Agatha Christie, The Moving Finger

Amy Lee (The Open University)
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The Moving Finger

was one of Christie’s favourite books, and in her autobiography she recalls the experience of writing it during the difficult time of the Second World War. The setting of the story, however, is not particularly influenced by current affairs, except in the identity of the protagonist, Jerry Burton, who is a pilot discharged due to injury.

At the beginning of the story, Jerry and his younger sister, Joanna Burton, are looking for a house in a quiet village environment for Jerry’s recovery. His doctor, Marcus Kent, advises him not to be too anxious about getting back into shape, but to take it easy and focus on gardening or, even better, the local gossip. Jerry and Joanna, when they rent Little Furze at Lymston from old Miss Emily Barton, are expecting six months of

1358 words

Citation: Lee, Amy. "The Moving Finger". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 September 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=103, accessed 28 March 2024.]

103 The Moving Finger 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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