The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories audiobook

The EdgeA chance encounter at a hotel gives a spinster the chance to terrorize the cheating wife of the man she loved. A very good psychological thriller for a short story.The ActressA nasty blackmailer is thwarted by a clever actress who is determined to get him out of her life.Very lighthearted and fun!While the Light LastsWhat if you had the chance to be with your first love again?A woman who married wealth and security after her first husband was killed in the war has the chance to revisit her past.I really enjoyed this haunting short about second chances.The House of DreamsThis one is admittedly weird. First published in The Sovereign Magazine in 1926, it's a mash-up of a psychological thriller with a bit of the paranormal, and it really doesn't work all that well.A man has dreams of a white house and he also feels this love connection to a woman in the story with a family history of mental illness. In the end, (view spoiler)[she loses her mind and they meet in this white house in his dreams. (hide spoiler)]I'm glad the conclusion had a bit of the sweet stuff but it wasn't the easiest storyline to wrap your head around.The Lonely GodA little statue of an unnamed god in a museum brings two lonely people together.It has a very sweet ending. And I'm not sure what it was about the way Christie told this story, but it made for quite a nice read.Manx GoldTwo broke cousins are in love. ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

The only reason this book deserves a 5 star is because it has the last short story Agatha Christie wrote. Most of the stories in this collection have appeared in other collections as well- some are romantic short stories while some are also supernatural themed. One unique story included in the collection is the "Mystery of the Spanish chest" which is an expanded version of the original short story- :Mystery of the Baghdad chest.

This was a nice, diverse set of short stories that show Christie's range of writing. The stories range from the more traditional mysteries Christie is known for to straight up psychological stories to what I might even describe as a Lovecraftian tale. I was also introduced to one of Christie's less well known characters, Harley Quin, who I found delightful. All in all it was a very good listen with some very good stories and some that just fell a bit flat for me. I would say my favorites were 'The Lonely God' and the eponymous 'The Harlequin Tea Set'. The voices were pleasant and did not distract from the stories at all. This is a nice audiobook to while away a car trip with.

Okay, I think I get what the fuss is about Agatha Christie now. Hint: the fuss is totally earned.The Harlequin Tea Set is a collection of rarely published, thematically wide ranging stories. There are, of course, the murder mysteries which she's so famous for, including a story about her famous detective Poirot, The Spanish Chest. But there are also stories which edge into the domain of the supernatural and ephemeral, where some cosmic force is helping move things along to aid or bring justice to a character, stories about love and love lost, of betrayal and guilt. And of course stories about buried treasure.There is something heavy in Christie's writing that goes beyond just subject matter. There were many times where I felt like I could have been reading Poe or, in the case of The House of Dreams, H.P. Lovecraft - albeit better written than Lovecraft. What surprised me most about Agatha Christie's writing was that, while I could definitely sense the era of the settings, the writing itself was as fresh and clear as though someone had written it now. I can't wait to read some of her full novels.

The Edge - 4 Stars The Actress - 5 Stars While the Light Lasts - 3 Stars The House of Dreams - 3.5 Stars The Lonely God - 4 Stars Manx Gold - 3 Stars Within a Wall - 4 Stars The Mystery of the Spanish Chest - Poirot Short Story 5 Stars The Harlequin Tea Set - 5 Stars

Only one of the stories, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, had Poirot in it. All but the last one were published in the late 20s and early 30s. The final story, The Harlequin Tea Set, was the very last one published, in 1971. It was quite interesting, with more than a hint of the supernatural.

