Mr Badger

Mr Badger might be two different chemists in St. Mary Mead, or the same person. The details in the stories differ rather much.

Mr Badger in The Herb of Death
In the Miss Marple short story The Herb of Death, Mr Badger is mentioned by Miss Marple as another of her "village parallels". Mr Badger was the chemist of St. Mary Mead. He had a very young housekeeper who was young enough to be his grand-daughter. When he died, it was found that he had been secretly married to her for two years. None of Mr Badger's nieces or nephews knew about it. Mr Badger was Miss Marple's "village parallel" used in solving the mystery of the death of Sylvia Keene.

Mr Badger in The Body in the Library
In the novel The Body in the Library, Mr Badger is a chemist and the husband of Mrs Badger. He became infatuated with the young woman working in the cosmetics section of the pharmacy. He bought her an expensive radio-gramophone and a diamond bracelet. However, Mrs Badger found out that the girl was involved with an undesirable young man connected with the racecourses, and that she had pawned the bracelet to give him the money. Mr Badger was completely digusted, and the affair passed over quite safely. He gave his wife a diamond ring the following Christmas.

Conway Jefferson and Ruby Keene remind Miss Marple of Mr Badger and the young woman from the cosmetics section.

In adaptations

 * In the 1984 BBC adaptation of the novel The Body in the Library, Mr Badger is mentioned by Miss Marple. The young woman of his affection is given the name Miss Hart.
 * In the 1986 BBC adaptation of the novel The Murder at the Vicarage, Mr Hawes has a box of tablets prescribed by Dr Haydock. According to the label on the box the medicine was dispensed by W. Badger, dispensing chemist in St. Mary Mead.