Could Miss Marple Solve Hercule Poirot's Cases?

[@jonathanpeterson1633]

I can definitely picture Halloween Party being a Miss Marple novel! One could easily substitute Dolly Bantry for Mrs. Oliver as the eyes to what happened at the party, and then have her rush off to tell “Dear Jane” the news, and beg her to solve it, a la “The Mirror Crack’d” or “The Body in The Library.”

[@rabyhook]

Great video with interesting take on these stories. I believe Miss Marple would be able to solve more of the Poirot cases than the other way round, since she is the wise observer of people, and is so easely overlooked since she is the old spinster, knitting baby sweathers. A clever half camouflage. Everyone knows Poirot is in the room. Few take notice of this old Miss.

[@summationgathering]

This was my assumption too. I think Poirot struggles a lot with some of the Marples, in particular just the nature of setup.

[@megantouchton4636]

Re Hallowe'en Party--you're absolutely right about Miss Marple immediately seeing through the Joyce/Miranda bit...I would go further and say she'd immediately sus out the dynamics Michael Garfield. He (and his shenanigannery) would interest her a great deal, I think.

[@stardustmemory000083]

I've long thought that Cat Among the Pigeons could've been an Ariadne Oliver novel. It would've been fun to see her visiting the school as a guest/speaker, connecting with the girls in her cloud cuckoo style, and bumbling her way through the investigation against a much more dangerous foe than she expected. She'd correspond with Poirot via telephone or telegraph, and he might appear at the very end to save her from a hidden revolver.

[@summationgathering]

That would also be a lot of fun and I could see that. Apparently, Christie intended for Mrs. Oliver to have a large role in the Clocks and SPOILER HERE FOR THE CLOCKS but the murder plot was going to follow the plot of one her unpublished books and the murderer was her former secretary and quite frankly that makes a lot more sense than we got.

[@stardustmemory000083]

@@summationgathering Not the secretary who was so competent it depressed her! That does sound like a much better book.

[@summationgathering]

@@stardustmemory000083 What a missed opportunity!

[@AmarisFrede]

"They have enough rope to hang themselves!" I never registered that quote before, it's brilliant! 😂

[@summationgathering]

Pun intended.

[@beyondthefilmfatale145]

This was fun! I think Elephants Can Remember would be a short story. I think some of the ones that she could not solve, she could if she was told the stories like the Tuesday Club Murders.

[@summationgathering]

Yeah the Tuesday Club Murders is especially relevant for Five Little Pigs and Elephants Can Remember (I wish I thought of it when I was working on this video)

[@leijen208]

Love these types of videos. Marple is my favorite of the 2 detectives and always wish she had more novels

[@summationgathering]

It really is shocking she's only in 12. I would guess the average non Christie superfan would assume more.

[@DaleRibbons]

This is odd. I usually don't see new videos from you until Monday mornings, but this showed up on Sunday afternoon. At least it's a rainy day so perfect weather for watching something like this.

[@summationgathering]

Thanks! I put it out a day early because it's Agatha Christie's birthday today.

[@charis6311]

Great idea(s) for a video - I absolutely love to think though what would have happened if another person/ gender/ class... would have been in a certain story, so - yes, please more of these!

[@summationgathering]

I'm going to do If Poirot could solve the Miss Marple novels and if Poirot and Marple could solve the standalones. Unsure if I'm going to do Tommy/Tuppence. But I could also do them solving other authors mysteries and we can have this all over the place. It might get crazy if I keep going down this path.

[@HuntingViolets]

They would be interesting in _Sleeping Murder,_ I always think. Although I’m usually annoyed with Miss Marple showing up in non-Marple stories, and I’m desperate for a version of _Sleeping Murder_ that’s closer to the book, I sometimes think I’d like to adapt it with them.

[@the-panda-lives]

Great idea for a video and very well considered for each novel. Fascinating to hear that Christie originally had Miss Marple in mind as the sleuth for Death on the Nile. Where did you hear that and can you elaborate on it? This is my fave Poirot novel and the idea of MM being on the Karnak instead of Poirot is soooooooo interesting. Lol, she wouldn't need to be drugged, she'd just go to bed early. That's what I'd do, being a bit of a nanna myself.

[@Sebastian-lw5qb]

It's in John Curran's Christie notebooks. In one of her notebooks, she had an early cast list for Death on the Nile, that included Miss Marple.

[@summationgathering]

Thanks! It was from John Curran's Secret Notebooks as the comment above states.

[@karengustafson7666]

I really enjoyed this episode.

[@summationgathering]

Thanks!

[@timmorrell5591]

Very interesting video which I thoroughly enjoyed. For "Miss Marple's Christmas" I think that, if Chief Inspector Sugden had heard of Miss Marple's reputation on the police grapevine, he would use his position to stop her getting in on the investigation in the first place. And I think that in "Third Girl" Nora Restarick might actually find Miss Marple a reassuring and familiar figure and be inclined to confide in her, especially as Miss Marple knows how to handle young girls much more astutely than Poirot!

