“A Murder is Announced” is a novel written by Agatha Christie. It was published in 1950 post-war
Britain and gives a mid 20th century view about the socio-economic status of women in Britain. The
setting exposes us to the lingering effects of the Second World War.
The novel gives us a little microcosm of British middle-class society of the time. The village of
Chipping Cleghorn appears to be in a state of flux throughout the story. The war has forced a lot of
change on the English way of life. The novel mentions old soldiers, the traditional rich fading into
genteel poverty, shortages, rationing, the black market, and people reduced to slender means, and
reflects a sense of progression through the decades of life in England as narrated by various Christie
characters. It also mentions the new business classes taking over as the wealthy ones, women beginning
to find their place in the workforce, people displaced from their original homes forming a mobile and
fluctuating population, so that even in villages neighbours no longer know the long histories of their
neighbours. As a 20th century work, “A Murder is Announced” was written in a period when the number
of alien residents doubled due to the Second World War.
The changing social dynamics are clearly seen in the characterization of the women characters.
1950 was still a conservative time for women, the general expectation of society being that women
should get married and become housewives and take care of their families. However, the same period
also saw a small percentage of women become more independent and occupy more non-traditional
roles. In “A Murder is Announced”, only three women are in traditional family structures. Mrs.
Swettenham, Mrs. Harmon and Mrs. Easterbrook. The rest of the women characters live a non-
traditional lifestyle and work non-traditional jobs. Letitia Blacklock was trained as a financial accountant
and worked as secretary to a financier. She is described in the novel as having a man’s mind with “no
feminine feelings or weaknesses”. She had the ‘adventurous spirit’ that ‘enjoyed the whole money-
making game so much-it wasn’t just the money-it was the adventure, the risks, the excitement of it all.’
Amy Murgatroyd and Miss Hinchcliffe are two friends who live together and work as farmers and are
presented in the novel with unquestioned acceptance of their viable partnership. Phillipa Haymes works
as an assistant gardener, and Miss Marple is an amateur detective.
Christie brilliantly deploys Miss Marple as her detective. Miss Marple is not the traditional
detective one is used to. She being a woman, is seen in the story as the usual prying kind, hungry for a
piece of gossip. Interestingly, Miss Marple does not oppose this perception of her and rather she uses it
to her advantage. Miss Marple plays her role at a time when the Spinster stereotype was high.
Unmarried women were considered lonely, nosy and judgemental. The cultural beliefs during Miss
Marple’s time situate Miss Marple in a position where she can observe the society as an unnoticed and
unimportant character. In the novel, Julia calls her, “A real Victorian type”.
Through Mitzi, Christie brings attention to another aspect of the rapidly changing landscape of
the English village. Mitzi was a middle European refugee who works for Letitia as a cook. She has a
traumatic past, having watched at least one family member murdered in front of her by the Nazis, but is
frequently ridiculed by the household for her hysteria and fear of the police. She is portrayed as a liar
and is immediately suspected by the police merely because she is a foreigner. In contrast to the
treatment of Mitzi is the gentle portrayal of Dora Bunner, companion to Letitia. Miss Bunner represents
