The Golden Ball and Other Stories

by Agatha Christie

Short story mysteries from the grande dame of the genre

Genres: Mystery, Agatha Christie, Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Crime, Audiobook

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Agatha 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)

Reviews

[Anne]

A good option if you're looking for a collection of shorts without any of Christie's famous detectives.
These are all stand-alone shorts with no recurring characters in them, and they range from supernatural tales to romances, mysteries, and thrillers. The quality varies but still worth checking out if you're a superfan.

The Listerdale Mystery
The widowed Mrs. St. Vincent lives with her grown son and daughter in a boarding house. They used to have a grand manor but now they live in genteel poverty after her husband's poor speculation left them with nothing. At her wit's end and with nothing left to lose, she contacts a house agent that is advertising a rental that is too good to be true, and she actually gets it.
It even comes with a near-perfect butler, Quentin, to take care of the daily hassles.




Is something sinister afoot? I love this story!

The Girl in the Train
Do you believe in love at first sight?
After too many late nights spent on the town, George Rowland gets fired and cut off by his wealthy uncle. He decides to hop on a train and take a trip to Rowland Castle in the hopes that, even though he only shares a last name, they will somehow greet him with open arms.
You can clearly see why his uncle tossed him out.



The Manhood of Edward Robinson
A nice young man who is henpecked by his fiance has the adventure of a lifetime.
And it changes his outlook on the world. He learns a little bit of confidence can go a long way.



Jane In Search Of A Job
Princess swap!
Sort of.
A young woman (Jane) who needs some money answers and an advertisement looking for someone who fits her description that can speak French. As a reader, we know this is ALWAYS a bad idea, but our heroine has yet to figure that out.



A Fruitful Sunday
A couple on a date pulls off the side of the road, buys a basket of fruit, and finds a ruby necklace. They also find a newspaper and read about a big jewel robbery
Now they've got to decide what to do with it.



The Golden Ball
A woman comes up with an elaborate plan to find a man who is useful in a crisis.
I'm not saying you should rely on a dude to protect you, but I have to admit that I probably wouldn't think much of my husband if he didn't jump up and tell me to stay in the bedroom while he checks out the weird noise in the middle of the night.
Now, will I actually stay in the bedroom or am I tiptoeing down the steps behind him with a baseball bat?
Silly man. I'm not going to let the weird noise eat him.



The Rajah's Emerald
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.



Swan Song
A famous opera singer gets her revenge.
It's one of those stories that men would do well to pay attention to, as it shows how long a woman will wait to get payback.
Sleep with one eye open, sir.



The Hound of Death
It was a bit convoluted at times as it revolved around a priestess of an ancient religion who was reincarnated as a nun. She blew some shit up to save her convent from the Nazis. However, when an unscrupulous doctor tries to harness her power, things go a bit awry for him.



The Gipsy
Fate, fortunetelling, reincarnation, and true love.
Dickie Carpenter is terrified of gypsies. Why?
He's been having dreams since he was a child of a gypsy that frightens him. When he runs into her in his waking hours as an adult, it changes the course of his life.



The Lamp
A widow moves into a haunted house with her father and young son.
The price is right and Mrs. Lancaster doesn't believe in ghosts, so why not?



The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
WEIRD.
But I'm not gonna lie, I kind of dug it.
This time around when Christie did supernatural, she DID supernatural. Like, you need to suspend disbelief for this one.
Ok, so this doctor gets called in by his friend to check out this case of amnesia. Or something.
This dude not only completely forgot who he was, but he also isn't even acting like a human anymore.



The Call of Wings
A morality tale. And not a terribly good one.
I've always found those the rich must give away their money to find true happiness a bag of bullshit.
Should you do good things for others if you have more? Yes. If you are in a position to help, then help. I don't think that means you need to feel guilty for having money, though. Unless you are unscrupulous and are harming people to get it, then you're just a lucky bastard and you should enjoy.



Magnolia Blossom
A woman is leaving her husband and running away with her lover when she gets news that her husband is in serious trouble. A very melancholy story about love and duty.



Next to a Dog
What would you do for your best four-legged friend?
Next to a Dog tells the tale of a young widow who is caring for her aging, ailing old dog. He was a gift from her now-dead husband and the only thing in the world she cares about.
She could take a better job, but it would require her to travel and she just can't bear to part with her terrier.
This was Christie's bittersweet homage to dog lovers like herself.



