Miss Marple versus 2027

Lucy Foley, Kate Mosse and Natalie Haynes on the evolution of Miss Marple.

'One does see so much evil in a village...'

Miss Marple saw the bad in people, both in the quaint village of St. Mary Mead, and further afield. But this shrewd observer of humanity also had her own unique superpowers. As 2027 gets underway this evening’s guests wonder what Miss Marple would make of the world today – and what can we learn from her unvanquishable example?

Leading Marple-ologists Lucy Foley, Kate Mosse and Natalie Haynes examine her evolution, while sharing some Marple wisdom along the way. They imagine her into today’s world – what with the manosphere, true crime, doom-scrolling and a general lack of good manners, leading us to ask the question...

What would Miss Marple do?

Supported by Great Western Railway.

Our exhibition, Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery, is in collaboration with Agatha Christie Limited and The Christie Archive Trust.

She is a Waterstones Thriller of the Month author, a three-time nominee at the British Book Awards, and The Guest List was a Reese’s Book Club pick. As a lifelong Agatha Christie fan, Lucy has also contributed to Marple, a collection of short stories featuring the legendary detective. Her latest book is Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel: The New Miss Marple Mystery (HarperCollins 2026)

With sales of more than 8 million copies worldwide, her books have been translated into 37 languages and published in 40 countries. Kate is the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. She is also a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing and Contemporary Fiction at the University of Chichester, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Authors and a Trustee of the British Library.

Her books include The Amber Fury, The Ancient Guide to Modern Life, The Children of Jocasta, and A Thousand Ships, which was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2020, and, most recently, No Friend To This House (Pan Macmillan 2025). She is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4 and multiple series of her show, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics are available now on BBC Sounds. A lifelong Agatha Christie fan, Natalie also contributed to Marple, a collection of short stories featuring the legendary detective.