another national tour of the same play, culminating 12 months later when the show opened at London's [[Savoy Theatre]] on 28 July 1975.<ref>''Murder at the Vicarage'' programme: Theatre Print vol 5 # 9 [October 1975], Martin Tickner (ed)</ref> At the end of March 1976, the Miss Marple role was taken over by [[Avril Angers]], after which the production transferred to the [[Fortune Theatre]] on 5 July. The role then passed to [[Muriel Pavlow]] in June 1977<ref>''Murder at the Vicarage'' programme: Theatre Print # 27 [December 1977], Martin Tickner (ed)</ref> and to [[Gabrielle Hamilton (actress)|Gabrielle Hamilton]] late the following year; the production finally closed in October 1979.<ref>'On Next Week', ''The Stage'', 18 October 1979</ref>

On 21 September 1977, while ''Murder at the Vicarage'' was still running at the Fortune, a stage adaptation by Leslie Darbon of ''A Murder Is Announced'' opened at the [[Vaudeville Theatre]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/announced/notes.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050428044806/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/announced/notes.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 April 2005 |title=Mystery! &#124; A murder is announced &#124; Production notes |publisher=Pbs.org |access-date=20 March 2009}}</ref> with [[Dulcie Gray]] as Miss Marple.<ref>Vaudeville Theatre programme, No.29 February 1978</ref> The show ran to the end of September 1978 and then toured.<ref>'On the Way', ''The Stage'', 10 August 1978</ref>

==Films==

===Margaret Rutherford===
[[Margaret Rutherford]] played Miss Marple in four films directed by [[George Pollock (director)|George Pollock]] between 1961 and 1964.<ref name="bach">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-lawrence-p-bachmann/?|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=5 July 2025|access-date=5 July 2025|title=Forgotten British Film Moguls: Lawrence P. Bachmann}}</ref> These were successful light comedies, but Christie herself was disappointed with them.<ref>Matthew Bunson, ''The Complete Christie: An Agatha Christie Encyclopedia''. NY: Simon and Schuster, 2000. 386-87.
{{ISBN|9780671028312}} 
books.google.com/books?id=R3syC8weGO8C&pg=PA386</ref> Nevertheless, Agatha Christie dedicated the novel ''[[The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side]]'' to Rutherford.

Rutherford presented the character as a bold and eccentric old lady, different from the prim and birdlike character Christie created in her novels. As penned by Christie, Miss Marple has never worked for a living, but the character as portrayed by Margaret Rutherford briefly works undercover as a cook-housekeeper, a stage actress, a sailor, and criminal reformer, and is offered the chance to run a riding establishment-cum-hotel. Her education and genteel background are hinted at when she mentions her awards at marksmanship (and demonstrates her shooting prowess), dancing, fencing, and equestrianism, although these hints are played for comedic value.

''[[Murder, She Said]]'' (1961) was the first of the four British MGM productions starring Rutherford. This film was based on the 1957 novel ''4:50 from Paddington'' (U.S. title, ''What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!''), and the changes made in the plot were typical of the series. In the film, Mrs. McGillicuddy is cut from the plot. Miss Marple herself sees an apparent murder committed on a train running alongside hers. Actress [[Joan Hickson]], who played Marple in the 1984–1992 television adaptations, has a role as a housekeeper in this movie.<ref name="celebration140"/>

''[[Murder at the Gallop]]'' (1963), based on the 1953 [[Hercule Poirot]] novel, ''[[After the Funeral]]'' (in this film, she is identified as Miss JTV Marple, though there was no indication as to what the extra initials might stand for).

''[[Murder Most Foul (film)|Murder Most Foul]]'' (1964), based on the 1952 Poirot novel ''[[Mrs McGinty's Dead]]''.

''[[Murder Ahoy!]]'' (1964). The last film is not based on any Christie work but displays a few plot elements from ''They Do It With Mirrors'' (viz., the ship is used as a reform school for wayward boys and one of the teachers uses them as a crime force), as well as similarities to ''[[The Mousetrap]]''.

