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    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
    Ebook60 pages1 hour

    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

    By Agatha Christie

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding,” Poirot is asked to attend a Christmas celebration in order to apprehend a jewel-thief who has taken advantage of an unwary eastern prince. Full of English holiday tradition and plenty of intrigue, this holiday tale first appeared in the December 12, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media
    Release dateJan 1, 2019
    ISBN9781974936311
    Author

    Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976, after a prolific career spanning six decades.

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    Reviews for The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

    3.5/5

    341 ratings21 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Just enjoy the Christmasyness of it
      Wish it were longer

      • just beware, there’s a shorter version of this out there, dull
    • 5/5
      A delicious little story about the famous detective spending Christmas in the English countryside
    • 5/5
      Well written fun old fashion mystery with snow and misletoe
    • 3/5
      Five Poirots and a Marple make up this collection of short stories/novellas. Classic Christie - although published in the 1960s these stories have an earlier period flavour. Enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      A good one during these lockdown days to make my mornings more happier
    • 4/5
      Hercule Poirot is called in for a delicate case involving royalty and a missing jewel; he contrives to get himself invited to the Christmas festivities of the suspect in order to crack the case.This is my first time reading anything involving Christie's famed detective Hercule Poirot, although I did watch the movie Murder on the Orient Express so I am somewhat familiar with the character. As with the other works by Christe I've read, she does express quite a bit of elitism and nationalism. The mystery here -- or rather its solution -- is incredibly contrived.That all being said, I did enjoy this read as a light cozy mystery. The Christmas setting was especially nice for a quick read during the holidays.
    • 3/5
      Late in her career, Dame Agatha collected some Poirot short stories which hadn’t been published in book form, expanded them, and they became this release. As is her wont, Christie’s long-form short stories (if that phrase doesn’t sound ridiculous) often work well enough. No, they’re never going to have the complexity of her novels, but there’s a restrained strength to each of the Poirot stories here, all of which were subsequently made into very good episodes of the David Suchet television series. More to the point, most of the stories – notably the title story – are wonderfully atmospheric, and this elevates them a little.

      The final story, "Greenshaw’s Folly", is a rather weak Marple attempt. It’s an unusual choice to include in this volume, but it ensures that Poirot and Marple – at least nominally – share a book.

      [US readers can find these stories scattered in "The Under Dog", "Three Blind Mice" and "The Regatta Mystery", but these days it's probably just easier to buy the Complete Short Stories of Poirot and/or Marple, generally in quite lovely volumes from HarperCollins.]

