The Moving Finger

Jerry Burton recalls his painful recovery from a plane crash. His doctor Marcus Kent advises him to rest and recover in the countryside, immersing himself in the life of a country town where he doesn’t know anyone. Jerry agrees, and he and his sister Joanna rent a small home in a village called Lymstock. Lymstock was an important town in the medieval period, but over the years has become disconnected from the rest of the country. The tiny town is now “charming” in its looks and old-fashioned inhabitants, but nothing of note ever happens there.

Jerry and Joanna’s rented home, called “Little Furze,” had once belonged to a group of unmarried sisters, the Bartons. Only one sister, the elderly Emily Barton, is still alive. Miss Barton decided to rent her home out to make ends meet, and reveals to Joanna that she will stay with her former maid Florence in her new house in town. Jerry and Joanna settle into the home, and Miss Barton’s cook and housekeeper, a woman named Partridge, comes every day to help them.

Joanna and Jerry find life in Lymstock very old-fashioned. They soon get to know who’s who, as their new neighbors come to call on them and leave little calling cards in the mailbox if they miss them.