Raymond West is a fictional character who appears or is mentioned in several of
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
's novels and short stories featuring
Jane Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of C ...
.
Character overview
He is a well known author and Miss Marple's nephew.
[Patricia D. Maida - Nicholas B. Spornick: ''Murder She wrote'', p.105] He is not interested in Marple's cases, but in some novels (like ''
A Caribbean Mystery
''A Caribbean Mystery'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 16 November 1964 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edi ...
'' and ''
At Bertram's Hotel
''At Bertram's Hotel'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 15 November 1965Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Ed ...
'') he supports Marple financially. His wife Joan (née Lemprière), an artist, is also sympathetic to Marple.
In ''
The Thirteen Problems
''The Thirteen Problems'' is a short story collection by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in June 1932Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First E ...
'' (1932), his future wife's name was given as Joyce, not Joan. Raymond's mother was one of three girls, with Marple being the eldest and his mother having another sister. This other sister had a daughter, Raymond's cousin Mabel Denham, who was accused of murdering her husband, Geoffrey (''
The Thirteen Problems
''The Thirteen Problems'' is a short story collection by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in June 1932Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First E ...
'').
Raymond and Joan had two sons, one of whom is named David and works in
British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
. David was able to help his great-aunt solve a mystery regarding a missing corpse by sending her a map of a certain patch of railway (''
4.50 from Paddington
''4.50 from Paddington'' is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in November 1957 by Collins Crime Club. This work was published in the United States at the same time as ''What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw!'', by Dodd, Mead. Th ...
''). His other son, Lionel, is a keen stamp collector and has shown Miss Marple every single one, and told her about the rare 1855 Blue Stamp, which helps her solve a case regarding a lost inheritance (''
Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories
''Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories'' is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in October 1979 retailing at £4.50. It was the last Christie book to be published und ...
'').
In the novel ''
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'', a novel by Agatha Christie, was published in the UK in 1962 and a year later in the US under the title ''The Mirror Crack'd''. The story features amateur detective Miss Marple solving a mystery in St. M ...
'', Raymond is mentioned, as he engages Miss Knight to stay with Miss Marple, after an attack of bronchitis left her very weak, and Dr Haydock said that she must not go on sleeping alone in the house, with only someone coming in daily. Miss Marple also mentions that when staying with Raymond, she noticed that some of his guests seemed to arrive with quite a quantity of little bottles of pills and tablets, which they take with their food and drink. This gives her the idea that someone might add something to a drink quite openly, without anyone thinking twice about it.
List of appearances
Short stories
*''
The Tuesday Night Club
''The Thirteen Problems'' is a short story collection by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in June 1932Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First E ...
''
*''
The Idol House of Astarte''
*''
Ingots of Gold''
*''
The Blood-Stained Pavement''
*''
Motive v. Opportunity''
*''
The Thumb Mark of St. Peter''
*''
Greenshaw's Folly
''The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées'' is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 24 October 1960.Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Stur ...
''
Novels
*''
The Murder at the Vicarage
''The Murder at the Vicarage'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK editio ...
''
*''
At Bertram's Hotel
''At Bertram's Hotel'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 15 November 1965Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Ed ...
'' (mentioned)
*''
Sleeping Murder
''Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1976 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edit ...
''
In other media
Television
*Raymond appeared in three episodes of the BBC's ''
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Chr ...
'' series. He was played by
David McAlister
David McAlister (2 April 1951 – 25 June 2015) was an English actor on television, in musicals, on stage and in film, known for his voice-over work.
Personal life
McAlister was born on 2 April 1951 in Worthing, Sussex and died on 25 June 2015 ...
in ''Sleeping Murder'', and
Trevor Bowen
Trevor Bowen (sometimes T. R. Bowen, born 1941 in Rangoon, Burma) is an English actor and screenwriter who has appeared frequently in British television dramas since the mid-1960s.
Early life
He is the son of Major General W. O. Bowen and w ...
in ''A Caribbean Mystery'' and ''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side''. Bowen also wrote many of the episodes in the series.
*
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is a Swazi-English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy ''Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Marie ...
played Raymond in ''Nemesis'' for ''
Agatha Christie's Marple
''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV (TV network), ITV television programme loosely based on the books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEw ...
''.
BBC Radio
*
Raymond Coulthard
Raymond Anthony Coulthard (born 3 September 1968) is a British actor. He is best known for portraying Alasdair Sinclair in ''Emmerdale'' and restaurant manager James Schofield in '' Hotel Babylon''.
Career
Coulthard's television appearances i ...
in ''The Case of the Perfect Maid''
*Iwan Thomas in ''A Caribbean Mystery''
References
Literary characters introduced in 1932
Agatha Christie characters
Fictional writers
Male characters in literature
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