[@summationgathering]

I was unsure of what Sugden would think of Miss Marple. I suspect he thinks his plan is foolproof no matter what so he probably doesn't view her as more or less of a threat than he does Poirot. And I'm not so sure about Norma. I think it's possible because she was looking for someone to confide in and Poirot being too old is an issue probably because he's a man. We don't really see a lot of young people confiding in Miss Marple outside of her nieces as most think her a gossipy, but harmless, old lady. I think it is possible but I'm unsure.

[@megantouchton4636]

I think the way to insert Miss Marple in ABC Murders is as you say, via Sir Henry...or Dr. Haydock bringing her an occassional "puzzle" from a newspaper clipping, or something like that.

[@summationgathering]

Sir Henry definitely gets her in there. He would be clueless and know exactly where to go.

[@vulpes82]

A great video! Can't wait for the inverse. And it would be so interesting, from a writing perspective, to rewrite some of the books to make them Marples, though allowing there to be more changes than you allowed yourself in the video. This did get me thinking about the differences between Miss Marple and Poirot as detectives. Both of them are "psychological" in their methods, but Poirot is definitely much more interested in clues and mechanics, what they say about the murderer, and then assigning that psychology to the suspects. Miss Marple is much more about the suspects and what they say about the murder and then deciding who would have done it. He sees himself in a constant battle of wits with the murderer, while Miss Marple quietly knits it all together. I think Miss Marple has self-confidence and faith in her own abilities, maybe just as much as Poirot, but she's not at all as arrogant and bombastic as Poirot about it. (Being a older English gentlewoman vs. a successful foreign male explains a lot of that.) Poirot's also more of snob than she is, or at least a snob in a very different way. It's something I definitely want to think more about, I think. It'd also make a good video for you; I'd be intrigued as to your opinions.

[@summationgathering]

Oh absolutely. I think I may make future videos on what would have to change in the books to suit them to Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. I actually think some of the murderers might change.

[@deboracopeland4795]

So pleased to see you and a great video!

[@summationgathering]

Thanks!

[@floraposteschild4184]

Thank you for this. It's fascinating to speculate what would happen if the detectives were reversed. For example, I think Miss Marple would be quick to notice the resemblances of the men in Hercule Poirot's Christmas, and remember the squeaky toy from her childhood. I think Miss Marple would solve the murder of Roger Ackroyd faster than Poirot. A country village is her ideal setting, she has no reverence for doctors, and she has been dealing with arrogant gentlemen with a crooked streak her entire life. (See: The Thirteen Problems, "A Christmas Tragedy".) She would recognize Caroline's soft spot for her brother and gently pump her for information about him and the rest of the village. Solving minor mysteries, such as spotting Ursula Bourne as a young lady rather than a servant, would be child's play. I'm not sure how she would prove it, and as you say, Dr. Sheppard would be more likely to spot her than most murderers. Miss Marple would have to tread carefully. Her friends in the police force would be willing to look into Dr. Sheppard's financial affairs. They would have to be standing by whenever she reveals she knows he did it, because he would not hesitate to kill her.

[@summationgathering]

I could have just gone on and on with this topic and the video would have been like 6 hours long so I tried to limit myself. But yeah, I think Dr. Sheppard is someone who poses a lot of trouble for Miss Marple as he is one of the few who would recognize the threat she poses. Of course Miss Marple is too shrewd to fall victim to a murder as we've seen a few times before.

[@Sebastian-lw5qb]

Poirot solved the Murder of Roger Ackroyd (as in deduced, who did it) literally the morning after the murder because of the time discrepancy. Everything else was just him trying to prove it, even if we didn't realize this at this point.

[@charis6311]

@@summationgathering I am sure I just don't remember at the moment - but when did a murderer ever try to kill Miss Marple?

[@summationgathering]

@@charis6311 At the end of Nemesis with the poisoned milk.

[@summationgathering]

@@Sebastian-lw5qb I think Poirot's arrogance is the cause of this. He often does know who did it early on and because he is arrogant, he assumes he can only be correct. Miss Marple is very unlikely to do that or believe she knows who did it immediately afterward.

[@coffemuse]

The way to insert Miss Marple into the ABC murders is to have them go all the way up to M - St Mary Mead would be a great place then! 😆 ... Some great insights here, such as Dr Shepherd being one of the rare few who wouldn't understimate Miss Marple - excellent point!

[@summationgathering]

Going all the way up to M would be something else.

[@HuntingViolets]

The killer wouldn’t do that, as he wanted to be done with the whole thing.

[@karengustafson7666]

This is such fun. Thanks ❤

[@summationgathering]

Thanks!

[@lukacunningham342]

Yes, yes she would. Her debut was literally her solving cases based on what people were talking about.

[@summationgathering]

I wish I thought more about the Tuesday Night Club because I think that helps her a lot with Five Little Pigs.

