“I learned (what I suppose I really knew already) that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back—that the essence of life is going forward. Life is really a One Way Street, isn’t it?” I put a spoiler warning on this post not so much because I will discuss the details of the plot but because I will discuss some of the characters in a way that will give away much of the conclusion. If you are planning to read the book, don't read any further. You have been warned. (view spoiler)[At Bertram's Hotel is one of Dame Agatha's less outrageous novels starring Miss Marple. There is not a lot of action in this story but there is a lot of interaction between the characters which eventually leads to the highlight of the plot. So, in a way this book starts at the end and works towards the crime. It certainly would not be a Marple story if there was no crime.As mentioned, I will not go into the details of the plot and contain my observation to the following:1. This was one of the best Marple stories I have read. The characters were detailed and life-like and Marple did not interfere too much with the goings on at Bertram's. The structure of the book was great in that it was a mystery, but not the usual who-dunnit. I.e. Christie delivered a story that was built on the mere suggestion that something was wrong, but the actual crime was a result of the interaction of the characters, whereas usually the crime precedes this.2. I really don't like Miss Marple. Really. Can't stand her.3. I'm still perplexed as to how Christie's books get away with some of the most patronising, misogynist, xenophobic, judgmental attitudes without getting much more flak for it. So, here's my main problem: The characters are mostly stereotypical. This would be fine as I'm used to Dame Agatha's casting by now, but then you get the division between the British characters, the Americans, the Irish, and the rest of the world.The British ones are all straight-laced, except for one or two, but even these are described and treated respectfully.The American ones are described as curiosities and are slightly mocked for their being tourists in London and for being fascinated by the quaint English things around them.The Irish one, a decorated veteran, is a lovable rogue but also a blackmailer.And then there is the French-Polish-Italian racing driver, who is described as someone who looks like he is up to no good and undoubtedly will be trouble to all involved with him, even though there is little to evidence this. It is purely Miss Marple's impression that he is a most unsuitable young man.Despite the stereotyping, Bertram's Hotel is full of fabulous characters. One of my favourites - and probably one of my favourite Christie characters - is Bess Sedgwick."Bess Sedgwick was a name that everyone in England knew. For over thirty years now, Bess Sedgwick had been reported by the Press as doing this or that outrageous or extraordinary thing. For a good part of the war she had been a member of the French Resistance, and was said to have six notches on her gun representing dead Germans. She had flown solo across the Atlantic years ago, had ridden on horseback across Europe, and fetched up at Lake Van. She had driven racing cars, had once saved two children from a burning house, had several marriages to her credit and discredit and was said to be second-best dressed woman in Europe. It was also said that she had successfully smuggled herself aboard a nuclear submarine on its test voyage..."I rooted for Bess all the way through the book. So, reading the ending was a huge let down. Not only in the way the story ended but also in the way that Marple, or is it Christie, at one point described Bess a "nymphomaniac" even though she wrote to say that Marple would not call her that, but would call her a woman who "is too fond of men".And the Miss Marple's counter-part, who is just as sanctimonious as Marple, describes Bess as "wild" and destined for ruin because she will not submit to society.I was already raging at this point when Marple finished it off with this:“Yes,” said Miss Marple. “The children of Lucifer are often beautiful—And as we know, they flourish like the green bay tree.”Oh, get lost, Marple.The part that eludes me is that Dame Agatha seemed to be rather progressive for her time. There were a lot of turns in her autobiography that I would not have expected. The last thing I expected was for Christie to describe a woman as "wild" just because she was fond of racing cars, sports, and adventures, because if this truly was Christie's attitude, then she herself was beyond redemption. So, what I am taking forward to the next Christie book is that her characters may have standards and values that are consistent within the characters (and the social mores of the time) but are not necessarily consistent with the values of the author. I'm told that this is something that can happen. (hide spoiler)]
