2.5 stars ( )

This is another collection of short stories which were re-issued in this particular collection published in 1997, so not a compilation that Dame Agatha would have had a hand in compiling.

Nevertheless, there are some real gems amongst the stories. My personal favourites, the eponymous While the Light Lasts, The Edge and The Actress, are where AC shows some of the darker aspects of life, and she does it well.

The stories do not follow the usual formula of the who-dunnit and if that is what you are looking for you may as well pick one of her Marple or Poirot short stories. However, there are a couple that were later re-worked into Poirot adventures.

The stories contained in this volume are:

- The House of Dreams (first published in January 1926)

- The Actress (first published in May 1923 under the title of A Trap for the Unwary)

- The Edge (first published February 1927)

- Christmas Adventure (first published on 11 December 1923). This story was later expanded into novella form and was printed as The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot).

- The Lonely God (first published in July 1926)

- Within a Wall (first published in October 1925)

- The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest (first published in January 1932). The story was later expanded into The Mystery of the Spanish Chest.

- While the Light Lasts (first published in April 1924)

- Manx Gold (first published in May 1930)

3.5* really, but not quite 4*. ( )

Interesting collection of short stories including a couple where Poirot makes an appearance. ( )

A short story collection by Agatha Christie first published in the UK on August 4 1997 by HarperCollins. It contains nine short stories, all published much earlier.
The narration is dramatic and makes it very easy listening. The stories were mainly written early in Christie's career, and include a couple of Poirot stories.
They all contain "eternal" themes of romance betrayed, buried treasure, and deception, which Christie was to explore further in later stories and novels. I find it interesting that most of these survived the initial test of time, about 70 years, to be put into this collection, and then another 20 for me to listen to them today.

The collection comprises the following stories

The House of Dreams
John Seagrove, a young city clerk, awakes early one morning in his London bedsit desperately clinging to a dream that has just transformed his life. The next day at dinner at his boss’s house he meets the enigmatic Allegra Kerr. Falling in love with her at first sight John instantly realises this is the overwhelming joy his dream had foreshadowed but could darker forces be at work? 1926

The Actress (aka A Trap for the Unwary)Jake Levitt can’t believe his luck when one evening at the theatre he recognises the lead actress as Nancy Taylor, a girl he knows a lot about. A story of blackmail and murder ensue! 1923

# The Edge see previous blog post
Claire Halliwell lives a quiet country life with her dogs. A conscientious and popular parish worker, she takes everything in her stride even when Sir Gerald Lee, the man she loves, marries Vivien a glamorous city girl. When Claire learns that Vivien is having an affair, her sense of duty to Gerald is stretched to the limit! 1927

# Christmas Adventure (aka The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding)
When a priceless ruby, belonging to a Far Eastern prince, is stolen from him whilst he is on a visit to England, Poirot is asked to make a quiet investigation. The ruby was destined for the prince’s bride-to-be and a scandal must be avoided. 1923

# The Lonely God
Frank Oliver returns to England from years of overseas service only to realise he no longer knows anyone there. On visiting the British Museum he encounters ‘the lonely god’ who seems to be experiencing the same sense of isolation that he is. Will this strange deity help relieve him of his loneliness? 1926

# Manx Gold
Two cousins, Fenella Mylecharane and Juan Faraker, are engaged. When their eccentric Uncle dies they eagerly return to the Isle of Man for the reading of the will. Having grown up hearing tales of buried treasure on the island they are excited when the Will reveals their Uncle had found it. But where? 1930

# Within a Wall
Alan Everard, a successful modernist painter, is married to the beautiful society girl Isobel Loring who eagerly promotes her husband’s work. At one of her tea parties, to which she invites the London art critics, she unveils her husband’s latest masterpiece, a portrait of herself but Alan realises the picture is lifeless. However a sketch he has done of his daughter's godmother, Jane Haworth, is full of life and honesty. Alan soon discovers that the real contribution Jane has made to their life is not just her artistic judgement.1925

# The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest
Bewitching Mrs. Clayton appeals to Poirot to help exonerate her lover Major Rich, indicted for her husband’s murder. Mr. Clayton’s body had been found in a chest, but who put it there? 1932

# While the Light Lasts:
In the excruciating heat of the African sun George Crozier is travelling with his new wife, Deidre. They have not been married long and George is aware his wife’s thoughts are with her first husband who was killed in this part of Africa during the war. In this hauntingly beautiful tale, Deidre is forced to confront the reality of her circumstances: “While the light lasts I shall remember, and in the darkness I shall not forget”. 1924 ( )

While the Light Lasts is a collection of rarely published shorter fictions by Agatha Christie. It was first published in the UK in 1997 by HarperCollins.

