Raymond West is a fictional character who appears or is mentioned in several of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

's novels and short stories featuring Jane Marple.

Character overview

He is a well-known author and Miss Marple's nephew.Patricia D. Maida - Nicholas B. Spornick: ''Murder She wrote'', p.105 He is not interested in Marple's cases, but in some novels (like ''

A Caribbean Mystery ''A Caribbean Mystery'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 16 November 1964 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edi ...

'' and ''

At Bertram's Hotel ''At Bertram's Hotel'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 15 November 1965Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club: A Checklist of Fi ...

'') he supports Marple financially. His wife Joan (née Lemprière), an artist, is also sympathetic to Marple. In ''

The Thirteen Problems ''The Thirteen Problems'' is a short story collection by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in June 1932Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First E ...

'' (1932), his future wife's name was given as Joyce, not Joan. Raymond's mother was one of three girls, with Marple being the eldest and his mother having another sister. This other sister had a daughter, Raymond's cousin Mabel Denham, who was accused of murdering her husband, Geoffrey (''

''). Raymond and Joan had two sons, one of whom is named David and works in

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

. David was able to help his great-aunt solve a mystery regarding a missing corpse by sending her a map of a certain patch of railway ('' 4.50 from Paddington''). His other son, Lionel, is a keen

stamp collector Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...

and has shown Miss Marple every single one, and told her about the rare 1855 Blue Stamp, which helps her solve a case regarding a lost inheritance (''

Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories ''Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories'' is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in October 1979 retailing at £4.50. It was the last Christie book to be published un ...

''). In the novel '' The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'', Raymond is mentioned, as he engages Miss Knight to stay with Miss Marple, after an attack of bronchitis left her very weak, and Dr Haydock said that she must not go on sleeping alone in the house, with only someone coming in daily. Miss Marple also mentions that when staying with Raymond, she noticed that some of his guests seemed to arrive with quite a quantity of little bottles of pills and tablets, which they take with their food and drink. This gives her the idea that someone might add something to a drink quite openly, without anyone thinking twice about it.

List of appearances

Short stories

The Tuesday Night Club ''The Thirteen Problems'' is a short story collection by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in June 1932Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First ...

" *" The Idol House of Astarte" *" Ingots of Gold" *" The Blood-Stained Pavement" *" Motive v. Opportunity" *" The Thumb Mark of St. Peter" *"

Greenshaw's Folly ''The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées'' is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 24 October 1960.Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturg ...

Novels

*''

The Murder at the Vicarage ''The Murder at the Vicarage'' is a work of detective fiction by the British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edi ...

'' *''

'' (mentioned) *''

Sleeping Murder ''Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1976 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition ...

In other media

Television

*Raymond appeared in three episodes of the BBC's ''

Miss Marple Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one ...

'' series. He was played by David McAlister in ''Sleeping Murder'', and

Trevor Bowen Trevor Bowen (sometimes T. R. Bowen, born 1941) is a British actor and screenwriter who has appeared frequently in British television dramas since the mid-1960s. Early life He is the son of Major General W. O. Bowen and was educated at Dulwic ...

in ''A Caribbean Mystery'' and ''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side''. Bowen also wrote many of the episodes in the series. *

Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is an Eswatini-born English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack H ...

played Raymond in ''Nemesis'' for ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first t ...

''.

BBC Radio

Raymond Coulthard Raymond Anthony Coulthard (born 3 September 1968) is a British actor. He is best known for portraying Alasdair Sinclair in ''Emmerdale'' and restaurant manager James Schofield in '' Hotel Babylon''. Career Coulthard's television appearances in ...

in ''The Case of the Perfect Maid'' *Iwan Thomas in ''A Caribbean Mystery''

References

Literary characters introduced in 1932 Agatha Christie characters Characters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction Fictional writers Male characters in literature Miss Marple characters {{novel-char-stub