This a good selection of shorts for any fan of Agatha Christie.
Recommended.

[Pam]

Had these stories been handed to me without a cover I’m not sure I would have guessed they were written by Agatha Christie. Sure, they were of the right time period, but except for being intelligent and clever writing, little screams Agatha Christie. There was only one murder in the collection and it was not all about solving the crime. Several of the stories deal with the occult or strange phenomena. Those would be my least favorite here, although Christie tried many types of writing and was never bad.

My favorite ones here were written in the 1920s and often had clever young things, young men in conflict with their stuffy fathers or uncles, or dealt with young women needing to make a way for themselves in a world that wasn’t looking to employ them. Obviously marriage was the acceptable way for nice young ladies to get by. Agatha was having none of that. Some of the young people are willing to cut a few corners of course.

What many of these characters remind me of are Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence. They are light stories but not silly and are genuinely pleasurable to read.

4.5 stars

[Vikas Singh]

A delightful collection of short stories by Agatha Christie. None of the stories feature any of her characters like Poirot, Miss Marple, Mr. Quinn of Parker Pyne. Despite that stories have intrigue and keep you glued till the end. One of the stories seems to be inspiration behind the Japanese movie-Grudge. One story features James Bond as well, though only the name is common.

[shanghao]

I enjoyed the narration more than the stories. Saruman Christopher Lee's narration needed some getting used to, he's got that old-world echo thing going on.

Hugh Fraser, on the other hand, was a fantastic rout from the get-go. From accents to impersonations, he injected much entertainment and a joie de vivre throughout.

The stories themselves ranged from patronisingly silly to satisfyingly justified. There's not much mystery here, and these were some of the most snobbish of Christie's stories, and I've never got that feeling from her other stories (and I'm a Christie junkie). Those who came from 'the right lineage' or old money, regardless of how poor they were, remained dignified and were handed their happy endings, while those from lower classes would behave in a less-than-tasteful manner regardless of how rich they were.

But the short stories do bring you to a time when characters behaved like classical fictional characters, and the silly stories (those read by Hugh Fraser) were light-hearted escapism. The stories read by Christopher Lee were either serious or spooky, plus his narration could get boring at times, like listening to a Victorian-age principal (not that I'd know how such a person would sound like).

Worth a listen just for Hugh Fraser's performances, but not much else.

[Julie]

This short story collection was published in the US in 1971. All but one of the stories it contains were first published in magazines in the UK in the 1920s and in the UK short story collections The Listerdale Mystery (1934) and The Hound of Death. (1933).

I'm reading Agatha Christie in publication order because I've always wanted to read everything she wrote. Despite the fact this collection was published in 1971, a majority of the stories it contains were published early in Christie's writing career. So I'm reviewing it early in my journey through her stories.

There are 15 stories in this collection:

The Listerdale Mystery
The Girl in the Train
The Manhood of Edward Robinson
Jane in Search of a Job
A Fruitful Sunday
The Golden Ball
The Raja's Emerald
Swan Song
The Hound of Death
The Gypsy
The Lamp
The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
The Call of Wings
Magnolia Blossom
Next to a Dog

The Listerdale Mystery - first published in The Grand Magazine in December 1925 (UK) and later included in The Listerdale Mystery short story collection in 1934. An upper class family that has fallen down on their luck rents a very nice town house for next to nothing...but is there something sinister going on?

The Girl in the Train - first published in The Grand Magazine in February 1924 and included in The Listerdale Mystery collection. George Rowland is a bit lazy and gets into a row with his uncle. He sets out on a journey to a town he finds in a tourist book -- Rowland's Castle. But....he finds a bit of an adventure instead! Adapted for television in 1982 for The Agatha Christie Hour (episode 3).

The Manhood of Edward Robinson - An impetuous man who feels a bit controlled by his fiance, Maud, wins $500 in a contest on goes on a bit of an unexpected adventure. This story was first published in The Grand Magazine in December 1924 in the UK, and also in The Listerdale Mystery. This story was adapted for television in 1982 for The Agatha Christie Hour (episode 10)

Jane in Search of a Job - Jane Cleveland needs a job. She sees an interesting advert, and ends up on quite the adventure! First published in the UK in The Grand Magazine in August 1924, and later included in The Listerdale Mystery. It was adapted for television in 1982 for The Agatha Christie Hour (episode 9). Some changes were made to the story, but the changes are minor.

