The Moving Finger

Jerry Burton, a pilot injured in the war, goes to quiet Lymstock to recover with his sister, Joanna, and narrates the story. Soon the two get an anonymous letter saying they aren't siblings but lovers. Mrs. Symmington, the lawyer's wife, is found dead with one of them and a suicide note. Then the maid, Agnes, is murdered. The vicar's wife calls in Miss Marple. She proves the letters were a smoke screen: the killer is Richard Symmington himself, who wanted his wife out of the way so he could have the governess, Elsie Holland. A trap using his stepdaughter, Megan, exposes him. In the end, Jerry marries Megan, and Joanna marries the doctor, Owen Griffith.

1. ChangeRenamed at the BBC

   The BBC version (1985) is faithful but changes names: Lymstock becomes Lymston, the Symmingtons become Angela and Edward, and Aimée Griffith becomes Eryl, far meeker.

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2. ChangeMiss Marple shows up sooner

   In the book, she only arrives in the last quarter. The BBC brings her in much earlier and merges two maids into one character.

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3. ChangeA nihilist Jerry

   In the ITV version (2006), narrator Jerry Burton becomes a nihilistic young man, played by James D'Arcy, and the story moves to just after World War II.

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