The Rajah’s Emerald audiobook

1st appearance of James Bond!But not that James Bond.No, years before Ian Flemming gave the world an iconic super spy, Agatha Christie gave us a disgruntled young man who lucked into an adventure by picking up the wrong shorts. James Bond (yes, I will be using his full name for the entirety of the review) has followed the girl he loves, Grace, to a seaside village under the impression that they would be romping on the sand together. Unfortunately, he's broke and she's made friends with Claud Sopworth and his sisters, who are part of the fashionable set of young people. So, she's spending her vacation in a nice hotel, while he's spending his in some kind of a cheap hostel down the road.Sucks to be you, Bond.James Bond.Alright. So, he meets Grace on the beach and is immediately pissed when he realizes her hotel has its own changing rooms and he's going to have to wait FOREVER for a public one to open up. Meanwhile, that foppish Sopsworth is going to slobber all over his girl while he stands in line like a peasant.So he takes a chance and slides into one of the private ones before anyone notices what he's doing and then pops out and joins the group on the beach. I gotta say, Grace isn't making the best impression. She's acting too good for him and making snide comments about his clothes. Which is why James Bond declines to eat lunch with them and heads off by himself to sulk in his soup at a greasy diner.

O colectie de povestiri pline de mister.

This story is a bit of a He Who Laughs Last sort of tale. The Raja's Emerald is short and a bit of fluff, but a fun read! James Bond (the name made me smile -- Agatha Christie wrote this short story almost 30 years before Ian Fleming published his first spy novel) has travelled to a lovely tourist destination by the sea. The cost is a bit above his means so he's lodged in an out of the way boarding house while his girlfriend is staying with friends in much fancier digs. James is livid....jealous....and a bit angry. And Grace is being a bit thoughtless. Wanting to get between his girl and a foppish oaf that seems to have his eyes on her, James makes use of a private dressing hut at the beach instead of waiting in line for a tent to change. Little does he realize what will be in his pocket when he returns later to put his street clothes back on..... And, he gets the last laugh in the end!Cute story! I could see this all playing out in my head as I listened to the audio version (read by Hugh Fraser, the actor who played Hastings in the Poirot television show). I could just see the look on James Bond's face when he reached in his pocket and pulled out a wonder.....and his smile when he got a bit of revenge at the end. There really isn't much to this story. It's short and simple, but FUN. Loved it! The Raja's Emerald first appeared in Red Magazine (UK) in July 1926 and appeared in the short story collection The Listerdale Mystery in 1934. The story was not published in the US until 1971 in The Golden Ball and Other Stories. I could not find a copy of The Listerdale Mystery, so I've been listening to the stories in audio format using The Golden Ball and Other Stories and Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories. The audio books are narrated by Hugh Fraser -- perfect choice! He does a great job, and I love his voice! I wish I could find just one of these stories in their original magazine format. I'd love to see the accompanying illustration, ads from the magazine and other stories the edition contained! I continue to weasel around on the internet trying to find a scan or digital copy from a library or something! If I find any, I will definitely share a link so others can have a look too! And, if you know a source where I can get a glimpse at ANY of these original stories, please share and make this Christie fan incredibly happy! I found no information on any adaptations of this story for radio or television. Most likely because it's really a bit of fluff and more entertainment than serious plot. I'm loving my journey through Christie's writing! Another enjoyable short story by Christie -- on to the next!!

Honesty may not make you rich but certainly will turn your fate.

** spoiler alert ** James Bond (no, not that James Bond) is visiting friends at a beachside resort but he doesn’t have the money to stay there. He is put out that they don’t make more of an effort to include him and that they make him change at the huts on the public beach. He decides to sneak into one of the private changing huts and runs out to swim with his friends. After swimming, they change and decide to go to lunch at the club but they think that James isn’t dressed smartly enough. He bristles and says that he’ll just meet up with them later. As he is walking away, he puts his hand into his pants pocket and pulls out what he thinks is a pebble but turns out to be an emerald. He realizes that he must have put on the wrong pants after swimming. So he goes back to the hut to switch pants and is confronted by a man claiming to be an inspector who is investigating the case of the missing emerald. But James is suspicious and tricks him into going into the police station where they tell James that the man is not an investigator at all but the Lord’s valet who is suspected of stealing the emerald. When his lordship shows up at the police station he insists on taking James to lunch where he runs into his friends who ask him to go to the pictures with them but he declines because he has an lunch appointment with his lordship.