A Fruitful Sunday - A Housemaid on her Sunday off is tempted to make a poor decision. This story was first published in the Daily Mail in August 1928 and later included in The Listerdale Mystery. No adaptations for radio or television for this story were found.

The Golden Ball - After being fired by his wealthy uncle for being less than dependable, George Dundas meets a very interesting society girl who asks him to marry her, leading to a bizarre chain of events. This story was first published under the title Playing The Innocent in the Daily Mail in August 1929, and later published as The Golden Ball in The Listerdale Mystery story collection. No radio adaptations of this story were found. It was adapted for television by NBC in 1950 (Fireside Theatre Season 2 episode 18). I could not find video anywhere of this episode. It was not for lack of trying!!

The Rajah's Emerald - James Bond travels to the beach with his girlfriend, but feels slighted by her. A rash decision leads to unexpected events. First published in Red Magazine in July 1926 in the UK, and later included in The Listerdale Mystery short story collection. I found no radio or film adaptations for this story.

Swan Song - An opera star agrees to a private performance, and gives the ultimate Swan Song. This story was first published in The Grand Magazine in September 1926 (UK) and later included in the short story collection, The Listerdale Mystery (1934). This story has never been adapted for television. BBC4 Radio did a dramatization of this story in the early 2000s, but it was "modernized'' with major changes to the plot and characters.

The Hound of Death - An American journalist investigates a WWI legend to find if it is merely a story or the truth. This short story first appeared in 1933 in the story collection by the same name. BBC4 Radio "modernized'' the story for a radio drama in 2010, so changes were made in the plot and characters. The story has never been adapted for television.

The Gypsy - After the breakup of his engagement, a man confides in a friend about a fear that has had an effect on him his whole life. This short, spooky tale was first published in the UK in The Hound of Death short story collection in 1933. This story was adapted by BBC4 Radio, but the story was "modernized'' so changes were made to plot and characters.

The Lamp - A widow rents a very nice home at a ridiculously cheap rate, but the house comes with a ghost. This story first appeared in The Hound of Death story collection in 1933 (UK). BBC4 radio adapted this story for BBC 4 Extra: Haunted in 1984 (Episode 15 from July 7, 1984). It has never been adapted for television. (You can find this episode of BBC Extra: Haunted by searching on Internet Archive -- it's excellent!)

The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael - Dr Edward Carstairs is called in to investigate a case. It seems the personality and behavior of young Sir Arthur Carmichael changed overnight and others in the house hear the strange yowling of a cat at night. This story was first published in The Hound of Death in 1933 (UK). It has never been adapted for television or radio.

The Call of Wings -Silas Hamer is a happy man. He's made a fortune and has the sort of life he wants. But, when he witnesses a death, he starts wondering if he really has what he needs. Death could take it all from him. Then, he hears a street musician playing a song and his outlook, and his fate, is strangely changed. This story was first published in The Hound of Death story collection in 1933 (UK). I found no record of adaptations of this story for radio or television.

Magnolia Blossom - A woman is about to run away with her lover, when she learns her husband's business concerns are about to fail. She rushes home to see if she can help...and learns that choices have consequences. She learns a lot about herself, her lover....and her husband. This story was first published in The Royal Magazine in 1926. It was adapted for television by The Agatha Christie Hour in 1982 (episode 6) and was also later "modernized'' in a BBC4 Radio drama (Agatha Christie: Twelve Radio Mysteries).

Next to a Dog - A poor widow will do just about anything to keep her beloved wire-haired terrier. This story first appeared in this collection. Agatha Christie had a personal fondness for wire-haired terriers and even dedicated one of her books to her dog, Peter. The story was included in the later UK story collection, Problem at Pollensa Bay (1991).

I liked most of the stories in this collection. The final three really weren't to my taste -- but 12 out of 15 is pretty good! Not every story is for every reader....but only three of these fit into that "not-for-me'' category. Very enjoyable story collection, overall.

I listened to the audio book format of this story collection. Most of the stories were narrated by Hugh Fraser (who played Hastings in the Poirot television show). The stories from Hound of Death were narrated by Christopher Lee -- very fitting!

