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The Adventure Of The Christmas Pudding, And A Selection Of Entrées
Don’t eat the pudding…
On a silver dish the Christmas pudding reposed in all its glory. A large football of a pudding, a piece of holly stuck in it like a triumphant flag and glorious flames of blue and red rising round it. There was a cheer and cries of “Ooh-ah”.
Hercule Poirot merely surveyed the portion on his plate with a rather curious expression on his face. A result, no doubt, of finding a cryptic note in his bedroom which had read,
DON’T EAT NONE OF THE PLUM PUDDING. ONE WHO WISHES YOU WELL.
(Publisher’s description)
Contents: The adventure of the Christmas pudding — The mystery of the Spanish chest — The under dog — Four and twenty blackbirds — The dream — Greenshaw’s Folly
On a silver dish the Christmas pudding reposed in all its glory. A large football of a pudding, a piece of holly stuck in it like a triumphant flag and glorious flames of blue and red rising round it. There was a cheer and cries of “Ooh-ah”.
Hercule Poirot merely surveyed the portion on his plate with a rather curious expression on his face. A result, no doubt, of finding a cryptic note in his bedroom which had read,
DON’T EAT NONE OF THE PLUM PUDDING. ONE WHO WISHES YOU WELL.
(Publisher’s description)
Contents: The adventure of the Christmas pudding — The mystery of the Spanish chest — The under dog — Four and twenty blackbirds — The dream — Greenshaw’s Folly
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1934
16 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,812 books75.2k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 26, 2016
An entertaining collection of short stories, with all but one featuring Hercule Poirot. The final story, Greenshaw's Folly is a Miss Marple story. I recognized the basic plots of some from the TV series but the stories and results were for the most part nice and fresh. Every story was enjoyable. I liked the investigations and the solutions. It's been so nice to get into Christie's works and mysteries. I don't know why I didn't sooner. If you want a nice quick, enjoyable selection of mysteries, this is the book for you.
January 2, 2016
Because of time constraints and the need to return this inter-library loan book, I only read the title story (58 pages). The others look like fun. Maybe someday I will get the book again and finish it.
May 5, 2011
See my review on my book blog: http://quirkyreader.livejournal.com/2...
December 27, 2020
A fun like collection of short stories compromising mostly Poirot stories (The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, The Underdog, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, The Dream) and one Miss Marple story (Greenshaw's Folly). There was really no overriding theme in the stories, with only the first containing a Christmas theme. Nevertheless they were solid Christie mysteries, as always.
January 1, 2025
Having intended to read at least five Christmas-themed books for the holiday season, I was happy to see that this Agatha Christie anthology of stories was offered for free. I like to mix newer offerings with older, more classic works in order to have a more varied literary diet every now and again, but the truth is that I will almost always choose classic over new, and this book proves the point. Whereas most anthologies contain stories of distinguishing quality, every story here is very good.
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, or The Theft of the Royal Ruby is the initial story and the only story having to do with the holiday, but I wasn't going to read just the one story and not plumb the depths of the others. I mean what type of a reader would I be? Who wouldn't take advantage of reading a Dame Christie collection, especially when they all revolve around Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, herself?
The first story involves a clandestine investigation by Poirot into a Royal Ruby that may result in embarrassment on an international level. The Mystery of the Spanish Chest is the second story involving a loveless marriage, an unfaithful spouse, spying from the inside of a chest, and a second suitor wanting to hasten his place in line. The Underdog involves unpremeditated murder, a crime of passion that can very easily happen when one is pushed too far. Four and Twenty Blackbirds involves the predictability of men and their menu choices. I wish I could disagree, but Poirot makes very salient points.
The Dream is the last of the Poirot stories. A man confides in Poirot that he has dreamt that he is going to shoot himself, and a week later Poirot is told that he has shot himself and died. Lastly, Greenshaw's Folly is a mystery that involves impersonation, and gardening. I have not read a Miss Marple in a long while and I was thrilled to have read a story I read so long ago still resonate within my memory. Really a very good collection that I enjoyed. This is my third Christmas-themed book read for the Yuletide season of the five I have set for a goal.