A short story on how a young man’s antics to keep up with his girlfriend’s rich friends gets him involved in the case of a missing emerald. A bit slow in the beginning, James, our protagonist, clearly describes his frustrations with his girlfriend, Grace, as she prefers the company of her classy friends than his. In an attempt to keep up with them, an unintentional exchange of trousers lands him with the missing emerald belonging Rajah’s. From here things pick up and it’s an entertaining read.

The Rajah's emerald is a short and crisp mystery. James Bond is at a seaside resort for his girlfriend Grace. When he stumbles upon the lost diamond of the Rajah, his wit helps James to turn the situation favorable to him. This was a short and crisp mystery. I liked the audiobook narration. It makes for a perfect choice for a quick read. I hope to read more short stories by Agatha in the future.

A rather funny and humorous story about a man’s (James) day out at the beach. James’ day doesn’t go well after meeting a lady to go for a swim and gets in all kind of trouble after sneaking into an open beach hut to get changed.

It's a short story with so much going on. An interesting early work of Christie.

Agatha Christie : I've also read - Murder with Mirrors- A Caribbean Mystery- Nemesis- The Mirror Crack'd- A Holiday For Murder / Hercule Poirot's Christmas- The Pale Horse - Postern Of Fate- Murder at the Vicarage- Curtain- Hallowe'en Party- What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw !- The Body in the Library- Murder on the Orient Express- Thirteen at Dinner- The ABC Murders- Cards on the Table- Death on the Nile- Third Girl- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd- A Murder Is Announced- At Bertram's Hotel- The Moving Finger- By The Pricking of My Thumbs- N or M- The Golden Ball- The Listerdale Mystery- The Girl in the Train- The Manhood of Edward Robinson- Jane in Search of a Job- A Fruitful Sunday- The Rajah's Emerald- Swain Song- The Hound of Death- The Gipsy- The Lamp- The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael- The Call of Wings- Magnolia Blossom- Next to a Dog- The Seven Dials Mystery- The Big Four- Passenger To Frankfurt- The Tuesday Club Murders- The Idol House of Astarte- Ingots of Gold- The Blood-Stained Pavement- Motive v. Opportunity - The Thumb Mark of St. Peter- The Blue Geranium- The Companion- The Four Suspects- A Christmas Tragedy- The Herb of Death- The affair at the Bungalow - Death by Drowning- Elephants Can Remember- Murder at Hazelmoor- The Under Dog - The Plymouth Express- The Affair at the Victory Ball- The Market Basing Mystery- The Lemesurier Inheritance- The King of Clubs- The Submarine Plans- The Adventure of the Clapham Cook- The Regatta Mystery- The Mystery of the Bagdad Chest- How Does Your Garden Grow?- Problem at Pollensa Bay- Yellow Iris- Miss Marple Tells a Story- The Dream- In a Glass Darkly- Problems at Sea- Double Sin- Wasps' Nest- The Theft of the Royal Ruby- The Dressmaker's Doll- Greenshaw's Folly- The Double Club- The Last Seance - Sanctuary- Murder on the Links- The Mysterious Mr. Quin- The Shadow on the Glass- At the Bells and Motley- The Sign in the Sky- The Soul of the Croupier- The World's End- The Voice in the Dark- The Face of Helen- The Dead Harlequin- The Bird With the Broken Wing- The Man From the Sea- Harlequin's Lane- Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective- Easy To Kill- Endless Night- After The Funeral- Sparkling Cyanide / Remembered Death - Black Coffee- Death in the Air- The Mysterious Affair at Styles- Peril at End House- Sleeping Murder- And Then There Were None (also Ten Little Indians)

I opened english detectives for me with this book. It is really entertaining and unpredictable.