[Karina]

I can't bear to write a quote from each short story but I will say this was a fun read. Christie has mystery in 20 pages or less and does it so well. There was mystery, superstition, love, betrayal, robberies, you name it she did it. She was such a one-of-a-kind author with so much imagination and being perceptive to people's true selves.

I love short stories and this did not disappoint which, I will say, I am surprised as I have never read this style from her.

[Jennifer Girardin]

The Golden Ball and Other Short Stories by Agatha Christie is fun and light reading for the Christie fan.
Great if you're short on time, or want something quick to read, these stories are lighter than her longer works, and have less character development, but are good, traditional mysteries.
I particularly enjoyed A Fruitful Sunday, and The Listerdale Mystery.

[Ivonne Rovira]

The Golden Ball and Other Stories is actually an anthology of some of the short stories that appeared in three previous works: The Listerdale Mystery And Eleven Other Stories, The Hound of Death and Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories. The Audible edition has Poirot actor Hugh Fraser reading the first eight short stories and Christopher Lee reading the final seven (which aren’t as good except for one, “Magnolia Blossom”).

I found “The Manhood of Edward Robinson” delightful and “Magnolia Blossom” one of best short stories I have read, making me add an extra star for it alone. “The Girl on the Train” and “The Golden Ball” are fun, if a bit predictable. The rest can pass the time, but nothing more. Still, without the cerebral Hercules Poirot or the practical Jane Marple, Agatha Christie indulges an interest in some supernatural tales, an interesting turn in itself.

[TraceyL]

I just didn't like this collection and couldn't get I to it. Christie's books are always hit or miss for me. There were several times where I finished a story and didn't know what the mystery even was, let alone who did it. The narrators were ok. I don't think it was their fault that I didn't like the book.

[David]

For Christie fans, this lesser-known collection of 15 early-career stories (previously published in various places) will most likely come, by turns, as a refreshing / intriguing change of pace. 

It starts off in an inviting manner with 'The Listerdale Mystery' - a pleasant (almost-) parody that turns a familiar Christie tactic on its head. Very enjoyable. 

Then a very surprising thing happens, as we are introduced to (or reacquainted with) Agatha Christie, The Humorist (!); a character-side we rarely get (at least, overtly) from the author. Stories 2-7 - while still in the mystery realm but on a low-simmer - are remarkably lighthearted... and FUNNY! It's as though Lady A. wrote each one directly upon finishing a read of a P.G. Wodehouse novel. 

Though all 6 are of equal breezy / entertaining / comic quality, my favorite is 'Jane in Search of a Job' - and that's mainly due to the titular character; one of Christie's devil-may-care female creations who is simply irresistible:

In moderation Jane did not object to crime. The papers had been full lately of the exploits of various girl bandits. Jane had seriously thought of becoming one if all else failed.

As 'intermission', we move into the tonal shift of 'Swan Song' - which seems a revenge story on opera divas. ~ and which prepares us for the more serious second-half of the collection.

This is where we're given 5 tales of The Supernatural - each one expertly handled, and where the genre is taken much more seriously than AC would do in such novels as 'The Sittaford Mystery', 'Peril at End House', 'Sparkling Cyanide' and 'The Pale Horse'. Genuinely spooky stuff!

The volume's last 2 stories are the reason for the 4-star instead of 5-star review. It's not that they're badly written stories (one about an ill-fated love affair, the other about devotion to a dog) but the 'punch'-factor seems lacking. 

[Jane]

This is a great collection of Agatha Christie's short stories. This collection has moments of romance, moments of mystery and moments of suspense. I enjoyed each story in this collection. The only reason I did not give the book 5 stars is the occasional moments of cultural bigotry that is included. Anytime you read a book that was written in the past, in this case in 1971, you have to remember the opinions back then were not as they should be.
All in all, though I loved reading this book and would recommend it to all.