[@verlitka]

What an interesting idea for the video! Thank you, it got me thinking other way then usual and I really enjoyed that!

[@summationgathering]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@margaretalbrecht4650]

I think she could solve Hickory, Dickory Dock. I think the young people would think of her like their grandmothers. But, I pretty much agree with you.

[@summationgathering]

I'm not so sure those specific young people would think of her as their grandmother. They didn't seem at all to be the kind to respect their elders.

[@Sebastian-lw5qb]

Mostly agree, and I don't think it would take her long for Lord Edgware Dies either. She simply would look at it from the other and correct angle right from the beginning.

[@summationgathering]

Imagine if she were at the dinner party and Jane Wilkinson mixed up the city of Paris with the mythical Paris. Oh boy.

[@shanigribben9158]

When it comes to MOTOE I think Daisy, being the original victim, would be the thing that convinces her to let everyone go if nothing else, she would definitely sympathise with a dead baby and her family, over someone like Rattchett

[@summationgathering]

That's certainly possible. I had not considered that.

[@shanigribben9158]

@@summationgathering The female instinct to protect babies runs deep!

[@58christiansful]

The point is Agatha Christie could have fitted MM into most of the Poirots by various tweaks and readjustments. The most unlikely are indeed Hickory, Blue Train and One Two. But also Cards and Curtain because of the very specialness of the premise behind each - bridge party in a smart London flat with bridge scores as clues - and Shaitana wouldn’t have taken her seriously enough to invite her as a 4th sleuth. Curtain is ultra special as it was conceived as Poirot’s swan song. And I would add Orient Express - for practical reasons - unless she is accompanied by a friend or her nephew, which would have upset the balance. At one point you say ‘impersonable’ but I think you meant ‘impersonal’.

[@summationgathering]

I think it would be fun to discuss the many ways Miss Marple could have been inserted into these novels and what would have to change. Someone recommended that video which I intend to do in the future sometime.

[@58christiansful]

@@summationgathering She couldn’t be fitted in Orient Express as it would spoil the perfect symmetry of the plot - Bouc wouldn’t ask Miss M for help the way he did Poirot the famous sleuth who finds himself on the train by accident etc. I don’t see her in Mesopotamia, on the Blue Train or at Shaitana’s flat either, or at the Hickory hostel. In One Two Miss M could be Mrs Olivera’s friend staying at the Gothic House - but then the narrative needs to be changed - or she could be a patient of dentist Morley? Friendly with Miss Morley whom she met at some guest house? She fits effortlessly in most of the other novels. She could have been on the plane in Clouds, with Raymond.

[@Sebastian-lw5qb]

@@58christiansful I see her at Shaitana's flat pretty easily. Shaitana seems to have his contacts at the police, and if he had heard about that old woman, who solves all the murder cases, he would have been interested and would have invited her. Maybe at the expense of Mrs Oliver, hopefully at the expense of Colonel Race.

[@notdeadjustyet8136]

I think Marple would definitely solve all of the cases once she meets people and gets the right info. No way ABC would pass her by if she met him.

[@summationgathering]

A lot of the problem here I think involves Miss Marple getting involved in the first place.

[@lanceanderson8318]

Yes. Christie preferred Marple. She also made a cameo, played by Margaret Rutherford, in the ABC murders. She had it solved faster than Tony Randall playing Poirot did.

[@summationgathering]

I've blocked all memories of that film from my mind. lol. But I do remember that scene.

[@hangedcross-u2w]

Is Miss Marple a detective? No! Just a gossip in a bonnet. Only our hero Hercule point can solve the case. A caption for the ages of engagement !

[@suzie_lovescats]

She’s more an amateur sleuth whereas Poirot is a professional sleuth because of his past experience as a police officer so he has an advantage there.

[@lefuetthebaron1483]

I have a theory about 'Dead man's folly' that miss Marple did take part in the murder hunt and was the only person who solved the puzzle actually. There was a very old (and according to Mrs Oliver 'gaga') woman in the book who did it! You have a very interesting point that she'd solve 'Taken at the Flood' differently, and I think it's very true for her (and I would definitely read this book).

[@summationgathering]

I never thought of that woman as Miss Marple but I love the idea! I'm considering that a fact now in my head canon.

[@AmarisFrede]

OMG, I had that same headcannon about the murder hunt! I thought maybe Christie wanted it to be an easter egg!

[@HuntingViolets]

It seems Norton, like the victim-murderers in _And Then There Were None,_ cannot be touched by the police, though.

[@summationgathering]

Miss Marple and Poirot are not the police, though. Idk what would have happened if like Miss Marple had convinced like Dermot Craddock about Norton?

[@baldbuiltstache]

Although it would require a small adjustment to the plot, if Miss Marple were on the scene shortly before Sir Carmichael Clark’s murder and only knew of the previous two murders by what she read in the newspaper, I do not doubt she would have the case solved before tea time.

[@summationgathering]

I guess that is what would have to have happened.