Agatha Christie Project: Murder at the Vicarage

Blurb: "Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe would be doing the world at large a service.” --Reverend Clement

The tranquillity of St Mary Mead is shattered when Lucius Protheroe is found dead. A thoroughly unpleasant character, there is no shortage of suspects with a motive for murder. Could it have been his unfaithful wife?  Her artist lover? The daughter, set to inherit?  Or even the mild-mannered vicar? Inspector Slack is at a loss. Perhaps Miss Jane Marple, the local village busybody, can help...

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I just finished reading the novel about a week ago, and it was just as enjoyable as I had imagined. With my busy schedule, I have had very little time for reading purely for enjoyment. This Agatha Christie project to compare the books with the British ITV television series has been great fun! 

This is the first Miss Marple novel and it was written in first person from the perspective of the Vicar. I enjoyed the prose and style of the novel and found the need to keep reading at each sitting longer than I had planned. Finishing a whole novel in 2 days is quite a feat for me these days, but that just goes back to the splendid writing of this author. I haven't had a chance to read a Christie mystery in a couple years so this was pure pleasure for me. 

When ITV decided to reboot Miss Marple back in 2004, this was the first book they revisited in film which makes sense as it is the first Marple novel. I must say that the screenplay was overall quite faithful to the text. Sure, they gave more screen time to Miss Marple than is given to her in the book. In the book, as the point of view character is the vicar, everything is experienced through his eyes and so Miss Marple in many ways seems more like a secondary character. The plot carries through much as the book did and the guilty parties were the same as in the novel. Overall, I was pleased with the film adaptation and Geraldine McEwan's performance as Miss Marple.

An audio introduction to the novel:

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Classic Friday: The Interitance by Louisa May Alcott

I loved re-reading this book! I believe I read it for the first time back in 1997 when it first came out. (Yes, an Alcott novel releasing over a hundred years after her death.) The Inheritance was her first novel. She even made a notation on it that it was her first novel written at the age of 17 which she never attempted to get published. Now, it’s not one of those thrilling, sensational stories as Jo March liked to write. Instead, it is a quaint, sweet, English novel about an orphaned girl and her future inheritance. The manuscript was discovered among Miss Alcott’s papers and cataloged along with her other writings. Eventually, it too was brought to print.

It’s interesting because I recently purchased the movie version of the book. It was also made in 1997 and so it had been a long time since I watched it. Something seemed odd about the movie from what I remembered about the book. ‘Wasn’t this supposed to be set in England in the early 19th century?’ I asked myself. The movie set the story near Concord (L.M. Alcott’s home) in the 1870's. And the characters are Americans not English. They added a new dimension to the heroine, Edith. They took away one character and added another while also including a variation on the plot. In many ways, it is a totally different story while still being essentially Miss Alcott’s fond tale. I enjoyed the movie, but the changes do take away from the style and tone that Louisa probably intended for her story.

The writing style of the novel is quite different than say…Little Women. You can sense the naivety of the young woman penning this story. She isn't yet the author she will become. And yet it is lyrical and lovely. In fact, I read many of the passages out loud just to hear how they sounded. It’s a sweet, poignant story and I enjoyed it completely. I only wish I could have written such a splendid novel at that same tender age.

A vignette for your edification. (pg 90)

The heart he studied the most earnestly and that each day grew more beautiful to him was Edith’s. Amid the trials she so silently was bearing still grew the gratitude and love she bore to those around her and still lay the deep, longing wish for tenderness and true affection which none ever guessed and none ever sought to give.

Yet he who was daily near her and who so often found a place within her thoughts now became her friend, seeking by unseen acts of silent kindness to make life more pleasant to her. While thus employed, the friendship and generous pity were fast deepening into the truest reverence and most holy love for one who bore so meekly the sorrows that must try a gentle heart and was so rich in pure and sinless feelings and so beautiful in all woman’s noblest gifts.

Classic Friday: Pride and Prejudice and...Zombies!

Yes, I said Zombies. Your eyes are not failing you. You haven’t warped to a new dimension. This is a real book.

Being the fanatic of Jane Austen that I am, I had heard that this book was coming, but I didn’t think much of it. ‘Really, are they serious? Whatever.’ Was my response.

Then a couple days ago I opened my copy of Entertainment Weekly—the April 3^rd edition. (Yes, I get EW. Shh!) And there in the book section the feature story is on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen. First off let me tell you that EW gave the book an A-. Pretty good but I cannot agree. I'll admit that on first reading the included scene from the book, it made me laugh. However, the more I read the more I became completely offended. It was like a sacrilege that this author could take a most beloved story and turn it into some horror fest. I can’t quote the scene from the article but let’s suffice it to say that the leads of the book: Lizzy, Darcy, Jane and Bingley come across a group of undead feeding on some servants and Darcy asks for permission to basically vanquish them. The ladies acquiesce and he goes ahead doing his heroic duty in a world where flesh eating zombies is the norm in the Jane Austen universe. Really, come on! How can this be so??

I usually don’t like to make a judgment on a book that I have as yet not read, but I don’t think I could stomach this one. My Janeite heart has been affronted. Now I have a sense of humor—Jane Austen did too. I love to laugh just as much as Elizabeth Bennet. Those who read my books enjoy the humor that has become my trademark. And I am not a Jane Austen purest as long as the essence of the story and characters remain intact, but this just seems to surpass any tolerance I may have had for this farcical look at Jane’s masterpiece.

