Characters in A Pocket Full of Rye

Supporting characters

• Miss Jane Marple

  An elderly spinster from St Mary Mead whose grasp of human nature lets her read motives others miss; she takes the case personally because of a former servant.

  Also in The Murder at the Vicarage, The Thirteen Problems, The Body in the Library, The Moving Finger, They Do It with Mirrors, 4:50 from Paddington, At Bertram's Hotel, Nemesis, Sleeping Murder

• Rex Fortescue

  A self-made financier whose ruthless, near-criminal business dealings made him many enemies; his poisoning opens the investigation.

• Adele Fortescue

  Rex's much younger second wife, glamorous and discontented, who stands to gain from his death.

• Percival Fortescue

  Rex's elder son, known as Percy or Val, cautious and conventional, who works in the family firm.

• Lancelot "Lance" Fortescue

  Rex's charming, prodigal younger son, long estranged from the family and recently returned.

• Jennifer Fortescue

  Percival's wife, known as Mrs Val, a bored former hospital nurse whose past is not fully what it seems.

• Gladys Martin

  A timid housemaid at Yewtree Lodge who was once trained in service by Miss Marple, giving Marple a personal stake in the case.

• Mary Dove

  The cool, supremely competent housekeeper of Yewtree Lodge, watchful and self-possessed.

• Miss Ramsbottom

  Aunt Effie, the devout elder sister of Rex's late first wife, who lives in the house and observes the family sharply.

• Inspector Neele

  The methodical, perceptive police inspector leading the case, who comes to respect Marple's insight.