"So, there was something wrong with this place?""There was and is everything wrong with it."Miss Marple sighed, "It seemed wonderful at first--unchanged you know--like stepping back into the past--to the part of the past that one had loved and enjoyed."On the surface Bertram's Hotel represents an Edwardian past that many Londoner hated to see go. Here, elderly ladies like Miss Jane Marple can come and be pampered with real buttered muffins and chambermaids and rooms with all the comforts they remember from their visits as much younger people. Here, Lady Selina Hazy and other members of the fading aristocracy can come still to see and be seen and to recognize dear old friends from the past. Here, absent-minded clergymen like the Canon Pennyfeather can be shepherded gently to appointments they might otherwise miss and reminded of why they came to Bertram's in the first place. Old world splendor and service are to be had at a premium.I learned (what I suppose I really knew already) that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back—that the essence of life is going forward. Life is really a One Way Street, isn’t it? (p. 194)Still, Miss Marple senses that despite appearances Bertram's isn't really the same. And Chief Inspector Davy is quite sure that there is more to Bertram's than meets the eye. One wonders how--even at premium prices--Bertram's can possible turn a profit operating in the modern world under Edwardian precepts and in Edwardian style. And the combined observations of Miss Marple and Inspector Davy, along with standard police investigations soon lead Davy to the discovery of just what Bertram's is all about.Meanwhile, there is another mystery surrounding the adventuress Lady Bess Sedgewick and her estranged daughter, Elvira Blake. Racing driver Ladislaus Malinowski has been hanging about the hotel, but is he there to see Bess or Elvira? Or both? It's even possible that he is somehow involved in the mysterious goings-on behind Bertram's placid facade. And then there's the doorman Micky Gorman. He, too, has connections with Bess and Elvira and Inspector Davy becomes very interested indeed when Gorman is shot and killed one foggy night--apparently protecting Elvira from a gunman. Was Elvira the intended target? Or does it matter that she has already been mistaken twice for her mother? These, too, are questions that Miss Marple and Inspector Davy will have to resolve.Such a thing has never happened at Bertram's. I mean, we're not the sort of hotel where murders happen. (p. 240)This time around I found myself liking the story itself much more than I did when I first discovered Agatha Christie. It is very intriguing to investigate the differences between appearances and reality. The slower pace of the novel didn't disconcert me nearly as much even though the murder doesn't come along until more than two-thirds of the way into the novel. Having already read Christie's novels once through, I better appreciate Miss Marple's subtle observations and references. And I also enjoy Inspector Davy's approach to detection which involves a "hunch" or two that will fortunatey pan out. It is a shame most of the actual detective work (tracking down the money from the train robbery, for instance) takes place off-stage.What is also bit difficult to ignore as a more experienced reader is that Bertram's isn't the only place where the past seems to intrude on the present--in this case the early sixties where those "long-haired Beatles or whatever you call them" rule as Colonel Luscombe says. Despite the world in general being more modern, young women like Elvira Blake (who is nearly twenty, by the way) mustn't go out and about without chaperons and are sent to finishing schools and if they have lovers they may be viewed as nymphomaniacs. The Edwardian (and possibly pre-Edwardian) world still seems to hold sway over the modern sensibilities of the swinging sixties. Is this deliberate on Christie's part--to further emphasize how things are a bit "off" in the story. Or are Christie's Golden roots showing?Overall, a much more enjoyable experience on a second reading. A solid story from Christie's later period and an interesting look at the changing world. Still not one that will top my list for future rereads, however. First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before repsoting. Thanks.*********Review based on my memories of reading it in elementary school. I then got rid of the book. Have since bought it with the intention of rereading.My first introduction to Agatha Christie. I still remember buying it at our annual school book sale in elementary school. It helped feed my growing fascination with mysteries. Decent story...but she has many that are far better.
What do You think about At Bertram's Hotel (2015)?
At a young age, I fell in love with the elderly sleuth, Miss Marple. I first discovered her through the miniseries that aired on PBS in the early 2000s. It starred Geraldine McEwan as Jane Marple and featured an array of superb British actors. Not until I was in my twenties did I start to read the actual books on which the miniseries was based. Now that I’ve devoured several Miss Marple mysteries, I have a new appreciation for Agatha Christie and her ability to write books that are both delicious page-turners and socially conscious literary texts.So far, At Bertram’s Hotel is my favorite Miss Marple mystery. It revolves around a hotel that appears to have been frozen in time, meticulously decorated to evoke the glamour and elegance of bygone days. The hotel’s connection with the Victorian past is its most appealing selling point, luring people who are in search of a vanished time and who want to have an authentic experience of Britain, complete with tea and muffins. At first, even Miss Marple falls under the spell of Bertram’s until she realizes that its quaint façade hides a darker, more sinister truth.In the lobby of the anachronistic hotel, various characters come and go. There is the scintillating socialite, Bess Sedgewick and her estranged daughter, Elvira Blake, who is being raised by Colonel Luscombe; there is the absent-minded Canon Pennyfather, whose disappearance sets the mystery into motion; and there is Miss Marple herself, always observing and sleuthing, usually