Month: February 2021

Written by Agatha Christie

SUMMARY:

Released in 2019 by William Morrow (a HarperCollins imprint), this 362-page paperback anthology compiles twenty Agatha Christie short stories mostly attuned to paranormal/horror themes.  Among them is the obscure “The Wife of the Kenite,” appearing in its first U.S. publication.  The specific stories (and their historical debuts) are:

1. The Last Séance (magazine: (U.S.) 1926) and (U.K.) 1927)/anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1961). A frail French medium is pressured into initiating one final contact between an enigmatic client and her young child’s restless spirit.  
2. In A Glass Darkly (magazine: (U.K.) 1934/anthology: (U.S.) 1939 and (U.K.) 1979).  A war veteran’s premonition of a woman’s brutal homicide has unsettling consequences.
3. S.O.S.: (magazine: (U.K.) 1926 and (U.S.) 1947/anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1948).  Stranded in the remote English countryside, a motorist grows increasingly suspicious of  his overnight host family. 
4. Hercule Poirot: The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb (magazine: 1923 (U.K.) and 1924 (U.S.)/anthology: 1924 (U.K.) and 1925 (U.S.).  Poirot & Captain Hastings probe a series of deaths linked to an archaeological expedition in the Egyptian desert.   
5. The Fourth Man (magazine: (U.K.) 1925 and (U.S.) 1947/anthology: (U.K.) 1925 and (U.S.) 1948).  Aboard an overnight British commuter train, four passengers discuss a bizarre split-personality case linked to two deaths. 
6. Miss Marple: The Idol House of Astarte (magazine: (U.K.) 1928 and (U.S.) 1928/anthology: (U.K.) 1932 and (U.S.) 1933). Miss Marple contemplates an aristocrat’s mysterious death years ago during a costume party.     
7. The Gipsy (anthology: (U.K.) 1933 (U.S.) 1971).  In a gothic love story, an alluring gypsy and her enigmatic warnings impact the romances of two sisters. 
8. Philomel Cottage (magazine: (U.K.) 1924/anthology: (U.K.) 1934 and (U.S.) 1948).  In a quiet village, a newlywed British couple’s bliss is tainted by suspicions of the husband’s possibly dark past.
9. The Lamp (anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1971). A family gradually realizes that their new home is haunted by the spirit of a lonely little boy.
10. Hercule Poirot: The Dream (magazine: (U.K.) 1938 and (U.S.) 1937/anthology: (U.S.) 1939 and (U.K.) 1960).  An eccentric tycoon consults Poirot re: a recurring nightmarish premonition. 
11. Wireless (magazine: (U.K. and U.S.) 1926/anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1948).  A frail, elderly widow becomes convinced that her late husband’s ghost is summoning her through the radio.
12. The Wife of the Kenite (magazine: (Australia) 1922/anthology: (U.K.) 2018 and (U.S.) 2019).  Grim biblical irony catches up to a German war criminal hiding out in the farm country outside Johannesburg. 
13. The Mystery of the Blue Jar (magazine: (U.K. and U.S.) 1924/anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1948).  A young golfer seeks professional help upon repeatedly hearing ghostly pleas for help.
14. The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael (anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1971).  Two doctors are bewildered by a young man’s unexplained metamorphosis.
15. Miss Marple: The Blue Geranium (magazine: (U.K.) 1929 and (U.S.) 1930/anthology: (U.K.) 1932 and (U.S.) 1933).  Miss Marple hears about a hypochondriac wife’s strange demise foretold months before by a gypsy fortune teller.
16. The Call of Wings (anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1971).  A wealthy businessman experiences an odd epiphany through his dreams. 
17. Hercule Poirot: The Flock of Geryon (magazine: (U.K.) 1940 and (U.S.) 1940/anthology: (U.K. and U.S.) 1947).  Among his ongoing Labours, Poirot relies upon an unlikely ally to go undercover probing a religious cult.
18. The Red Signal (magazine: (U.K.) 1924 and (U.S.) 1947/anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1948).  A dinner party’s séance is the prelude to a vengeful homicide.
19. The Dressmaker’s Doll (magazine: (Canada & U.K.) 1958 and (U.S.) 1959/anthology: (U.S.) 1961 and (U.K.) 1979). An upscale London dress shop’s proprietors are perplexed by a doll seemingly haunting their boutique.
20. The Hound of Death (anthology: (U.K.) 1933 and (U.S.) 1971).  In a secluded English village, a visitor is leery of the local doctor’s interest in a Belgian refugee’s catastrophic psychic visions.      

Notes: Both Poirot tales were faithfully adapted for the David Suchet TV series.  The title of “The Blue Geranium” was used for (and partially inspired) a Marple 5^th Season TV episode starring Julia McKenzie.  Also, “The Red Signal,” “The Fourth Man,” “In a Glass Darkly,” and “The Mystery of the Blue Jar” were filmed in 1982 for British TV’s short-lived Agatha Christie Hour.

REVIEW:

As one can surmise, there isn’t light-hearted relief exploring Christie’s interests in supernatural and/or macabre fare.  With few exceptions, this anthology is reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Tales from The Crypt. 

Of this assortment, only “The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael” is marred by racist stereotyping, which frankly ruins an otherwise intriguing story.  In terms of horror content, there’s more implied gore than expected – particularly, in the title story and the rare “Wife of the Kenite.”  Even long-time Christie fans shouldn’t be blamed for skipping a tale or two that could be construed as perhaps too grisly.    

The Last Séance’s line-up of familiar fare and far more obscure tales at least holds steady in a literary middle ground.  In that regard, there’s aren’t any indisputable masterpieces, but none are exceedingly awful, either.  What fluctuates is the quality of detail.  Case in point: “The Dressmaker’s Doll” and the much-shorter (and underrated)“Lamp” both effectively convey ghost stories with sufficient depth. 

In contrast, the characters inhabiting “The Last Séance” are so vaguely written that readers are left scratching to fill in the blanks (i.e. the identity of the black-veiled client — frankly, Christie could have tried a little harder).  There’s also a likelihood of contemporary audiences sensing imminent plot twists in, for instance, “The Red Signal” and “Wireless,” mostly because they’ve since become genre clichés.  Still, Christie’s storytelling tricks make up much of the difference.     

The one inexplicable aspect of this anthology pertains to what’s not included.  Shockingly, there are no Harley Quin tales  — i.e. reprinting “The Harlequin’s Tea Set” would have made perfect sense.  Poirot’s unremarkable “The Flock of Geryon” could have been easily replaced by the appropriately wicked Poirot tale: “Tragedy at Marsdon Manor.” The same applies to a different challenge amongst Poirot’s Labours of Hercules: “The Cretan Bull,” as it’s in a similar vein as the “Arthur Carmichael” tale. 

Among Christie’s lesser-known material, the only odd exclusion is “The House of Dreams,” as its morose, cerebral themes certainly fits this anthology’s vibe. Had the publisher sought a lightweight tale for more variety, “The Lonely God” would have worked. The only caveat with that tale is that Christie’s mushy dialogue diminishes a decent romantic premise.

If anything, this collection sports dual appeal: not only should most Christie fans appreciate it, The Last Séance is a solid prelude to the horror genre that Stephen King’s generation inherited decades later.  Though the bulk of these stories are innocuous by today’s standards, a few are definitely mature audience-only reads. 

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

There is a table of contents.  The bibliography spells out each story’s source/historical debut(s).       

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:             7½ Stars

Notes: Also available in this same anthology format is Midwinter Murder: Fireside Tales from the Queen of Mystery. For a full-length Christie novel pertaining to the supernatural, The Pale Horse is a worthwhile read.