      Poirot ranking: 26th of 38.
    • 5/5
      More than holiday cheer awaits Detective Hercule Poirot at a Christmas celebration when a jewel thief is in the midst. And Poirot may have to watch what he eats—for reasons beyond the gastronomical—in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by author Agatha Christie.This is the second Poirot short I've read recently, and I got a bit nervous in the middle of reading this one, unable to recall if it was supposed to be a murder mystery. While I do read murder mysteries from time to time, I have certain preferences concerning the tone of such stories, and I can't say that murder and Christmas are two ingredients that I'd be eager to mix.Nevertheless, I'm so glad I read this tale all the way through. The old-fashioned English Christmas elements are downright charming, as are the little nods to romance. Even with the story's shortness, the mystery has got a good number of clever twists, and I'm all for the quirky-and-proper flavor I expected to find in a read like this.I hoped to like this short holiday story, and I wound up loving it.
    • 3/5
      "But Lady Chatterton was one of the brightest jewels in what Poirot called le haut monde. Everything she did or said was news. She had brains, beauty, originality and enough vitality to activate a rocket to the moon."This is the first Agatha Christie I've read since I was about 14; a collection of 5 Poirot short stories and one Miss Marple investigation as well. Poirot investigates a sinister note about a plum pudding, the discovery of a jealous husband in a chest, an overheard quarrel leading to murder, the mysterious changes in a dead man's eating habits, and a victim who dreamt of his own suicide. Miss Marple tags along for an investigation at Greenshaw's Folly.As much as I loved the character of Poirot, the way he is a bit snobbish, a bit difficult, but generally is warm-hearted and lovable, I found his ability to solve a crime with clues which weren't passed onto the reader a bit frustrating.And Miss Marple? I've never read any of hers (although I'm currently listening to an audiobook in which she stars) but she hardly seemed to take part in her own mystery! She let everyone work themselves all up and then suddenly everyone turned to her and she showed them the solution. A beautiful solution it was too, and I think that's why Christie is as famous as she is - the puzzles she sets are often simple and neat if you know the right way in.I'm struggling to review this one. This was a pleasant enough read, each story engrossing and tightly told. Excellent airport reading.
    • 3/5
      A couple of longish short crime stories, followed by some shorter ones. Mostly featuring Hercule Poirot. I thought the longish stories were pretty good, but the short ones were disappointing - relying on guesswork rather than characterisation and logic. Agatha Christie does better with full-length novels, in my opinion.
    • 4/5
      I wonder how "Greenshaw's Folly" became so famous and celebrated. I think it is one of her worst.
    • 5/5
      Summary:Five entertaining cases of Hercule Poirot (3 long, 2 short), featuring a Christmas Pudding, a Spanish Chest and blueberries amongst others.And as a little extra Miss Marple solves the mystery of Greenshaw’s Folly.Opinion:Much better than "Poirot Investigates"Poirot is a lot more likable, funny and the eccentric Belgian I imagined him to be. Also, the cases are a lot more refined and interesting, maybe also because Christie takes time to let them evolve. Only the last one “The Dream” was pretty predictable, but nevertheless nice.“Greenshaw’s Folly” was my first meeting with Miss Marple and I like her right away. She likes knitting, so only that makes her awesome (I have some kind of liking for handicrafts of any kind). Also the case was very enthralling and I like it to get to know the characters before they are murdered. The atmosphere is totally different from the Poirot stories so I can’t wait to buy more books featuring Miss Marple.
    • 4/5
      A collection of short stories - some of which have been published before. The title story is interesting - a precious ruby, intended for the wife of a prince, has disappeared, along with the prince's girlfriend. Poirot is on the case and as part of his investigation spends a traditional Christmas at an English country house - oh yes and of course he finds the ruby. But as I mentioned the other stories appear in other collections, so this really works as collection for those who haven't read too many of Dame Agatha's other collected short stories.
    • 4/5
      A collection of six of Agatha Christie's short stories.While this is marketed as a Christmas collection, readers should be aware that only the title story has anything to do with Christmas. Rather, this is a collection of some of Agatha Christie's personal favourites, intended as a sort of a present for her fans. In her introduction, she likens it to a chef's selection, complete with stories of varying lengths and weights. I'd tend to agree; this is a nice, varied collection that includes some longer, meatier tales as well as shorter, sweeter stories. They all appear in other collections as well.The stories are all good ones, though I must confess that I'm getting a little tired of "Greenshaw's Folly." (It appears in at least three collections). The title story, in particular, displays a nice blend of mystery and family life. Dame Agatha takes evident pleasure in describing a big family Christmas, the dinner of which becomes an integral part of a criminal endeavor. The others are equally complex, inventive and enjoyable.Recommended to Christie fans, especially those who haven't read many of her short stories.
    • 4/5
      Annual fave Agatha Christmas read. Love the English atmosphere and detailed settings of AC mysteries and this one always adds to my Christmas tradition reading enjoyment!
    • 3/5
      This short Hercule Poirot story takes rather a long time to warm up, though the resolution is quite funny. As a short (36 pages), it doesn't have time to develop the usual plethora of suspects and there are no red herrings to be caught. I was slightly confused at first by references to tape recorders and television in a short story published in 1923, but this is apparently an expanded version published some decades later.
    • 4/5
      This book contains the following six short stories, featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple ('Greenshaw's Folly' only):The Adventure of the Christmas PuddingThe Mystery of the Spanish ChestThe Under DogFour-and-Twenty BlackbirdsThe DreamGreenshaw's FollyNot world literature and of varying quality (I thought the lead story particularly weak as it made such woeful use of Poirot's formidable little grey cells while 'The Under Dog' was cleverly done, even if Poirot does have to resort to getting a witness hypnotised, and it wasn't clear almost until the very end who'd done it), the stories nevertheless provide good old-fashioned entertainment and a little brain exercise as I tried to keep up with the respective sleuths' thought processes – quite impossible as some of the deductions are rather far-fetched (the idiom 'clutching at straws' comes to mind).
    • 4/5
      The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie - Good

      This was a book of short stories, five Poirot, one Marple:
      The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
      The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
      The Under Dog
      Four and Twenty Blackbirds
      The Dream
      Greenshaw's Folly

      As with all Agatha Christie's they are beautifully crafted, but in one or two of them there tended to be a bit of a 'rabbit out of the hat' aspect to they way the mysteries are solved as you can't really see the development of the solution the way you can in her full novels. Still, a nice set of stories to read over Christmas solely picked for the seasonal theme of the first one.

