Miss Marple and Thirteen Problems

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Literature · Subcategory: Literary fragments · Year: 1933 · Authors: Agatha Christie

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller, DBE (Torquay, 15 September 1890-Wallingford, 12 January 1976), better known as Agatha Christie, was a British writer specialising in the detective genre, whose work gained international recognition. In Miss Marple and Thirteen Problems there is the following reference to the stay of one of the characters in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, specifically in the eighth story entitled The Companion .

«—The incident I am going to relate to you —continued the doctor— happened on the island of Gran Canaria, not Tenerife. That was many years ago now. My health was not very good and I was forced to leave England and go abroad. I was practising in Las Palmas, which is the capital of Gran Canaria. I enjoyed it very much there. The climate is mild and sunny, excellent beach —I am an enthusiastic swimmer— and the life of the port attracted me greatly. Ships from all over the world docked at the pier every morning, which interested me more than any female passer-by in a street of hat shops. As I was saying, ships from all parts of the world docked in Las Palmas. Sometimes they stopped for a few hours, and other times for a day or two. In the main hotel, the "Metropol", people of all races and nationalities could be seen... migratory birds. Even those heading to Tenerife stayed a few days before moving on to the other island.

My story begins there, at the "Metropol" hotel, on a Thursday night in January. A dance was being held and I was watching the scene sitting at a table with a friend of mine. [...]

The next day I had planned to go on an excursion with some friends. We had to cross the island by car, taking food with us, to a place called (I barely remember... so much time has passed!) Las Nieves, a sheltered bay where we could bathe if we wished.» [...]

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