The publisher of this book is Quirk Books. I wasn’t familiar with this company so I did a little research and found that they are a small Independent press based in Philadelphia. I write for the small press too so I commend this small company for attempting to fill a niche in the publishing market. What is their niche you ask? They publish nontraditional crossover books. Well, with that description then I guess Pride and Prejudice and Zombies fits their line to a tee.

By the way, did I fail to mention there are ninjas in the story too. I believe this lady will pass on this one. I mean there are so many spin off novels from Jane's works, but this one just went a step too far.

What do you think? A winner or a stinker? Of course, with all the press it is receiving I’m sure it will do well. People will read it for pure sensationalism alone. Good luck to you Mr. Grahame-Smith. I only ask what is next--Emma the Vampire Slayer. Hmm. Now that I might consider...

Classic Friday~Dickens' Characters: David Copperfield

Those who are not readers of classic literature will often ask, ‘What’s the big deal with Dickens?’ And my answer would be his characters. Dickens created some of the most enduring characters in all of literature.

We can all argue on which Dickens novel is best, but I don’t intend to discuss that today. One thing that I hope we can all agree on is that out of David Copperfield have come some of the best characters he ever penned. As an author myself, I know how important it is to have memorable characters. Characters tell our stories. Without them, no matter how exciting the plot, the book will fall flat. I’ve learned a lot about characterization from my love of classic literature and a big thanks goes to Mr. Charles Dickens.

David Copperfield is the title character and yet he is probably the most boring of the lot because…well, he is so infernally good. It is interesting that ten years later, Dickens would write Great Expectations with a similar story of a young boy and his journey to manhood. Yet, Pip isn’t the perfect young man that we see in David Copperfield.

The number of characters in the novel are overwhelming, but here are a few of the important ones. Wilkins Micawber (one of my favorites) is habitually in debt but with a good heart who eventually prospers, Uriah Heep is the hypocritical clerk whose plotting eventually leads to his downfall, Clara Peggotty the kind and devoted nurse of dear David, Edward Murdston the stern and cruel step-father, and of course Betsy Trotwood the unbending and austere great-aunt of David’s who becomes his salvation in his young life.

I encourage you if you have not yet read this novel to give it a try sometime soon. You might be surprised at the festival of characters waiting to be discovered. Happy Reading!

P.S. Don't devour Dickens--savor it. Do what I do, download the electronic version from Project Gutenberg and read it off your PDA or e-book reader (if you have one) a chapter at a time or when you have a moment. Or like me, before bed. It may take you a couple months that way but you might enjoy and remember it that much more. Another tip is to watch a movie version of the book before reading. It will help you understand the plot and figure out the characters before trying to go through it on your own. I suggest the 1999 version with Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, and Ian McKellan. (Even my 10 y/o enjoyed it.)

Classic Friday~A Look at Pride and Prejudice

Having read most of the Austen novels between the ages of 14 and 18 and a couple of them again in my early twenties, I decided to begin reading them once again in 2005 just before the new Pride and Prejudice film adaptation released. And I’ve read several of them every year since. The most recent of which was Mansfield Park. So, the question most JA fans discuss amongst themselves is which of her novels is their favorite.

This is hard for me. I suppose P&P was always my favorite growing up, but now I find Persuasion to be a fav read. Yet P&P is probably her most popular. Why do you think that is?

To begin with, it’s the characters—especially Elizabeth and Darcy. A couple years ago, I took a fiction writing class where we had to choose three literary characters and tell what we liked about them. I used Elizabeth Bennett as one of my choices. And to give reason for my choice, I used a quote from the book. She was described as having a “lively, playful disposition.” I love these kind of playful, free thinking, independent characters and I find myself writing my characters in the same way. Jane Austen loved her Elizabeth character, as well, when she wrote, “I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least I do not know.” She needn’t have worried. Elizabeth Bennett is now considered one of the most beloved heroines in all of literature. Elizabeth was unusual for a Georgian period character because she was interested in more than just getting a husband. She was a woman way before her time.

Darcy also is a likeable character; although, he may not appear to be so much at the beginning. Just like Elizabeth, we the reader have to take the time to get to know Darcy and peel back his layers before we too can fall in love with him. There is a complexity about him. It must be true because so many people have so many different takes on his character. If he were simpler, we would have all come to the same conclusions on him. Some see him as proud, aloof, and a snob. I see much more in Darcy. There's a lot of smoldering passion there. I love reading this book more than watching the movies because you get a whole lot more of what Darcy is feeling and struggling with in the text. This is especially true throughout the chapters when he and Elizabeth are guests at the Bingley home of Netherfield. He is constantly struggling and convincing himself to give up this nonsense, but this is when he falls in love. He’s wonderful!!

But those aren’t the only well-crafted characters in the book. The secondaries really bring this tale to life. Mrs. Bennet, Jane, Bingley, Wickham, Caroline Bingley, on and on. I think this is the reason so many of the recent Jane Austen spin-off novels have failed. They weren’t able to capture the essence of these characters. A few talented authors have pulled it off and those are the ones I will read, but it really is hard emulating a master at the craft.

Other than the characters, the best part of this book is the love story. The interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy (the spark) is terrific. JA plotted a tale of two characters who seem to dislike each other upon first meeting but eventually come to the conclusion that they are made for each other. Austen is good for a whole lot more than a simple love story, but you must admit she can spin a great romance. And I have always been more moved in that respect with this book than most others.

If you’ve read Austen, do you have a favorite novel? Please share.