    • 3/5
      This book is a collection of several Hercule Poirot short stories. There was also a Miss Marple short story, called Greenshaw's Folly, included in the edition I have. The stories were interesting, but I feel that they lacked the character development that I enjoy in Christie's full length novels.
    • 4/5
      I thought I had read every Agatha Christie book, story or play that she ever wrote, but I somehow missed this little gem. It's a Christmas story with the great Hercule Poirot, and it is an English country manor mystery like so many of Agatha Christie's stories are. Poirot is asked to attend a Christmas celebration at an English county manor in order to apprehend a jewel thief. Poirot is tempted to attend this family Christmas partly because he can never ignore a possible mystery, and partly because of the promise of central heating. At the manor he finds a large array of different people, and indeed all is not as it seems. Poirot waits and listens and uses his "little grey cells" to figure out who the thief is, and sets a trap to catch that person, Even in short story format, Ms. Christie cannot be beat in the mystery genre. There are many who have tried to match her skill, but few have ever achieved it. This was an enjoyable little story for this time of the year.
    • 3/5
      The standouts are The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and the Miss Marple story, "Greenshaw"s Folly". The other short stories are entertaining although they are ordinary. I was drawn to the Christmas Pudding story because Christie discussed it (briefly) in her autobiography.

    Book preview

    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - Agatha Christie

    THE ADVENTURE OF THE CHRISTMAS PUDDING

    A Hercule Poirot Mystery

    By

    AGATHA CHRISTIE

    This edition published by Dreamscape Media LLC, 2018

    www.dreamscapeab.com * info@dreamscapeab.com

    1417 Timberwolf Drive, Holland, OH 43528

    877.983.7326

    Dreamscape Final Logo small for eBook

    Table of Contents

    About Agatha Christie

    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

    About Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English crime novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. She is best known for her sixty-six detective novels and fourteen short-story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, and six romances under the name Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contribution to literature.

    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

    I

    I REGRET exceedingly— said M. Hercule Poirot. 

    He was interrupted. Not rudely interrupted. The interruption was suave, dexterous, persuasive rather than contradictory. 

    Please don’t refuse offhand, M. Poirot. There are grave issues of State. Your co-operation will be appreciated in the highest quarters. 

    You are too kind, Hercule Poirot waved a hand, but I really cannot undertake to do as you ask. At this season of the year— 

    Again Mr Jesmond interrupted. Christmas time, he said, persuasively. An old-fashioned Christmas in the English countryside. 

    Hercule Poirot shivered. The thought of the English countryside at this season of the year did not attract him.

    A good old-fashioned Christmas! Mr Jesmond stressed it.

    Me—I am not an Englishman, said Hercule Poirot. In my country, Christmas, it is for the children. The New Year, that is what we celebrate. 

    Ah, said Mr Jesmond, but Christmas in England is a great institution and I assure you at Kings Lacey you would see it at its best. It’s a wonderful old house, you know. Why, one wing of it dates from the fourteenth century. 

    Again Poirot shivered. The thought of a fourteenth-century English manor house filled him with apprehension. He had suffered too often in the historic country houses of England. He looked round appreciatively at his comfortable modern flat with its radiators and the latest patent devices for excluding any kind of draught. 

    In the winter, he said firmly, I do not leave London. 

    I don’t think you quite appreciate, M. Poirot, what a very serious matter this is. Mr Jesmond glanced at his companion and then back at Poirot. 

    Poirot’s second visitor had up to now said nothing but a polite and formal How do you do. He sat now, gazing down at his well-polished shoes, with an air of the utmost dejection on his coffee-coloured face. He was a young man, not more than twenty-three, and he was clearly in a state of complete misery. 

    Yes, yes, said Hercule Poirot. Of course the matter is serious. I do appreciate that. His Highness has my heartfelt sympathy. 

    The position is one of the utmost delicacy, said Mr Jesmond. 

    Poirot transferred his gaze from the young man to his older companion. If one wanted to sum up Mr Jesmond in a word, the word would have been discretion. Everything about Mr Jesmond was discreet. His well-cut but inconspicuous clothes, his pleasant, well-bred voice which rarely soared out of an agreeable monotone, his light-brown hair just thinning a little at the temples, his pale serious face. It seemed to Hercule Poirot that he had known not one Mr Jesmond but a dozen Mr Jesmonds in his time, all using sooner or later the same phrase—a position of the utmost delicacy. 

    The police, said Hercule Poirot, can be very discreet, you know. 

    Mr Jesmond shook his head firmly. 

    Not the police, he said. "To recover the—er—what we want to recover will almost inevitably invoke taking proceedings in the law courts and we know so little. We suspect, but we do not know." 

    You have my sympathy, said Hercule Poirot again. 

    If he imagined that his sympathy was going to mean anything to his two visitors, he was wrong. They did not want sympathy, they wanted practical help. Mr Jesmond began once more to talk about the delights of an English Christmas. 

    It’s dying out, you know, he said, the real old-fashioned type of Christmas. People spend it at hotels nowadays. But an English Christmas with all the family gathered round, the children and their stockings, the Christmas tree, the turkey and plum pudding, the crackers. The snowman outside the window— 

    In the interests of exactitude, Hercule Poirot intervened. 

    To make a snowman one has to have the snow, he remarked severely. "And one cannot have

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