{"id":21303,"date":"2020-06-29T08:58:23","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T12:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=21303"},"modified":"2025-09-29T22:04:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T02:04:24","slug":"450-from-paddington-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/21303","title":{"rendered":"4:50 from Paddington"},"content":{"rendered":"

4:50 from Paddington<\/a><\/em> (1957) Agatha Christie<\/a> (Miss Marple)<\/p>\n

\"4.50<\/a><\/p>\n

\nThis might be one of my favorite Miss Marple mysteries. It’s definitely one of the most memorable.<\/p>\n

At that moment another train, also on a downline, swerved inwards towards them, for a moment with almost alarming effect. For a time the two trains ran parallel, now one gaining a little, now the other.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As someone who love watching other people, I can easily imagine this happening. You’re staring out the window and see something unexpected–because people forget that trains and cars are public vehicles not private spaces.<\/p>\n

I recollect myself being interested when a train ran parallel to one in which I was travelling, to notice what a vivid and intimate picture one got of what was going on in one or two of the carriages. A little girl, I remember once, playing with a teddy bear, and suddenly she threw it deliberately at a fat man who was asleep in the corner and he bounced up and looked most indignant, and the other passenger looked so amused. I saw them all quite vividly. I could have described afterwards exactly what they looked like and what they had on.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also adore how Miss Marple acknowledges how frail she has become, but still works to resolve the mystery.<\/p>\n

But the next step involved action – a good deal of action – the kind of action for which she, herself, was physically unfit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One thing I did forget, however, was the element of romance with Lucy Eyelesbarrow. Not that she was looking for romance, but that the men around her noted her many qualities and were interested. <\/p>\n

Her competence I clearly remembered.<\/p>\n

Lucy Eyelesbarrow was thirty-two. She had taken a First in Mathematics at Oxford, was acknowledged to have a brilliant mind and was confidently expected to take up a distinguished academic career. <\/p>\n

But Lucy Eyelesbarrow, in addition to scholarly brilliance, had a core of good sound common sense. She could not fail to observe that a life of academic distinction was singularly ill rewarded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think what I found (and find) so fascinating is how she she has taken something that is often seen as menial and looked down upon, and not only made a success of it, but did so on her own terms.<\/p>\n

And despite being a “domestic” she knows her worth and doesn’t take guff from anyone.<\/p>\n

“What were you looking for in the sarcophagus?” <\/p>\n

“I was looking for a body,” said Lucy. <\/p>\n

“You were looking for a body – and you found one! Doesn’t that seem to you a very extraordinary story?” <\/p>\n

“Oh, yes, it is an extraordinary story. Perhaps you will let me explain it to you.” <\/p>\n

“I certainly think you had better do so.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

4:50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This might be one of my favorite Miss Marple mysteries. It’s definitely one of the most memorable. At that moment another train, also on a downline, swerved inwards towards them, for a moment with almost alarming effect. For a time the two trains ran parallel, now one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,30,190,292,48,33,8,41],"tags":[733,228,229,693],"class_list":["post-21303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-british","category-cozy","category-ebook","category-female","category-historical","category-mystery","category-reread","tag-1950s","tag-agatha-christie","tag-miss-marple","tag-older-protagonist"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-5xB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24681,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24681","url_meta":{"origin":21303,"position":0},"title":"4:50 from Paddington","author":"Michelle","date":"June 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"4:50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, #8) \u201cYou\u2019re getting deaf, Jane.\u201d \u201cJust a little, perhaps. People do not seem to me to enunciate their words as clearly as they used to do. But it wasn\u2019t that I did not hear you. I\u2019m afraid I wasn\u2019t paying attention.\u201d The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"4.50 from Paddington","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4.50-from-Paddington.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3482,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3482","url_meta":{"origin":21303,"position":1},"title":"4:50 from Paddington","author":"Michelle","date":"January 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"4:50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy is taking the train from London to visit her friend Miss Marple, when she looks into the windows of a passing train and sees a woman being throttled--she alerts the conductor, the station master, and the local police, but--strangely--no body is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"4:50 from Paddington","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/450-from-paddington.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12949,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12949","url_meta":{"origin":21303,"position":2},"title":"4.50 from Paddington","author":"Michelle","date":"June 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"4.50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) This may well be my favorite Miss Marple story. Elspeth McGillicuddy is coming home from London when her train briefly runs alongside another train, and she witnesses a man strangling a women to death. The other train sped on, and Mrs McGillicuddy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"4.50 from Paddington","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4.50-from-Paddington.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4902,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4902","url_meta":{"origin":21303,"position":3},"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":12850,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12850","url_meta":{"origin":21303,"position":4},"title":"The Murder at the Vicarage","author":"Michelle","date":"May 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) I was listening to Read or Dead and they were talking about Agatha Christie's first book, which had been published in 1920--100 years earlier, and one of them mentioned her being a comfort read, and I was immediately, \"YES. I\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 Murder at the Vicarage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/The-Murder-at-the-Vicarage.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20897,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20897","url_meta":{"origin":21303,"position":5},"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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21303","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=21303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}