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 fiction ...

's novels and short stories featuring Jane Marple.

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 (''

''). 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 ...

. 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''). 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. ...

'', 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''

Novels

*'' The Murder at the Vicarage'' *''

'' (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 editio ...

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 Ch ...

'' 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 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 Mar ...

played Raymond in ''Nemesis'' for ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on the books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first ...

''.

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 {{novel-char-stub