Talk:The Body in the Library

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Reasons

No longer a stub, so rated start class though it deserves more from the look of the article, but not enough references to make it more than that at present. Julia Rossi (talk) 11:42, 23 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No ending?

Why does the plot summary not reveal the ending of the story? --121.221.239.43 (talk) 17:39, 18 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Because lots of rewrites are required on lots of plot summaries!! The Christie pages are very much "work in progress"!!--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 07:38, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Colonel-Commissioner Melchett

Can someone with a copy of the American text verify that the above title is used in the book? It certainly isn't in the British text. Melchett is the Chief Constable, i.e the most senior officer, of the Radfordshire Police. In Britain, all police officers are legally known as constables, although usually referred to by the appropriate rank. The highest rank in most local police forces is therefore called 'Chief Constable'. Only the Metropolitan Police of London has a 'Commissioner' as its top officer. The character in this book is generally referred to as Colonel Melchett, which indicates that he previously held this rank in the army. In the first half of the twentieth century it was not uncommon for retired military men to join the police. Alfrew (talk) 23:00, 29 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

In my Harper Collins 1992 edition, he is referred to as Colonel Melchett throughout the book. Still life with noodles (talk) 03:14, 12 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"Commissioner Clithering"

Similar to above, can someone confirm if this styling is used in the American edition of the book? Sir Henry Clithering is a retired commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and never referred to by his former rank in the British texts. Alfrew (talk) 23:03, 29 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I just finished reading a copy from the library, and it appears to be a copy printed in the U.S., but it might be a North American version or a strictly Canadian version (though i suspect the former). As far as I can remember, without going back to read it all over again, Clithering is never referred to as "Commissioner", and almost always as "Sir". Same for Melchett. He is introduced as "Colonel Melchett, the chief constable of the county", and referred to thereafter as "Colonel". This version of the book was printed in 2000, so I don't know about earlier American printings. Reade (talk) 05:47, 26 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Shortcomings of entry.

Leaving aside the crime fiction plot, christie's works have, in my view, an enduring interest because they describe, sometimes in fine detail, life and society in the relevant period. 'Body in the Library' is a book with a background set in a middle class environment of ex army officers and their families. It describes the petty frustrations of their lives, the hotels they go to and stay in for extended periods without financial concern, tea dances and bridge by the dance floor, professional dancers, all of which are beautifully drawn.

Marple epitomises the brilliant amateur, visible in many parts of UK life at the time, so ineffably capable of outperforming the professionals. It is something of a thread running through Christies work, 'The Seven Dials Mystery', spelling it out. I suspect it stems from Chritie's period as an intimate of Mountbatten, who was the archetypal amateur and appears in a number of her books, not always in an attractive light.

In short, there is much more to this book than a light, somewhat incredible, plot and looking at this book from 70 years in the future it is perhaps time to look at the rest of the writing.86.185.249.6 (talk) 08:10, 6 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

If you like this then you'd like Dorothy Sayers, whose books are set earlier when the class structure was more ironclad, and which WWII-era readers called an "almost unrecognizable" Britain. But the reason Wikipedia doesn't evaluate period descriptions is it's not encyclopedic, not unless an external source has judged Christie an exceptional period describer (as they've done for Jane Austin). Christie's talent was her psychological puzzles, and she focused on upper-class families because they had large isolated houses that were convenient "locked rooms" for murders, and family members who stayed home all day so they could be convenient suspects, and her readers wanted to read about upper-class people. Sluggoster (talk) 20:06, 25 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Uncommon terms

I found the language in parts remarkable for Christie and for 1942. Would she really have used the term "to sleep with someone"? Stephanie — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:87:4A32:1735:ADBF:8C3E:754C:6C08 (talk) 19:22, 11 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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