[Dr. Laurel Young]

The Golden Ball is a collection of early Agatha stories from the 1920s and '30s. It is highly atypical in that there is scarcely a mystery to be found, at least in the strict sense. Instead, we see Christie explore themes of romance, suspense, and the supernatural, sometimes with a flavor of mystery or a crime of passion involved. To be frank, some of the stories are overwrought, with characters of impossible beauty and/or wealth behaving in a melodramatic fashion. Lovers are united or reunited or torn asunder, death comes tragically or appositely, ghosts haunt old mansions, and everyone makes very grand speeches! I found some of the stories, notably The Listerdale Mystery (in which the lovers are not who you expect), to be quirkily charming, but I would never have guessed that any of them were written by Agatha Christie. And yet, Dame Agatha had a strong romantic strain in her personality--she generally confined herself to writing romances under her nom de plume, Mary Westmacott, and made her own name synonymous with classic detective fiction. These stories have the value of showing the average Christie fan, who may not have read any Westmacotts, the softer side of Agatha.

[Natalie]

Another fun short story collection!

I'd already heard most of these in other collections, but it's always fun to revisit, especially when Hugh Fraser is reading.

When I saw that Christopher Lee read some of these stories, I was excited. Who wouldn't love to have Sarumon read them some bedtime stories? Lee has this gorgeous deep, voice, but, and I don't really know how to say this, but to say, it was too deep. It was so deep I couldn't focus on the words I was so lost in the tone. So while I'll continue loving Christopher Lee, I don't think I want him to read me anymore stories.

[Rebecca]

A little too cozy for me, but still a decent collection of short mysteries.

[Kinga]

I can’s believe I managed to find Agatha Christie short stories that I haven’t read before! It’s also funny how so many of her stories here involved jewelry.

[Lady Wesley]

Review of the audiobook.
These short stories are not exactly mysteries of the type we expect from Agatha Christie, but they were interesting nonetheless. There is a touch of the supernatural, suspense, and even romance. Hugh Fraser does his usual excellent narration, and so does Christopher Lee, which was a surprise, as I have not encountered him as a narrator before.

1.1 The Listerdale Mystery
1.2 The Girl in The Train
1.3 The Manhood of Edward Robinson
1.4 Jane in Search of a Job
1.5 A Fruitful Sunday
1.6 The Golden Ball
1.7 The Rajah's Emerald
1.8 Swan Song
1.9 The Hound of Death
1.10 The Gypsy
1.11 The Lamp
1.12 The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
1.13 The Call of Wings
1.14 Magnolia Blossom
1.15 Next to a Dog

[William Adam Reed]