unnoticed. What’s happened to Canon Pennyfather? I wish to give away none of the secrets. One should enter a Miss Marple mystery completely ignorant; that’s what makes reading it so delightful!What compels me most about At Bertram’s Hotel is the three main female characters: Bess Sedgewick, Elvira Blake, and Miss Marple. All three struggle with the limits placed on their lives. Bess Sedgewick is daring, independent, and chronically gossiped about in the newspapers. She gave Elvira up because she feared that she would be a dangerous influence on her daughter. Instead, Elvira is raised by the well-meaning but dense Colonel Luscombe who thinks Elvira is incapable of mischief. In reality, Elvira is just as devious as her mother. She sneaks off to meet boys, engages in an illicit affair with an older man, and does all she can to escape her sheltered and oppressive upbringing. No one really understands Elvira, and they certainly don’t understand Bess. Mother and daughter share a mutual sense of alienation in the world-- the reality that the era in which they were born has no room for them. Similarly, Miss Marple struggles in a society that devalues the elderly. People underestimate and dismiss her, believing that older women cannot possibly have anything to offer, but Miss Marple subverts this stereotype, using her invisibility to her advantage.In the end, all three women are more powerful than society realizes. Of Miss Marple, one of the detectives observes, “She’s had a long life of experience in noticing evil, fancying evil, suspecting evil and going forth to do battle with evil.” Jane Marple might be old and she might come from a small English village but she possesses great acumen, wisdom, and knowledge of human psychology. Sleuthing gives her access to a measure of independence, respect, and agency. It’s also written that Bess Sedgewick is “a woman in a thousand […] one of the wild ones. Oh, we've some of them in every generation. You can't tame them.” Both Bess Sedgewick and Miss Marple refuse to conform to society’s gender expectations. They live as they want. So does Elvira. She transgresses gender norms, resisting everyone’s attempts to contain and control her.Eventually, Bertram’s Hotel loses its original glamorous luster; and its dark secrets are revealed. In the end, Miss Marple has a revelation and poignantly observes that, “one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back--that the essence of life is going forward.” While society refuses to progress in its treatment of women, Bess, Elvira, and Miss Marple chart their own courses in life. If Bertram’s shows us anything, it is that, in trying to recapture the past, one loses not just the present moment but also the future and all its possibilities.
—Caitlin
I feel bad for not liking this book, so to make myself feel better, I'm going to brainstorm the reasons why.1) I don't think I've ever read a proper mystery before, much less an Agatha Christie mystery, so I feel I was a bit lacking in my prior knowledge of the author's style.2) Maybe I should have read this book in one sitting, because I didn't really follow it too well. Maybe I forgot important overheard conversations, etc., but the main reason I didn't enjoy the book is because I pretty much had no idea what was going on -- I probably shouldn't have read the whole thing, then, I probably should have started over or abandoned it.I was surprised that Miss Marple didn't play more of a major role in the story; I thought she would be the one to solve the mystery.I'm also surprised that Agatha Christie's books are the most widely published in the world, after the Bible and Shakespeare's plays. This is because I didn't understand the story, but that's probably my fault.I don't know if I'll ever read another Agatha Christie novel because of my experience with this one, although I would like to read a Hercule Poirot mystery, as I remember watching those shows with my mom on PBS when I was a kid.I have to say, the cover of the book influenced me when I was looking for something to read. I read a copy that was published in the UK, and I love the font used for the author's name and I like the modern pictures. Still, I'm not sure if this is enough to get me to read another...I guess we'll see.
—Miss Leacock
In the Joan Acocella article I referenced several months ago, Joan writes that Agatha did not exactly finish strong, with her best work written at the beginning and during the middle of her career. I agree, and am forced to suggest that "At Bertram's Hotel" is a minor work at best. Or perhaps I should suggest instead that it is an "interesting" work. It does not quicken one's pulse, and one isn't compelled to turn the page -- I found myself putting it down far more often than, say, "Pocket Full of Ryle" or "4:50 from Paddington." But it did engage one's interest -- you couldn't relate to the characters and you didn't care about the characters, but you did marvel at them. Bess Sedgwick, the (SPOILER ALERT) race car driving criminal mastermind in particular. I'm being to hard, though, because there were some pretty marvelous aspects -- the befuddled Priest who's inability to remember where he's going and what he's doing creates the loose end that undo the criminals, for instance. And then there is the quite wonderful investigation of Nostalgia, which marks a turning point in the Marple universe. When she realizes that Bertram's is too good to be true, that it replicates fond memories too well, it touchingly grounds her in the present moment, and in her old age. It grounds her in her twilight.
—Duncan
