Sir Malcolm Olde

In the short story Miss Marple Tells a Story, Sir Malcolm Olde, K.C. is a barrister. The solicitor Mr Petherick had briefed him for the defence of his client Mr Rhodes in the event that he should be charged and put on trial for the murder of his wife.

According to Petherick, Sir Malcolm is very young and up to date in his methods. He has selected a sound and what appears to be the only viable line of defence, which is that Rhode's wife committed suicide. Even Rhodes thinks this is not possible as his wife would nothave committed suicide, and there were technical difficulties like the absence of fingerprints on the knife but to Sir Malcolm, this is the only practical approach.

To Petherick, Sir Malcolm's strategy may be technically the best, but it is nonetheless tainted by the specialist point of view. It ignores what to him is the most vital point: what actually happened and who killed the woman. He therefore decides to consult Miss Marple. He likens Sir Malcolm to a medical specialist while Miss Marple is a community general practitioner. The former may have deeper technical knowledge but the latter has a wider field of experience.