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''The Moving Finger'' is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in July 1942 and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1943 The US edition retailed at $2.00〔 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).〔 The Burtons, brother and sister, arrive in a small village, soon receiving an anonymous letter accusing them of being lovers, not siblings. They are not the only ones in the village to receive such letters, when a prominent resident is found murdered. This novel features the elderly detective Miss Marple in a relatively minor, ''deus ex machina''-like role; she enters the story after the police have failed to find the murderer in the final quarter of the book, and in a handful of scenes. The novel was well-received when it was published: "Agatha Christie is at it again, lifting the lid off delphiniums and weaving the scarlet warp all over the pastel pouffe.." One reviewer noted that "Miss Marple () a little old lady sleuth who doesn't seem to do much but who sets the stage for the final exposure of the murderer." Another said this was "One of the few times Christie gives short measure, and none the worse for that." The male narrator was both praised and panned. ==Title== The book takes its name from verse 51 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'': :The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, :Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit :Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, :Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. The poem, in turn, refers to Belshazzar's feast as related in the Book of Daniel, where the expression ''the writing on the wall'' originated. The title shows in the story figuratively and literally. The anonymous letters point blame from one town resident to another.〔 The Scotland Yard agent determines the envelopes were all "typed by someone using one finger" to avoid a recognisable 'touch'. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Moving Finger」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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