Murder at the vicarage geraldine mcewan actress

The Murder at the Vicarage

Synopsis[]

Colonel Lucius Protheroe is probably the least-liked individual in St Mary Mead. All resent his superior and demanding attitude. So, when he is found dead in the vicarage study, there is no end of suspects. His wife Ann was having an affair with a local artist, Lawrence Redding. His daughter Lettice bridled under his strict rule. There is also the vicar and his assistant, whom Protheroe suspected of stealing church funds. Finally, there is the mysterious Mrs. Lester with whom he clearly had some previous connection. Jane Marple, recuperating at home from a sprained ankle, had a bird's eye view of all the comings and goings at the vicarage around the time of the murder and she gladly assists Inspector Slack in solving the crime.

Comparison with original novel[]

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Cast[]

Tropes and Themes[]

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Author Agatha Christie's Miss Marple is one of the most iconic and celebrated literary sleuths of all time, and there have been several Miss Marple actresses who have brought the character to life. The amateur investigator was first introduced in the 1930 novel Murder at the Vicarage, appearing in 11 subsequent novels up until 1976. The character has been portrayed on the stage, on radio, on the big screen, and in cozy mystery shows like Agatha Christie's Marple several times since the character's screen debut in 1961.

While most recent movies have focused on Agatha Christie's other detective, Hercule Poirot, there are still plenty of Miss Marple adaptations out there for fans of his earlier detective. Over the past 60 years, Miss Marple has been portrayed by some impressive actresses from all over the world. Due to the character's age, she is commonly played by veteran actresses with decades of experience behind them, allowing for some truly fantastic performances. When it comes to every Miss Marple actress, they range from the most obscure to the most influential and acclaimed, but all are great for different reasons.

English actress (1932–2015)

Geraldine McEwan (born Geraldine McKeown; 9 May 1932 – 30 January 2015) was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with a syrupy, seductive voice and a forthright, sparkling manner".

McEwan was a five-time Olivier Award nominee, and twice won the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress; for The Rivals (1983) and The Way of the World (1995). She was also nominated for the 1998 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for The Chairs. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the 1990 television serial Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and from 2004 to 2009, she starred as the Agatha Christie sleuth Miss Marple, in the ITV series Marple.

Early life

She was born Geraldine McKeown on 9 May 1932 in Old Windsor, Berkshire, England, to Donald and Norah (née Burns) McKeown. She had Irish ancestors; her maternal grandfather came from Kilkenny while her paternal grandfather came from Belfast. Her father, a printers' compositor, ran the Labour Party branch in Old Windsor, a safe Conservative seat. She later simplified the spelling of her last name from McKeown to McEwan.

McEwan won a scholarship to attend Windsor County Girls' School, then a private school where she felt completely out of place, and took elocution lessons. However, in later life she said she had loved English and the teaching of Miss Meech in particular. In an

1930 Miss Marple novel by Agatha Christie

The Murder at the Vicarage is a work of detective fiction by the British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US edition at $2.00.

It is the first novel to feature the character of Miss Marple and her village of St Mary Mead. The character had previously appeared in short stories published in magazines, from December 1927. These earlier stories were collected in book form in The Thirteen Problems in 1932.

Plot summary

The Reverend Leonard Clement, the vicar of St Mary Mead, narrates the story. He lives with his much younger wife Griselda and his nephew Dennis. Colonel Lucius Protheroe, Clement's churchwarden, is a wealthy, abrasive man who also serves as the local magistrate, and is widely disliked in the village. At dinner one evening, Clement offhandedly remarks that anyone who killed Protheroe would be doing the world a favour.

One day Clement encounters Protheroe's wife, Anne, embracing Lawrence Redding, a young visiting artist; while promising them that he will not reveal their affair, he advises Redding to leave the village at once. The next day, Clement is scheduled to meet Protheroe to go over irregularities in the church accounts. Clement is called away to a farm to visit a dying parishioner, but learns that the man has recovered, and that nobody at the farm had asked for him. Upon returning home, Clement encounters a distressed Redding at the gate to the vicarage, then discovers Colonel Protheroe dead at the writing desk in his study. He summons Dr Haydock, who pronounces that Protheroe was killed by a gunshot to the back of the head.

The police, led by Colonel Melchett and Inspector Slack, are confounded by several detail