3.5 stars rounded down. This collection of 15 short stories was published in America in 1971. The stories were written in the 1920s or 1930s however. The stories are kind of unique in Christie's output because they are not murder mysteries. They are mostly stories of suspense and intrigue. Here's a brief breakdown and ranking of each story.
1) The Listerdale Mystery- The St. Vincent family are hard up for money but want to keep up appearances so the daughter Barbara can land a rich husband. They are able to find a very cheap house that used to be owned by Lord Listerdale who has since disappeared to Africa 7/10.
2) The Girl in the Train-George has recently had a fight with his rich uncle and decides to take a train ride to a vacation trip. A lovely girl named Elizabeth enters his cabin on the train and is frantic to be hidden from a pursuing man. George complies and then later is then given a spying mission by Elizabeth 8/10.
3) The Manhood of Edward Robinson- Edward is engaged to Maud who dominates the meek Edward. Edward enters a drawing and wins 500 pounds. He decides to use the money to splurge on buying a sports car, which Maud will not approve of. While driving in the countryside, he mistakenly ends up with a fabulous diamond necklace which starts off a series of adventures which help him become more decisive and manly 8/10.
4) Jane In Search of a Job- Jane, hard up for money, sees an ad in the paper which offers her a chance to eventually impersonate a rich visiting princess who is under threat from Communist assassins. Jane would be the decoy. Jane accepts this risky job, which involves her in a kidnapping adventure. One of the two best stories in the collection 9/10.
5) A Fruitful Sunday- Dorothy and her man Edward take a drive out to the countryside, where they buy a basket of fruit. Hidden at the bottom of the basket, they find an expensive ruby necklace. What should they do? Give it back or try to profit off the opportunity? 6/10.
6) The Golden Ball- George has just been fired from his job by his uncle from loafing at work. George goes for a walk through the city and is picked up by Mary driving her car. Mary asks George if he would like to marry her. They go to look for a house in the countryside. They find a nice one, but the man living there draws his gun and demands that they go upstairs. This story is highly improbable but has a similar set up to "The Girl in the Train" 5/10.
7) The Rajah's Emerald- James Bond (not that one!) goes on a holiday with his girlfriend, Grace, and her three wealthy society friends and one of the girl's brother. Grace treats James with distance because he is from the working class and doesn't seem to fit in with her upper class friends. James goes swimming, but when he changes back into his street clothes, he has somehow attained a very valuable emerald, belonging to a visiting rajah that has gone missing. A satisfying conclusion to the story 8/10.
8) Swan Song- Paula Nazorkoff is a famous opera singer. She is traveling through the English countryside and will even give an operatic performance at a wealthy patron's estate. The man who will perform "Tosca" with her suddenly becomes ill. This gives Paula a chance to call on an old acquaintance to help her with her performance and to settle a score 6/10.
9) The Hound of Death- Supernatural story about William Ryan investigating a story of a convent in Belgium where during World War I a group of German soldiers were mysteriously killed, when it seems a nun called down "fire from heaven" to consume them. This nun has since relocated to England after the war and here is William's chance to set the record straight 6/10.
10) The Gypsy- Dickie Carpenter tells his friend Mcfarlane about his aversion to gypsies. It seems like Dickie has had run ins with gypsies all throughout his life and they have foretold negative events in Dickie's life, which he tried to ignore. These events came to pass and Mcfarlane wonders if the gypsies have similar plans for him as well 5/10.
11) The Lamp- Chilling story about a family, Mrs. Lancaster, her dad and her young son who have moved into a seemingly haunted house. The boy can hear the cries of a child who had apparently died there years before. Yikes! 4/10.
12)- The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael- Odd story about Dr. Carstairs visiting the home of Sir Arthur Carmichael. Carmichael seems to have serious psychological issues. These issues seem to have resulted from the death of the family cat. Carstairs sees the ghost of the cat walking around the estate 5/10.
13)- The Call of Wings- Silas Hamer is a very wealthy man. One night he sees a legless man playing the flute. After this episode, Silas begins to have dreams about being lifted into the air. These dreams always cause him to have leg pains. Silas believes he must find the flute playing man to explain the nature of his dreams 6/10.
14)-Magnolia Blossom- Theodora has fallen in love with Vincent, and leaves her husband, Richard, to be with him. On the way out of town, Theodora hears the news of her husband's company's financial collapse. Theodora feels that she must return home to support her husband. However, Richard has an idea that involves Theodora in rescuing his financial assets. One of the two best stories in the collection 9/10.
15)- Next To a Dog- Joyce Lambert lives alone with her dog Terry since her husband died in World War I. However, Terry is an old dog that requires much care. Joyce cannot afford to pay for the treatments that Terry needs, so she conspires to marry Halliday, a wealthy man that used to work with her husband 5/10.

I'm reading all of Christie's works in chronological order. I'm getting close to the end of the journey. Christie's skills as a writer had gone into decline in the 70's due to her issues with dementia. Therefore, it was nice to return to stories from an earlier period of her writing, when her stories were not as sentimental as her 70s output tend to be (see "Passage to Frankfurt" and "By the Pricking of My Thumbs"). My favorite Christie's tend to be murder mysteries. I don't think she does the supernatural stories as well. A few of these stories did really satisfy me though. I like her novels better than the short stories overall. I like the deeper character development and the more intricate plotting of the novels. Not a bad diversion though.

[Jenny]

*****3.5*****

“Magnolia Blossom”: 4 stars. I liked the ending, which was bittersweet and made sense for the story.
“Next to a Dog”: 3 stars. The ending was really awkward and abrupt

Mini reviews for the other stories in updates.

Overall, I give the book 3.5 stars because the first half stories aren’t good. They are cliched and predictable and just fall flat. Then, the stories improve dramatically from “Swan Song” on. Good editing to keep the best stories for last, I guess. It was fun to read Christie again, and it was cool to see different sides to her since these were short stories and not her typical murder mystery novel. I like that she dove into the supernatural in some stories. It was interesting overall.

[Shiloah]

This book contained many different types of stories aside from her usual offerings. I loved them all! From the psychological, to magical, to ghost story, this book seems to offer quite a lot. The last story wrapped it up perfectly.

[Sharon Weinschreider]

Most short story collections are uneven in quality and this is no exception. There were some excellent stories , some that were okay, and there were some that were just weird.

The audiobook, narrated by Hugh Fraser and Christopher Lee, helped everything!

