A Dark and Stormy Night
Well, dear reader, here we are again, back at the beginning to start our journey into our second novel, The Thirteen Problems! And what good timing it’s all worked out to be! Miss Marple’s cozy collection of short stories just about cries out to be read on a chilly autumn night, with you safely ensconced in your comfiest grandfather chair, a mug of cocoa or a tiny glass of cherry brandy at the ready, and your eager guests’ faces illuminated by a roaring fire and shivering candles. Let the wind wuther and the rain pelt; let storms howl and shutters slam - you are warm and safe in your parlour or drawing room, and facing a more formidable foe in the pages of this book than any storm could pose: murder most foul!
It might feel strange to begin something new in autumn, which is so obviously the winding down of the year in many ways - the trees are shedding their green coats for vibrant gossamer gowns of orange and red and gold; the splendour of gardens is fading to mere memory. And yet, this is also the beginning of apple season and the yearly spate of baking; the beginning of school term; the air whispers of winter’s coming, bringing holidays and icy, wind-pinked cheeks along with it. I know that Yuletide is on its way, if for no other reason than my mother has begun her annual Christmas cake - a sure sign that autumn is reaching its peak, and that the crisp tang in the air is a herald of chillier winds to come. It’s the beginning of the end, the beginning of the death of the year - a terrible, frosted death, and yet beautiful and not without its pleasures.
This season of The Reader’s Museum will hold its own array of delights, dear reader: not only the clever crimes detailed within the pages of our novel, but also a whole host of objects, practices, customs, histories, and experiences. The short stories of this collection fairly teem with objects to consider - in some cases, it was hard to choose just which ones to examine, and which ones to take up as Didactic Panels! But perhaps that is par for the course: this is, after all, a collection of crime, so of course the pages are littered with clues. I have reiterated this fact in today’s episode, but I will take another opportunity to remind you of the inherent spoilers that will inevitably occur throughout this series. So, if you have not yet read The Thirteen Problems, I beseech you to go to and do so immediately! I’ll meet you at the Reader’s Museum when you have finished - as always, the doors are open, admission is free, and Miss Marple awaits us! Onward!
Jennifer