The music to all four films was composed and conducted by [[Ron Goodwin]]. The same theme is used on all four films with slight variations in each. The score was written within a couple of weeks by Goodwin who was approached by Pollock after Pollock had heard about him from [[Stanley Black]]. Black had worked with Pollock on ''Stranger in Town'' in 1957 and had previously hired Goodwin as his orchestrator.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ron Goodwin|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006109/bio|access-date=2021-10-06|website=IMDb}}</ref>

Rutherford, who was 68 years old when the first film was shot in February 1961, insisted that she wear her own clothes during the filming of the movie, as well as having her husband, [[Stringer Davis]], appear alongside her as the character Mr Stringer. The Rutherford films are frequently repeated on television in [[Germany]], and in that country Miss Marple is generally identified with Rutherford's quirky portrayal.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple2/shoes.html|title=Filling Miss Marple's Shoes|first=Phil|last=Clymer|website=[[PBS]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721192731/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple2/shoes.html|access-date=2012-03-07|archive-date=21 July 2006}}</ref>

Rutherford also appeared briefly as Miss Marple in the parodic Hercule Poirot adventure ''[[The Alphabet Murders]]'' (1965).

===Angela Lansbury===
In 1980, [[Angela Lansbury]] played Miss Marple in ''[[The Mirror Crack'd]]'' (EMI, directed by [[Guy Hamilton]]), based on Christie's 1962 novel. The film featured an all-star cast that included [[Elizabeth Taylor]], [[Rock Hudson]], [[Geraldine Chaplin]], [[Tony Curtis]], and [[Kim Novak]]. [[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]] appeared as Inspector Craddock, who did Miss Marple's legwork. Lansbury's Marple was a crisp, intelligent woman who moved stiffly and spoke in clipped tones. Unlike most incarnations of Miss Marple, this one smoked cigarettes. Lansbury was later cast as [[Jessica Fletcher]] in ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', a similar role.

===Ita Ever===
In 1983, [[Estonians|Estonian]] stage and film actress, [[Ita Ever]], starred in the [[Russian language]] [[Mosfilm]] adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel, ''[[A Pocket Full of Rye]]'' (using the Russian edition's translated title, ''The Secret of the Blackbirds''), as the character of Miss Marple.<ref name="PBS Mystery. Miss Marple">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple/links.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050517232739/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple/links.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 May 2005 |title=PBS Mystery. Miss Marple |publisher=Pbs.org |access-date=9 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.agathachristie.com/stories/a-pocket-full-of-rye|title=A Pocket Full of Rye|publisher=agathachristie.com|access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> Ever has also portrayed the character of Miss Marple in the [[Eesti Televisioon]] (ETV) series ''Miss Marple Stories'' in 1990, and onstage at the [[Tallinn City Theatre]] in a production of ''[[The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side]]'' in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ohtuleht.ee/181131/palju-onne-miss-marple|title=Palju õnne, miss Marple!|last=Tael|first=Triin|newspaper=[[Õhtuleht]]|date=14 September 2005|access-date=3 January 2018|language=et}}</ref>

===Future works===
In October 2024, it was revealed that [[20th Century Studios]], which has produced the [[Hercule Poirot]] films with [[Kenneth Branagh]], plans to adapt more of Christie's work, including unspecified Miss Marple titles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/predator-movie-an-alien-sequel-speed-3-1236042464/ |title=A Secret ‘Predator’ Movie, An ‘Alien’ Sequel and ‘Speed 3’ on the Table: A Chat with 20th Century Studios Boss Steve Asbell |date=24 October 2024 |access-date=26 October 2024 |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>

==Television==
The first on-screen portrayal of Miss Marple was by British actress and singer [[Gracie Fields]], playing her in a 1956 episode of the American series ''Goodyear TV Playhouse'' based on ''A Murder Is Announced'', the 1950 Christie novel.

In 1970, the character of Miss Marple was portrayed by {{interlanguage link|Inge Langen|de}} in a West German television adaptation of ''The Murder at the Vicarage ''(''Mord im Pfarrhaus'').<ref name="PBS Mystery. Miss Marple">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple/links.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050517232739/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple/links.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 May 2005 |title=PBS Mystery. Miss Marple |publisher=Pbs.org |access-date=9 July 2012}}</ref>

===Helen Hayes===
American stage and screen actress, [[Helen Hayes]], portrayed Miss Marple in two American [[television film]]s near the end of her decades-long acting career, both for [[CBS]]: ''[[A Caribbean Mystery (film)|A Caribbean Mystery]]'' (1983) and ''[[Murder with Mirrors]]'' (1985). [[Sue Grafton]] contributed to the screenplay of the former. Hayes's Marple was benign and chirpy. She had earlier appeared in a television film adaptation of the non-Marple Christie story, ''Murder Is Easy'', playing an elderly lady somewhat similar to Miss Marple.

