The Unravelling is the fourth short story in Marple: Twelve New Stories, a collection of continuation short stories published by HarperCollins in 2022. Written by Natalie Haynes, the story is preceded by Miss Marple Takes Manhattan and followed by Miss Marple's Christmas.
Synopsis[]
In Miss Marple's village, Martin, a newly arrived farm hand has an altercation with Mr Weaver the haberdasher. The next day the farm hand is found murdered. Like some of the other village mysteries which Miss Marple has been through, she sifts through bits of village gossip and hearsay and pieces the puzzle together. Part of her inspiration also comes from her knitting.
Plot summary[]
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)
Characters[]
- Jane Marple
- Susan Goldingay
- Florence - Miss Marple's maid
- Williams - the village postman
- Syme
- Martin
- Mr Weaver
- Mrs Penny Weaver
- Eric Weaver
- Sergeant Dover
- Constable Jebb
- Mrs Wilson
Locations[]
- The story obviously happens in Miss Marple's village but it may not be St. Mary Mead. According to the text, Sergeant Dover had been the village policeman for many years. But he "did wonder if things had become rather more difficult when Miss Marple moved into her cottage at the top of the hill...." This suggests that Miss Marple had moved out of St. Mary Mead into this other village, and possibly has been here for some years.
Cultural references[]
- Aeschylus
- Penelope
Research notes[]
- The setting is clearly some twenty years after World War II. According to Sergeant Dover, when Weaver left for the war, Eric Weaver was a babe in arms. During the time of the events in the story, he is already twenty or twenty-one. So the story is probably around the 1960s.
Audiobook[]
The audiobook is narrated by Imogen Stubbs.