Characters
- Jane Marple – the detective, protagonist.
- Lucy Eyelesbarrow – Miss Marple's proxy at the Hall, serving as housekeeper-cum-spy.
- Elspeth McGillicuddy – the witness to the murder, a friend of Miss Marple's.
- Luther Crackenthorpe – elderly widower and owner of Rutherford Hall, very selfish with money.
- Cedric Crackenthorpe – Luther's son; a bohemian painter and lover of women.
- Harold Crackenthorpe – Luther's son; a cold and stuffy banker.
- Alfred Crackenthorpe – Luther's son; wartime spy and a sort of gentle con artist.
- Emma Crackenthorpe – Luther's daughter who lives at home and takes care of him.
- Bryan Eastley – husband of the late Edith Crackenthorpe, Luther's daughter.
- Alexander Eastley – Edith & Bryan's adolescent son.
- Dr. Quimper – Luther's general practitioner.
- Dermot Craddock – Detective-Inspector from Scotland Yard (and godson of Sir Henry Clithering of A Murder is Announced and The Thirteen Problems).
Read more about this topic: 4.50 From Paddington
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“Of all the characters I have known, perhaps Walden wears best, and best preserves its purity. Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that honor. Though the woodchoppers have laid bare first this shore and then that, and the Irish have built their sties by it, and the railroad has infringed on its border, and the ice-men have skimmed it once, it is itself unchanged, the same water which my youthful eyes fell on; all the change is in me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The naturalistic literature of this country has reached such a state that no family of characters is considered true to life which does not include at least two hypochondriacs, one sadist, and one old man who spills food down the front of his vest.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“A criminal trial is like a Russian novel: it starts with exasperating slowness as the characters are introduced to a jury, then there are complications in the form of minor witnesses, the protagonist finally appears and contradictions arise to produce drama, and finally as both jury and spectators grow weary and confused the pace quickens, reaching its climax in passionate final argument.”
—Clifford Irving (b. 1930)