Lord Alfred Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott figures into the title and the motive of The Mirror Crack’s from Side to Side. Agatha invokes the real life drama of actress Jean Tierney in the unsettling problem of contacting German measles during a pregnancy. Miss Marple stirs from her forced rehabilitation to aide Chief Inspector Dermot Craddock in discovering who had reason to poison Heather Badcock. Before the mystery will be uncovered, two more bodies fall prey to the murderer: Ella Zielinsky and Guiseppe. The clues lead to one person, and Miss Marple understands human nature and that understanding uncovers the killer. An interesting study of how the past always returns to plague and undo the future. ( )

Spannend en verrassend.

Op een feestje wordt een vrouw vermoord.
Al snel wordt vermoed dat zij niet het slachtoffer had moeten zijn.
Vele geheimen worden blootgelegd van de verschillende personen.
Uiteindelijk weet miss Marple de puzzelstukjes op de juiste plaats te leggen en blijkt alsnog dat de juiste persoon werd vermoord en ook waarom. ( )

Both the surprisingly genuine depiction of being old and the really inventive and clever and sympathetic murder motive here elevate this above the average mystery. Negatives are an ending where a few things suddenly happen that aren't really given space to breathe, a couple of uses of w*p which was... surprising and a pretty unenlightened way of talking about mental health and disability although it's only really objectionable in a couple of instances. ( )

The Curse is Come Upon Me
Review of the William Morrow Paperbacks Kindle edition (June 15, 2004) of the Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover (November 12, 1962) & the Dodd, Mead & Company (US) hardcover (September 1963) originals.

Out flew the web and floated wide—
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott. - excerpt from the poem "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Tennyson.

The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side returns us to the site of Gossington Hall which was one of the primary locations of the 2nd Miss Marple novel The Body in the Library (1942). Miss Marple's friend Mrs. Bantry is now a widow and has sold Gossington Hall, and now lives a downsized life at the gate house. The main house has been sold to film actress Marina Gregg and her film director husband.

The new owners host a garden fete to raise funds for charity and to open their home to visitors. During the party one of the guests dies due to a poisoned drink. It turns out that the drink had been intended for Marina Gregg and the suspicion is that a rival or enemy is trying to murder the actress. Mrs. Bantry enlists the aid of Miss Marple to help investigate. Other attempts are made and then yet another murder occurs before Miss Marple uncovers the diabolical reason for the crimes.

See cover image at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/The_Mirror_Crack%27d_From_Side_to...
The front cover of the original 1962 Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.

Confusion for Completists
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side is the 8th Miss Marple novel. Some lists, including the Goodreads Miss Marple Listopia, count it as Miss Marple #9 as the short story collection The Thirteen Problems (1932) is counted as #1.

Trivia and Links
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side was adapted as a feature film The Mirror Crack’d (1980) directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple and Elizabeth Taylor as Marina Gregg-Rudd. You can see a trailer for the film here.

The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side was adapted twice for English language television series. Both of the TV adaptations are reasonably faithful to the original plot. I did not find any free trailers or postings of either of them, but they are both available on the Britbox streaming service here in Canada.

The first TV adaptation was as part of the BBC's Miss Marple (1984-1992) series as the finale Episode 12 in 2 parts in 1992, which starred Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.

The second TV adaptation was as part of ITV's Agatha Christie’s Marple (2004-2013) reboot series as Series 5 Episode 4 in 2011 which starred Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. ( )

I don’t normally read Christie’s Miss Marple, preferring Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver mysteries somewhat more. I do love Christie’s wonderful Poirot stories, however, especially the ones which take place in exotic locations. It’s not that I have anything against Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, but the style Wentworth gave her Miss Silver, who was a very unobtrusive figure in her mysteries, is one I enjoy. Of those Vanishing Point might be my favorite.

I do, however, enjoy the Marple films — in all their incarnations, and changing Marples — because like most people, I’m a mystery lover. I came across The Mirror Cracked From Side to Side by chance in a used book store, so decided to give it a read. I’m not even going to deal with the plot here, because many others have commented on it. Most people have probably seen the film as well.

Having read a Miss Marple mystery or two, years ago, this one surprised me a bit. I found the beginning, which had zip to do with the plot that developed, actually quite touching. Here, Miss Marple seems older, restricted in her endeavors. It frustrates her that she has problems knitting now, and is even more maddened at the loss of freedom. Her struggles with the “kind” and cheery person looking after her is both amusing, and just a tiny bit poignant. Though we don’t wish to think about it, we will all be old one day, and feel just as Miss Marple does here.

But not to worry, she’s just as sharp as ever, and by the end, she has the mystery and her life under control. The mystery portion, which everyone is familiar with, is solid enough, but it’s the beginning couple of chapters I’ll take away with me. I still prefer Patricia Wentworth’s unobtrusiveness within the Miss Silver narratives, but I came away from this liking Miss Marple on paper more than I did going in. I’ve always enjoyed the films, and still believe it’s a case of me liking them much more than the books — which is unusual. I do have a soft spot for her now, however, mostly due to those first chapters, and I might try another at some point. ( )