In the short story Strange Jest, Charmian Stroud is a young woman who had been left a fortune by her late great great uncle whom she called Uncle Mathew Stroud. Uncle Mathew had promised that his fortune would be split between Charmain and another relative Edward Rossiter. However the old man was extremely cautious and did not leave the fortune where it could be easily found. When he died, Charmian and Edward could not find the fortune although they had searched Uncle Mathew's house thoroughly. Left without money, the two were in desperate straits. They could not marry as they planned, and were on the point of needing to sell Uncle Mathew's house. Fortunately, Charmian and Edward knew Jane Helier who introduced them to Miss Marple who was happy to help in a "treasure hunt", especially when there was a love interest involved.
Charmian worked as a stage manager in a repertory theatre. She like the work as it was interesting but it did not bring in a lot of money.
Portrayals[]
In the anime show Strange Will, NHK's adaptation of the Miss Marple short story Strange Jest, the character of Charmian is voiced by Noriko Sakai.