Agatha Christie’s Favorite Marple

Spoiler Alert: Joan Hickson. But let’s listen to the theme song once more!

“Hickson was discovered by Agatha Christie herself, 40 years prior to accepting the role of Miss Jane Marple and bringing the character to the small screen According to Christie’s grandson” — Quote and photo source: Zoomer Television

On October 28th, 2014, BBC Home Entertainment celebrated the 30th Anniversary of Miss Marple by releasing the first volume (first four mysteries) on Blu-ray. And that of course brings us to Joan Hickson and her portrayal of one of our most favorite sleuths and our sweet but always on-the-verge-of-pant-wetting memories from anything tagged with Agatha Christie.

There is always an exquisite contradiction between Christie’s astute detectives being normally soft-spoken well-dressed innocent-looking protagonists and the obscure veiled nature of murder and blood. Having read almost all Miss Marple stories, Joan Hickson was the closest woman to how Christie wanted Marple to be. And for that we actually have evidence:

After Hickson’s appearance in the stage adaptation of Christie’s Appointment with Death in 1946, she receives a note from the woman herself mentioning “I hope one day you will play my dear Miss Marple.”

The opening theme by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikey is a pristine appetizer to every story. So in case you are thinking about adding tangible objects to your bookshelf, this anniversary set might come in handy.