===Joan Hickson===
{{Main|Miss Marple (TV series)}}

From 1984 to 1992, the [[BBC]] adapted all of the original Miss Marple novels as a series titled ''Miss Marple''. [[Joan Hickson]] played the lead role. In the 1940s, she had appeared on stage in an Agatha Christie play ''[[Appointment with Death]]'', seen by Christie, who wrote in a note to her, "I hope one day you will play my dear Miss Marple".<ref name="celebration140">{{cite book| last = Haining| first = Peter| title = Agatha Christie: Murder in four acts : a centenary celebration of 'The Queen of Crime' on stage, films, radio & TV| year = 1990| publisher = Carol Pub Group| isbn = 978-1-85227-273-9| page = 140 }}</ref> Hickson portrayed a maid in the 1937 film ''[[Love from a Stranger (1937 film)|Love from a Stranger]]'', which starred Ann Harding and Basil Rathbone, another Agatha Christie play adaptation. As well as portraying Miss Marple on television, Hickson narrated Miss Marple stories for audio books. In the "Binge!" article of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' Issue #1343–1344 (26 December 2014 – 3 January 2015), the writers picked Hickson as "Best Marple" in the "Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple" timeline.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Binge! Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=1343–44 |date=26 December 2014|pages=32–33}}</ref>

Listing of the TV series featuring Joan Hickson:
* ''[[The Body in the Library (film)|The Body in the Library]]'' (1984)
* ''[[The Moving Finger]]'' (1985)
* ''[[A Murder Is Announced]]'' (1985)
* ''[[A Pocket Full of Rye]]'' (1985)
* ''[[The Murder at the Vicarage]]'' (1986) – BAFTA nomination
* ''[[Sleeping Murder]]'' (1987)
* ''[[At Bertram's Hotel]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Nemesis (Christie novel)|Nemesis]]'' (1987) – BAFTA nomination
* ''[[4.50 from Paddington]]'' (1987)
* ''[[A Caribbean Mystery]]'' (1989)
* ''[[They Do It with Mirrors|They Do It With Mirrors]]'' (1991)
* ''[[The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side]]'' (1992)

===Geraldine McEwan (2004–2008)/Julia McKenzie (2009–2013)===
{{Main|Agatha Christie's Marple}}
Beginning in 2004, [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] broadcast a series of adaptations of Agatha Christie's books under the title ''Agatha Christie's Marple'', usually referred to as ''Marple.'' [[Geraldine McEwan]] starred in the first three series. [[Julia McKenzie]] took over the role in the fourth season.

The adaptations change the plots and characters of the original books (e.g. incorporating lesbian affairs, changing the identities of some killers, renaming or removing significant characters, and even using stories from other books in which Miss Marple did not originally feature). In the Geraldine McEwan series, it is revealed that when she was young (portrayed by [[Julie Cox]] in a flashback), Miss Marple had an affair with a married soldier, Captain Ainsworth, who was killed in action in World War I, in December 1915. It is also said (in ''[[A Murder Is Announced]]'') that she served as an ambulance driver during World War I.

Listing of the TV series featuring Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie:
* ''[[The Body in the Library]]'' (2004)
* ''[[The Murder at the Vicarage]]'' (2004)
* ''[[4.50 from Paddington]]'' (2004)
* ''[[A Murder Is Announced]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Sleeping Murder]]'' (2005)
* ''[[The Moving Finger]]'' (2006)
* ''[[By the Pricking of My Thumbs]]'' (2006)
* ''[[The Sittaford Mystery]]'' (2006)
* ''[[At Bertram's Hotel]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Ordeal by Innocence]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Towards Zero]]'' (2008)
* ''[[Nemesis (Agatha Christie novel)|Nemesis]]'' (2008)
* ''[[A Pocket Full of Rye]]'' (2009)
* ''[[Murder Is Easy]]'' (2009)
* ''[[They Do It with Mirrors]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Why Didn't They Ask Evans?]]'' (2011)
* ''[[The Pale Horse (novel)|The Pale Horse]]'' (2010)
* ''[[The Secret of Chimneys]]'' (2010)
* ''[[The Thirteen Problems#The Blue Geranium|The Blue Geranium]]'' (2010)
* ''[[The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side]]'' (2011)
* ''[[A Caribbean Mystery]]'' (2013)
* ''[[The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding#Greenshaw.27s Folly|Greenshaw's Folly]]'' (2013)
* ''[[Endless Night (novel)|Endless Night]]'' (2013)