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, or The Theft of the Royal Ruby is the initial story and the only story having to do with the holiday, but I wasn't going to read just the one story and not plumb the depths of the others. I mean what type of a reader would I be? Who wouldn't take advantage of reading a Dame Christie collection, especially when they all revolve around Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, herself?
The first story involves a clandestine investigation by Poirot into a Royal Ruby that may result in embarrassment on an international level. The Mystery of the Spanish Chest is the second story involving a loveless marriage, an unfaithful spouse, spying from the inside of a chest, and a second suitor wanting to hasten his place in line. The Underdog involves unpremeditated murder, a crime of passion that can very easily happen when one is pushed too far. Four and Twenty Blackbirds involves the predictability of men and their menu choices. I wish I could disagree, but Poirot makes very salient points.
The Dream is the last of the Poirot stories. A man confides in Poirot that he has dreamt that he is going to shoot himself, and a week later Poirot is told that he has shot himself and died. Lastly, Greenshaw's Folly is a mystery that involves impersonation, and gardening. I have not read a Miss Marple in a long while and I was thrilled to have read a story I read so long ago still resonate within my memory. Really a very good collection that I enjoyed. This is my third Christmas-themed book read for the Yuletide season of the five I have set for a goal.
December 22, 2025
This is a selection of short and sweet murder mysteries. The first is a festive Poirot treat and the last is a Miss Marple tale. They all whizz by in a flash and have that trademark Christie brilliance. So engaging are the plots and so uncluttered is the writing that they're a joy to read.
December 4, 2023
Not much to read. Kind of disappointing…
December 16, 2024
"The Dream" was really good. The others stories were pretty meh.
January 8, 2025
Agatha Christie never misses
December 25, 2025
A simple mystery with guest Periot at an inn. A murder was planned, a jewel theft prevented. Period wins the day!
December 2, 2011
I had forgotten how very much fun these are. And there's something so very comforting about M. Poirot or Miss Marple always being able to catch the culprit, no matter how clever and devious they are.
I went through a major Agatha Christie phase when I was in highschool, and then just stopped reading them for some reason. (Maybe I ran out of books? But she wrote a lot. I don't remember.) Anyway, happily, aside from Murder on the Orient Express, I don't seem to remember whodunnit from any of them either. I'm thinking some re-reading might be in my near future.
I went through a major Agatha Christie phase when I was in highschool, and then just stopped reading them for some reason. (Maybe I ran out of books? But she wrote a lot. I don't remember.) Anyway, happily, aside from Murder on the Orient Express, I don't seem to remember whodunnit from any of them either. I'm thinking some re-reading might be in my near future.
November 27, 2025
Who doesn’t love a well-written crime story? Even more when it’s written by the empress of them all, Agatha Christie.
With a Christmas mystery to set the tone, followed by the perfect murder, then a bunkum crime, a blackberry tart case, and finally a clever conclusion…
Agatha’s Poirot keeps you on your toes with light prose and brilliant leaps of logic.
She’ll make you laugh with her perfectly placed humor “He was an extremely English-looking person. Tall, cadaverous and unemotional“, and her quirky descriptions.
Wonderfully perfect for a winter evening in.
With a Christmas mystery to set the tone, followed by the perfect murder, then a bunkum crime, a blackberry tart case, and finally a clever conclusion…
Agatha’s Poirot keeps you on your toes with light prose and brilliant leaps of logic.
She’ll make you laugh with her perfectly placed humor “He was an extremely English-looking person. Tall, cadaverous and unemotional“, and her quirky descriptions.
Wonderfully perfect for a winter evening in.
February 24, 2023
For me, it's always a pleasure to read Christie and I still am able to give myself to the plot so much and read just for pleasure that I'm pleasantly surprised when the murderer is revealed and I'm almost always wrong. I like the side characters, the setting, the humor, the set up, the reveals, the whole thing! This collection of short stories was extremely entertaining, and I got to meet the character of Miss Marple for the first time!
March 26, 2013
Monsieur Hercule Poirot + Miss Jane Marple = 5 STAR NOVEL
February 3, 2017
A good mix of stories. Some Poirot and Marple appear here. Recommended to Christie fans.
March 25, 2019
Agatha Christie never disappoints
July 6, 2021
This is a selection of short stories including Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot stories. I almost always enjoy reading Agatha Christie books.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews