agatha christie

The Murder Was Solved. Lucy’s Love Life Was Not: My Verdict on 4:50 from Paddington

I recently read Agatha Christie’s 4:50 from Paddington, a Miss Marple mystery. Miss Marple solves the murder mystery beautifully once again but leaves another mystery behind. Who will Lucy Eyelesbarrow choose to marry? Christie leaves readers to debate it for decades.

For me, there are really three contenders: Bryan Eastley, Cedric Crackenthorpe, and Inspector Craddock. Yet the more I think about it, the more the answer becomes clear.

Bryan Eastley: The Sweet but Impractical Choice

Bryan is charming, kind, and genuinely fond of Lucy. His son Alexander absolutely adores her and seems to have decided within minutes of meeting her that she should become his stepmother.

And honestly, Alexander makes the strongest case for Bryan.

The problem is Bryan himself.

Lucy observes that Bryan’s plans are always “in the air.” He is full of ideas and possibilities, but very little seems grounded in reality. For most women, that might be romantic. For Lucy Eyelesbarrow, one of the most practical and efficient women Christie ever created, it feels like a mismatch.

Lucy spends her life organizing chaos. The last thing she needs is another project.

Poor Alexander. If anyone loses from this analysis, it’s him.

Inspector Craddock: The Sensible Choice

There is definitely an argument for Craddock.

He is intelligent, observant, steady, and clearly impressed by Lucy. The final exchange between Miss Marple and Craddock almost feels like Christie teasing the possibility herself.

In many ways, Craddock may be the most suitable long-term partner. Their temperaments align. Neither is dramatic. Both are competent. Both are practical.

Yet something is missing.

While there is mutual respect, there is very little spark. Their connection feels intellectual rather than romantic.

A marriage that makes sense is not always the marriage that happens.

Cedric Crackenthorpe: The Inevitable Choice

Cedric is the one I keep coming back to.

What makes him interesting is that he is the only major male character who does not seem to be pursuing Lucy.

Everyone else admires her beauty, competence, or both. Cedric treats her as an equal. He challenges her. He annoys her. He refuses to fit neatly into any category.

Their relationship has all the hallmarks of a classic enemies-to-lovers story. Not true enemies, of course, but two people who constantly exasperate one another while being unable to look away.

Lucy is not a passive heroine waiting to be chosen. She enjoys solving problems. She likes a challenge. Cedric may be untidy, unconventional, and frustrating, but he is also one of the few people who is never intimidated by her intelligence and capability.

More importantly, he doesn’t need her.

That makes him the only man in the story who feels like a genuine partner rather than someone hoping Lucy will complete his life.

Why the Ambiguous Ending Works

The genius of Christie’s ending is that Lucy’s happiness does not depend on marriage.

Unlike many heroines of her era, Lucy is already complete. She is financially independent, highly successful, and entirely capable of directing her own life.

Marriage is not her reward.

It is simply one possible choice.

Still, if I had to place a bet, my money would be on Cedric.

Not because he is the safest option.

Not because he is the most sensible option.

But because he is the only one who feels like Lucy’s equal.

And somehow, I can much more easily imagine Lucy and Cedric spending forty years arguing over breakfast and secretly enjoying every minute of it than I can imagine her settling into a quiet life with anyone else.

As for Alexander, I hope he eventually forgave her.

Project Agatha Christie

In 1920, Agatha Christie, The Queen of Murder Mysteries, published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. She introduced the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, with his moustache obsession and little grey cells.

2020 marked 100 years of the first novel published. In the beginning of 2020, I had thought to take a break from reading (more about it in another post) but Reader Proposes & Writer Disposes – I fell back to reading with a vengeance. Although swamped with work in the middle of 2020 made me resort to comfort binge reading Agatha Christie novels before I knew it was the centenary. I thought to give a goal to my reading & vowed to read all the books ever published by Agatha Christie.

First completed the humongous task of making a list of books & sorting them into plays, novels & non fiction and also the books written under the name Mary Westmacott. Then removing duplicates because majority of her plays have been novelised.

To summarise, she has published 106 books in total – 6 books as Mary Westmacott, 3 Non Fiction, 66 Novels, 21 Plays, out of which 12 are novelised or included in her short story collections, which are 22 in number. Out of 106, I read 102 books! Not bad, eh?

Sadly, I couldn’t complete my vow of reading all her published work as some of her collection of plays were not available / available at a very high prize – Akhnaton, Murder In The Studio, Fiddlers Three & The Rule of Three – Someday I will be rich enough to complete the set 😉

Mary Westmacott – In my early 20s I had read Unfinished Portrait but I ddid not like & I assume it must be because I couldn’t accept her writing non-murder mystery novels. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I thoroughly enjoyed reading all 6 of her novels – Many of which are inspired from her own life

Non-Fiction – Speaking of her own life, she has also written her autobiography, and two memoirs. Come, Tell me how you live is based on the years spent digging around middle east with her second husband & The Grand tour is the world tour she embarked on with her first husband. Her life has been fascinating & though she is kind of racist & has shown no sympathy but entitlement over the colonies of the British Empire, you need to discount that & instead enjoy the description of people & places of those times. Many of her experiences during the world tour & the archaeology digs come alive in her plays and novels

Plays & Novels & Short Stories – Though some of the plots seem repetitive or predictable, there is a joy in unraveling the mysteries. Her writing is smooth and easy to understand – In fact I always recommend people to read her books when they are trying to improve their English

Thank you Dame Agatha Christie. With your writings you made this place a better world to live in. And as my friend said, it may not matter to anyone else but I surely made you happy by reading all your books! I hope he was right!