The book contains nine short stories. The House of Dreams, The Actress, The Edge, Christmas Adventure, The Lonely God, Manx Gold, Within a Wall, The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest and While the Light Lasts.

The House of Dreams was first published in the Sovereign Magazine in 1926. This story has a touch of the supernatural. I liked the way Christie described the feeling one gets when a dream seems authentic enough to be real. The way a dream feels really rational the moment you wake up but the unreality of it all hits you afterwards. Plot wise the story is good. The story has a sort of a surreal quality to it.

The Actress was first published in The Novel Magazine in 1923. Its original title was A Trap for the Unwary. The plot of The Actress is rather simplistic. It is also very, very short. I enjoyed the story in spite of its simple plot.

The Edge, first published in the Pearson's Magazine in 1927, is a disturbing story. It shows how easy it is to go from being an upright and honest person to a conniving and malicious one. None of the characters are likable but there is something inherently sinister about the protagonist. Both the literal and the metaphorical edge made me uncomfortable.

Christmas Adventure is an early version of the Hercule Poirot novella, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960). It was published in The Sketch Magazine in 1923. Although they are essentially the same story there are some differences between Christmas Adventure and The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding. I think The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding is more fun than Christmas Adventure. Christie did the right thing by expanding and re-writing it.

The Lonely God was first published in the Royal Magazine in 1926. This is an unabashedly romantic story. The central plot is nothing novel but the central figure of the story, the statue of an unknown ancient god, is unique. Generally, I’m not too fond of romance. But I liked The Lonely God. Curiously, I actually felt bad for the statue. Poor little thing, I thought.

Manx Gold isn’t officially an Agatha Christie story. Its history is a bit peculiar. In 1930 to promote tourism to the Isle of Man, a treasure hunting game was planned by the local authorities. Christie was commissioned to write a short story. The story gave clues to the location of four hidden boxes on the island and each held a prize in it. It was published in the Daily Dispatch in five instalments. The story was also published in as a promotional booklet which was distributed at tourist spots. Interestingly, only one booklet is known to have survived. Although it is not legitimately a story, it is fun to read.

Within a Wall is another one of Christie’s non-mystery romantic/drama stories. It was first published in the Royal Magazine in 1925. The story is kind of depressing. It is a good story but its ambiguous ending left me a bit dissatisfied. Christie herself never gave any explanation as to what she meant by the ending. I think that the man forgets the selfless love he had received and returns to his stifling life. That is what I got from it.

The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest is an earlier version of a Hercule Poirot novella. It was expanded and renamed as The Mystery of the Spanish Chest (1960). The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest was first published in the Strand Magazine in 1932. I prefer The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest to its longer version The Mystery of the Spanish Chest. The same story told with a little less details doesn’t take anything away from this narrative. I found the method of the murder unique and somewhat gruesome. This is a decently good mystery short story.

While the Light Lasts is perhaps the weakest story of the lot. It was first published in The Novel Magazine in 1924. It is unimpressive and kind of stupid. Why they named the collection after this inane story I don’t get.

Among the stories I liked The Actress, The Edge and The Lonely God. The House of Dreams and Within a Wall are good but somewhat vague stories. The eponymous While the Light Lasts was bad.

This collection is a valuable addition to the Christie repertoire. The afterwords by Tony Medawar are an added bonus. He explains the original publication histories of the stories. He also adds Christie’s inspiration behind writing each story and her final impression of them.

While the Light Lasts is a delightful little collection. Recommended. ( )