If you know Agatha Christie, then you will be familiar with the unassuming, whipsmart detective that is Miss Marple.
Jane Marple is classically a white-haired elderly woman, who uses her age as a shield so that those she’s sleuthing on underestimate her. In Christie’s novels, it works time and time again.
This well-loved amateur detective has been recreated on screen more than once and one such adaptation, rather unimaginatively titled Agatha Christie’s Marple, has recently been added to Netflix.
The whodunnit originally aired on ITV from 2004, with a sensational all-star cast across six seasons, each comprising episodes you could count on one hand.
You’ll have fun spotting people. Names include Joanna Lumley and Benedict Cumberbatch – who went on to play British culture’s other most notorious citizen detective – as well as Amanda Holden, Carey Mulligan and Keeley Hawes.
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We don’t stop there, because there’s also 007 Timothy Dalton, Kelly Brook, Richard Armitage, Ruth Wilson and Brian Cox. There’s even more besides, but this isn’t the Bible, so I can’t imagine you want to read an endless list of names.
Miss Marple was played by the late Geraldine McEwan for the first three series, until she retired and Julia McKenzie took over from there to poke her nose into everyone else’s business.
Each time she’s cracked the case, the players gather in one of those classically oak-panelled rooms for her lengthy explanation of everyone’s involvement.
If you’re an Agatha Christie purist, proceed with caution, because the show takes a number of liberties with the source material, across 23 adaptations of Christie classics, inserting dear Miss Marple into novels that she didn’t actually feature in.
It’s left some fans who enjoyed the show urging others to go in anticipating it won’t be a straight, by-the-numbers adaptation. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had.
Marple isn't the only Agatha Christie recently added to Netflix
Senior TV Reporter Asyia Iftikhar reviewed the new Netflix drama Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials…
There’s nothing more cosy than making a cuppa, donning your detective hat and settling down to some Agatha Christie.
Whether through the page or screen, one of the greatest murder mystery writers to ever live has bewitched and enthralled countless generations with her whip-smart plots and alluring characters.
Now, Netflix is cashing in on her enduring appeal in an unexpected way.
On IMDb, where the show currently holds a 7.9 rating out of 10, the show has been described in user reviews as ‘outstanding’.
‘I am an Agatha Christie scholar who has researched her work for years,’ Sarah Warner prefaced her review by saying. ‘Does that make me a better viewer? Not necessarily, but a more attentive one.
‘I can honestly say this is one of the best TV adaptations and definitely worth 10 stars. It’s got everything and more. Please give it a chance and stop comparing it against other productions.’
Meanwhile, Freddy Lowe wrote: ‘Agatha Christie’s Marple is a fantastically directed, wonderfully filmed, all-round SUPERB TV series that retains both the atmosphere and irresistible charm of the author’s source material, even when it deviates from the strict plots.’
Is Marple one for you?
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Agatha Christie’s Marple is available to stream on Netflix and ITVX.
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