Do we like them?

Do we like Miss Marple?

A character from The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes. She is sharp, fair and unflappable, and she is on the side of justice. Her gossip is nosy, but it only ever helps the case. We'd back her without a second thought.

Miss Jane Marple is an elderly spinster who has always lived in St. Mary Mead, a snug English village. She spends her days gardening, gossiping and knitting. She first appears in Agatha Christie's 1930 novel The Murder at the Vicarage, and later in 12 novels and about 20 short stories.

Her gift is an unsentimental understanding of human nature. Whenever a crime turns up, it reminds her of some 'village parallel', a person or a pattern of behaviour she has seen before. People who underestimate her, including her author nephew Raymond West and the local police, are often proved wrong.

Her first appearance shows a sharper, more acidic side. In later books she mellows into a kinder, gentler figure. That change is why she scores so high with us. She is a sweet old lady who is not afraid of dead bodies and not easily frightened. She is also relentless about getting to the truth, and her mistakes are small ones, like being nosy and suspicious. We'd back her in a heartbeat.