In 2015, CBS planned a "much younger" version of the character, a granddaughter who takes over a California bookstore.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://decoy.tvpassport.com/q_a/q-it-true-theyre-making-new-miss-marple-tv-series-whos-going-play-her?subid=national-00001|title=Q & A|publisher=TV Media|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>

In 2018, Miss Marple was portrayed by [[Yunjin Kim]] in the South Korean television series ''[[Ms. Ma, Nemesis]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/kwave/2018/09/17/3001000000AEN20180917009200315.html|title=Yunjin Kim hopes 'Ms. Ma, Goddess of Revenge' becomes her best Korean TV series|publisher=Yonhap News|date=17 March 2018}}</ref>

===Anime===
{{Main|Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple}}
From 2004 to 2005, Japanese TV network [[NHK]] produced a 39 episode [[anime]] series titled ''Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple'', which features both Miss Marple and [[Hercule Poirot]]. Miss Marple's voice is provided by [[Kaoru Yachigusa]]. Episodes adapted both short stories and novels.

The anime series dramatised the following Miss Marple stories:
* "[[Three Blind Mice and Other Stories#List of stories|Strange Jest]]" (EP 3)
* "[[Three Blind Mice and Other Stories#List of stories|The Case of the Perfect Maid]]" (EP 4)
* "[[Three Blind Mice and Other Stories#List of stories|The Tape-Measure Murder]]" (EP 13)
* "[[The Thirteen Problems#Ingots of Gold|Ingots of Gold]]" (EP 14)
* "[[The Thirteen Problems#The Blue Geranium|The Blue Geranium]]" (EP 15)
* ''[[4.50 from Paddington]]'' (EP 21–24)
* "[[The Thirteen Problems#Motive v. Opportunity|Motive versus Opportunity]]" (EP 27)
* ''[[Sleeping Murder]]'' (EP 30–33)

==Radio==
{{main|Miss Marple (radio series)}}
[[June Whitfield]] starred as Miss Marple in [[Michael Bakewell]]'s [[Miss Marple (radio series)|adaptations]] of all twelve novels, broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] between 1993 and 2001.<ref name=r4extra>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03p87br|title=BBC Radio 4 Extra – Miss Marple|website=BBC|access-date=30 July 2020}}</ref>

Three short stories with Whitfield ("Tape-Measure Murder", "The Case of the Perfect Maid" and "Sanctuary") were later broadcast under the collective title ''Miss Marple's Final Cases'' weekly 16 – 30 September 2015.

==Other appearances==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Jane Marple in Case Closed.jpg|thumb|Marple, as she appeared in volume 20 of ''[[Case Closed (manga)|Case Closed]]'']] -->

Marple was highlighted in volume 20 of the ''[[Case Closed (manga)|Case Closed]]'' manga's edition of "Gosho Aoyama's Mystery Library", a section of the graphic novels (usually the last page) where the author introduces a different detective (or occasionally, a villain) from mystery literature, television, or other media.

In the 1976 [[Neil Simon]] [[spoof film|spoof]] ''[[Murder by Death]]'', Miss Marple is parodied as "Miss Marbles" by [[Elsa Lanchester]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Novels}}
* [[List of female detective characters]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110608002907/http://uk.agathachristie.com/christies-work/detectives-and-sidekicks/miss-marple/ Miss Marple] at the official Agatha Christie website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170511131724/http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0026660/ Miss Marple] on [[IMDb]]
* {{cite book| last1 = Shaw| first1 = Marion| last2 = Vanackere| first2 = Sabine| title = Reflecting on Miss Marple| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=j9AOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA35| year = 1991| publisher = Taylor & Francis| isbn = 978-0-415-01794-7| page = 35 }}
* {{cite book| author = Mary Jean Demarr| title = In the beginning: first novels in mystery series| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Kaf44WMWsA0C&pg=PA36| year = 1995| publisher = Popular Press| isbn = 978-0-87972-674-4| page = 36 }}

{{Miss Marple}}
{{Agatha Christie}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marple, Miss}}
[[Category:Miss Marple| ]]
[[Category:Miss Marple characters]]
[[Category:Book series introduced in 1930]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into plays]]
[[Category:Characters in British novels of the 20th century]]
[[Category:Characters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction]]
[[Category:Detective television series]]
[[Category:Agatha Christie characters]]
[[Category:Female characters in literature]]
[[Category:Fictional amateur detectives]]
[[Category:Fictional British detectives]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1927]]
[[Category:Fictional English people]]
[[Category:Novel series]]
[[Category:British novels adapted for radio]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:Fictional female amateur detectives]]