Agatha Christie's lesbian characters

[james_davis_nicoll]

In a recent discussion about the new adaptations of the Miss Marple stories, I commented that I didn't recall the original stories having as many lesbians as the TV movies do, where "as many" = "any"*. The person I was chatting to suggested that perhaps they were there but as a young lad of 10 or so, I did not understand the significance of, eg, two spinster ladies living together. Can anyone who has actually read the books recently tell me if the movies have introduced a new element or if I just missed something when i read them 30 years ago?


* Or as many sword fights as the Margaret Rutherford version of Miss Marple.

Comments

[poeticalpanther.livejournal.com]

Can't think of any specific examples, but yes, I think the spinsters and "old maids" were there, just not named as "lesbian" as such by AC. I think it's been more quietly accepted in some ways in Britain, if for no other reason than they've got a much less nosey society than we, and "mind your own business" is a guiding principle.