The first movement of Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata is played with ‘that expression of grief that is infinite and sorrow that is endless and vast as the ages, but in which from end to end breathes the spirit that will not accept defeat in the solemnity of undying woe, it moves in the rhythm of the conqueror to its final doom.’This 1997 collection of nine stories was published some years after the death of their author. Married in 1914, Christie and her first husband divorced in 1927, an action resulting from an infidelity on the part of the latter. Not surprisingly, most of these stories, which are largely from the 1920s, deal with romantic triangles and their ensuing complications.‘The Edge’ from 1927 deals with such a love triangle, the inevitable placing before one of an unavoidable temptation and a willingness to sacrifice all for one’s true love. Both selfishness and forbearance are featured in a very insightful examination of a real moral dilemma. The resulting self-imposed sentence is a strange twist considering Christie’s general inability to ever forgive murder, no matter what extenuating circumstances may have existed.‘The Actress’ from 1923 allows the title character to demonstrate the true strength of her thespian skills in her response to an impending act of blackmail against her.Although set in Africa, 1924’s ‘While the Twilight Lasts’ follows a similar path as ‘The Edge’. A love triangle, a refusal by a main character to follow through on an obvious path of action, a biblical injunction and an eventual ultimate act of self sacrifice make the twists of circumstance in both stories virtually identical.‘The House of Dreams’ from 1926 is a poignant, sad, elusive tale of love, frustrated desire, the burdens of inheritance and, above all else, insanity. It also involves a romantic triangle, the difficulties of variant financial fortunes and the willingness to sacrifice oneself for love. The passage in which Christie describes the first movement of Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata is truly impressive.‘The Lonely God’ is a beautifully crafted love story which deals quite realistically with loneliness and the challenge of achieving true love without deception. A glimmer of what Christie would use in the characterizations developed in her Westmacott novels was apparent here early on in her writing career.1930’s ‘Manx Gold’ recounts in a rather uninspiring way a treasure hunt left for two young lovers to outwit their nefarious relatives. Very similar to the later ‘Strange Jest’ story.‘Within a Wall’ from 1925 is yet another story in this collection to involve a love triangle. Her representations of artistic integrity, the influence of financial pressures, the roles available to one in society and the nature of true love are all very astutely done in this tragic story of the end of a true artist’s integrity. Excellent story.‘The Mystery of the Spanish Chest’ from 1932 is the first story in this collection with a clear-cut crime of murder. Rather than a romantic triangle giving rise to its events, this time there is more a ‘romantic square’, with a true siren of a woman spurring rash feelings and actions on the part of three different men. Quite ingenious. The final story in the collection was written in 1971 and involves the characters of Harley Quin and Mr. Sattlethwaite, both of whom I wish Christie had used more often. Although there is again a love triangle, the main thrust is to try to prevent a murder. The semi-spectral figure of Quin works through his perceptive liaison Sattlethwaite since, as the later surmises, death or love is the overriding issue. The spectral images of the closing paragraphs are beautifully done.All in all, an impressive collection of human spirits relatively immune to the criminal motivations which so dominate her other writings but more poignant and moving for being so.

These were all quite good. Classic Christie and The House of Dreams is referred to several times by Lucy Worsley in her bio of Dame Agatha.

I'll give each story a short rating:The Edge - 5This story was my favourite. It has a lot of character development and self-discovery and plot twists, and an unexpected ending. It also moved quickly, and had characters reveal information without any pretense, which was great because sometimes Agatha Christie's stories drag on. The Actress - 4This story was clever and entertaining, but I had to read it twice to understand what had happened. I didn't think what happened was explained very well, but other people might disagree. Also, the plot of this story is set in motion by the occurrence of a coincidence which was very unlikely and unrealistic. While The Light Lasts - 3This story is stupid. It deals a lot with inner conflicts, which is interesting but leads to a conclusion which makes no sense. The action of a character completely contrasts everything we knew about him so far. Thankfully, this story is short. The House Of Dreams - 5I love this one. It's slightly too long, but the premise and the twist at the end are amazing. It's beautifully written, and made scary by all the mystery and foreboding worked into the plot. The Lonely God - 2This story is boring, and kind of sad. It mostly consists of awkward dialogue between two characters while the supposed protagonist simply watches. The conflict seems to have been added in at the last second, and is resolved in less than a page. This story is too long. Manx Gold - 3.5This isn't a real short story, but a collection of clues for a scavenger hunt, placed in the context of a story. Manx Gold was written to contain the clues of a scavenger hunt which occurred on the Isle Of Man years ago. There is a conflict, but no real plot. The characters are one-dimensional. Manx Gold read like a set of clues for a scavenger hunt, and not like a short story. It doesn't belong in this book. Within A Wall - 4.5I liked this story because it has a wonderful and varied group of characters, and a few paintings are described, which sound great and give the story more flavour. The premise is interesting, but I can't decide whether it's plausible or not. This story is just the right length, and it's beautifully written. The Mystery Of The Spanish Chest - 3.5This reads like a conventional murder-mystery. While it was clear who the murderer was for a while, it was still interesting to watch the detective interview people and slowly reveal information. There were four suspects, but I felt that two of them were really an unnecessary addition to the story. They had no motives, didn't really know any of the other characters, and seemed to be only there as space-fillers. The Harlequin Tea Set - 4.5This is a great story! The crime in it is clever and surprising, yet plausible. Of all the stories in the book, this one is the most well thought-out. It did contain certain elements that I thought were sort of unnecessary, and one character went into a long explanation of a family's history - but that was, at least, relevant. This story felt long, but it had to be to include all of the backstory and explaining that was necessary for a reader's understanding of the plot.

Enjoyed this book as I do most of Agatha Christie’s books. Some of short stories have appeared in other collections. But still contains s good range of stories. Especially enjoy The Harlequin Tea set story which is the reason I bought the book.

Terrific collection of Christie's short stories, including one Poirot story (a reworked version of the Baghdad Chest mystery) and one involving the mysterious, possibly supernatural, Mr. Harley Quin. Some of these aren't mysteries, but all of them are great reading.