{"id":20899,"date":"2020-05-29T08:58:24","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T12:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=20899"},"modified":"2025-10-01T16:11:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:11:49","slug":"the-moving-finger-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20899","title":{"rendered":"The Moving Finger"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Moving Finger <\/em> (1942) Agatha Christie<\/a> (Miss Marple)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>This is the third Miss Marple mystery, and one I’ve reread multiple times, yet this time through I picked up some things I’d not noticed before.<\/p>\n

Which isn’t unusual, but is fascinating, as things I have learned elsewhere shine a different light upon things I’ve read before.<\/p>\n

In novels, I have noticed, anonymous letters of a foul and disgusting character are never shown, if possible, to women. It is implied that women must at all cost be shielded from the shock it might give their delicate nervous systems. <\/p>\n

I am sorry to say it never occurred to me not to show the letter to Joanna. I handed it to her at once. <\/p>\n

She vindicated my belief in her toughness by displaying no emotion but that of amusement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018I loved Maths. But it wasn\u2019t awfully well taught. I\u2019d like to be taught Maths really well. It\u2019s heavenly. I think there\u2019s something heavenly about numbers, anyway, don\u2019t you?\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018Won\u2019t you have one?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u2018No, I don\u2019t think I will, but it was very nice of you to offer it to me\u2014 just as though I was a real person.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u2018Aren\u2019t you a real person?\u2019 I said amused. <\/p>\n

Megan shook her head, then, changing the subject.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018By the way, Megan is coming to lunch.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u2018Is she? Good.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u2018You like her?\u2019 I asked. <\/p>\n

\u2018I think she\u2019s a changeling,\u2019 said Joanna. \u2018Something left on a doorstep, you know, while the fairies take the right one away. It\u2019s very interesting to meet a changeling.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was curious that one could never gauge what Megan would think or feel. <\/p>\n

Joanna nodded and said: <\/p>\n

\u2018No, one never does know with changelings.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018Megan?\u2019 she said doubtfully. \u2018I don\u2019t know, I\u2019m sure. I mean, it\u2019s ever so kind of you, but she\u2019s such a queer girl. One never knows what she\u2019s going to say or feel about things.\u2019
\n…
\nShe seems to want to get away from everyone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Something very silly about Caleb and the school-mistress, I think. Quite absurd, because Caleb has absolutely no taste for fornication. He never has had. So lucky, being a clergyman.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018No,\u2019 I said. \u2018There\u2019s too much tendency to attribute to God the evils that man does of his own free will. I might concede you the Devil. God doesn\u2019t really need to punish us, Miss Barton. We\u2019re so very busy punishing ourselves.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Publisher: William Morrow<\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Moving Finger (1942) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This is the third Miss Marple mystery, and one I’ve reread multiple times, yet this time through I picked up some things I’d not noticed before. Which isn’t unusual, but is fascinating, as things I have learned elsewhere shine a different light upon things I’ve read before. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,30,190,292,33,8,608,41],"tags":[553,228,508,229,693,898],"class_list":["post-20899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-cozy","category-ebook","category-historical","category-mystery","category-neurodiversity","category-reread","tag-ace-rep","tag-agatha-christie","tag-asd","tag-miss-marple","tag-older-protagonist","tag-ww-ii"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-5r5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24591,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24591","url_meta":{"origin":20899,"position":0},"title":"The Moving Finger","author":"Michelle","date":"May 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Moving Finger (1942) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) \u2018I can see you are a very clever young man\u2014but not quite enough confidence in yourself. You ought to have!\u2019 Joanna gave a loud hoot. \u2018For goodness\u2019 sake don\u2019t encourage him to feel like that. He thinks quite enough of himself as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Moving Finger","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/the-moving-finger.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12878,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12878","url_meta":{"origin":20899,"position":1},"title":"The Moving Finger","author":"Michelle","date":"May 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Moving Finger (1943) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) Jerry and his sister Joanna have taken a house in Lymstock while Jerry recovers from a plane crash. This book is set at a time just as British society was changing. When we had settled in and been at Little Furze a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Moving Finger","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/The-Moving-Finger.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4902,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4902","url_meta":{"origin":20899,"position":2},"title":"Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories","author":"Michelle","date":"October 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (2013) Agatha Christie From The Thirteen Problems (1953) The Tuesday Night Club The Idol House of Astarte Ingots of Gold The Bloodstained Pavement Motive v. Opportunity The Thumbmark of St. Peter The Blue Geranium The Companion The Four Suspects A Christmas Tragedy The Herb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Miss-Marple-The-Complete-Short-Stories","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Miss-Marple-The-Complete-Short-Stories.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3450,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3450","url_meta":{"origin":20899,"position":3},"title":"The Murder at the Vicarage","author":"Michelle","date":"January 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) Agatha Christie It's been years since I've read an Agatha Christie, but she's always been on of my favorites, and so I decided it was the perfect thing to read while I'm sick and feeling somewhat miserable. This is the first Miss Marple mystery,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Murder at the Vicarage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/murder-at-vicarage.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20897,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20897","url_meta":{"origin":20899,"position":4},"title":"The Body in the Library","author":"Michelle","date":"April 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Body in the Library (1942) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The second Miss Marple book has both Miss Marple and Sir Henry Clithering. One of the things I always loved Agatha Christie books is how descriptive they can be. The gay, laughing expression on his face was wiped off as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Body in the Library","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/The-Body-in-the-Library.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3652,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3652","url_meta":{"origin":20899,"position":5},"title":"A Pocket Full of Rye","author":"Michelle","date":"March 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A Pocket Full of Rye (1953) Agatha Christie Rex Fortescue dies in his office, immediately after drinking his morning tea. Besides the strange poison used to kill me, police are confused by the fact he coat is full of cereal--rye. Miss Marple doesn't make her appearance until almost halfway through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Pocket Full of Rye","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/pocket-full-of-rye-182x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20899\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}