Agatha Christie a long-running character in Christie's works, appearing in 33 novels and 54 short stories. Miss Jane Marple, introduced in the short-story collection "The Thirteen Problems" in 1927, was based on Christie's grandmother and her "Ealing cronies". Both Jane and Gran "always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and were, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right." Marple appeared in 12 novels and 20 stories. During the Second World War, Christie wrote two novels, "Curtain" and "Sleeping Murder", intended as the last cases of these two great detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Both books were sealed in a bank
Miss Marple Marple was benign and chirpy. She had earlier appeared in a TV movie adaptation of the non-Marple Christie story "Murder Is Easy", playing an elderly lady somewhat similar to Miss Marple. From 1984 to 1992, the BBC adapted all of the original Miss Marple novels as a series titled "Miss Marple". Joan Hickson played the lead role. In the 1940s, she appeared on-stage in an Agatha Christie play, "Appointment with Death", which was seen by Christie who wrote in a note to her, "I hope one day you will play my dear Miss Marple". (Coincidentally, Hickson had played a housekeeper