Picture : « Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death » (M.C. Beaton, 1992)

Picture : « Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death » (M.C. Beaton, 1992)

 [pic 1]

The document is a still (= cliché) taken from M.C. Beaton’s novel and adapted for the screen. The main character of the story is the central character on the picture. She looks different from the others because she looks smart/ elegant : she is dressed in bright colours and she is the only one wearing a skirt and high-heel(ed) shoes. The two women on the left may belong to the village because they’re holding a spray and a spade. The man on her left might be a policeman because he is wearing a suit and a badge. One of the men on her right is carrying a notebook and a pen and he seems to be thinking. As the title of the novel reads “the Quiche of Death”, we understand that the story/ plot will be about the quiche and it might be poisoned. We can also see a man/ a farmer  holding a leek. The scene takes place in a British village. Something is being organized (a party for the main character/ newcomer ? a cooking competition ?).

Recap :

The text is about Mr. Cummings-Browne’s murder, who is Agatha Raisin’s neighbour and who was killed during a quiche competition in the village of Carsely. It is a competition organized by villagers who cook a quiche in order to win a prize and to be recognized by their neighbours.

Agatha Raisin comes from the city/ London, she was a businesswoman and she has just settled in Carsely. She participated in the quiche competition because, as a newcomer in the village, she wanted to fit in and get in touch with her neighbours. Unfortunately, the next day, her neighbor is found dead. He was poisoned and she was accused of the murder. The local people have doubts and ask her to cook a quiche for them.

So, she didn’t succeed in fitting in/ in showing her neighbours that she is not different from them because she was accused of the murder but, in the end, she was cleaned because she had bought the quiche and not cooked it.

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