[Nanosynergy]

Fifteen Agatha Christie short stories. A mixture of romance mysteries with Christie's plucky heroine and horror/supernatural.
-The Listerdale Mystery
-The Girl in The Train
-The Manhood of Edward Robinson
-Jane in Search of a Job
-A Fruitful Sunday
-The Golden Ball
-The Rajah's Emerald
-Swan Song
-The Hound of Death
-The Gypsy
-The Lamp
-The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
-The Call of Wings
-Magnolia Blossom
-Next to a Dog

[Astrid Lim]

I like the first half part of the book (in Indonesian translation, most of them are taken from the Listerdale Mystery) - they're hilarious, full of great sense of humor, witty and surprising, they remind me of delightful stories by Roald Dahl. But the second half of the book is too full of supernatural stories (taken from The Hound of Death), and I don't enjoy them as much as the first half part of the book. I wish Christie wrote more hilarious stories. She really had great sense of humor!

[Chris]

I am a big fan of Agatha Christie, but this collection was very hit or miss for me, mostly miss. Not a real mystery in the bunch although a couple of decent old style thrillers. The rest were IMHO silly romances that relied on ridiculous coincidences or supernatural fantasy tales that didn’t work at all.

Two stories that I enjoyed: Swan Song—an excellent thriller and Magnolia Blossom which in a way reminded me of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.

[Erth]

now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

[Bill]

The Golden Ball and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by crime master Agatha Christie. As a first comment, none of the stories include Christie's most famous creations, Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. They are basically standalone mysteries, which makes them more (maybe) interesting for that.

In my poor old mind, the stories start off kind of fluffy.... cute. A guy is fired from his job by his uncle. He meets a pretty girl. They get involved in a mystery. They fall in love. All ends well. While quite different in their own way, the first few stories were kind of like that and they were quite enjoyable. They showed Christie's skill with the short story, her ability to get into her characters, her plot and move the story along nicely, to come up with a quick, satisfying result.

But the tone changes a bit as the stories progress, maybe with Swan Song. Swan Song features a famous opera soprano, Mme Nazoroff, who is a prima donna giving a number of performances in London. She is offered an opportunity to also perform at a private estate and agrees. But she has a darker motive, which I won't ruin, but it is not quite like the other stories. The next few stories are almost mystical in their tone. They made me think of AC Doyle, when he wrote his tales of suspense, or HG Wells with the Invisible Man. Now Christie's stories are really horror but the provide a chill and a much darker tone. The Hound of Death is about a Belgian (she does like her Belgians) who escaped from Belgium during the war where an incident occurred in her church, something haunted, a hound??

The Gypsy is a story of foretelling, once again, not scary, but quite mystical and quite entertaining. In The Lamp, a mother, her young son and her father move into an old house that's been empty for a long time. It has a history, a young boy unintentionally abandoned by his father who died within. They can hear his pitter patter footsteps, her own son sees his spirit and ultimately, there is a sad, touching tragedy.

The Strange Case of Mr. Carmichael is quite creepy with two friends trying to help a young man, Carmichael regain his memory, his senses while something strange is going on in his estate; oriental mysticism, a 'dead cat'.... The Call of Wings is another spiritual, mystical story about a rich man, happy with his life, who sees a legless man playing a haunting tune one night and it affects him greatly. It ultimately makes him change his life drastically, to stop the conflict between his soul and his affinity for wealth.

Magnolia Blossom tells the story of a woman leaving her husband to be with the man she has fallen in love with. She discovers that her husband is about to lose everything, his money, his business so she returns to stand by him, with interesting consequences. And the final story, Next to a Dog.. well, it broke my heart, even if it does have a satisfying ending. A woman struggling to find work. She's lost everything, her husband, killed in the war, her money, gambled away by her husband, everything except her dog and she won't take a job that means she'll have to leave her dog; 12 years old, aging, slightly decrepit. I won't go any further, but it was a touching, tender, sad / happy, beautiful story.

The change in tone and type of story made this move up from a very good, entertaining collection of stories to a quite excellent, engrossing collection. Christie is truly a master story teller (4.0 stars)

[Sophia]

Many years ago, I read every Agatha Christie I could get my hands on. Some stayed with me more than others- and, some had the advantage of being adapted to film to help me remember them. The Golden Ball and Other Stories is a collection of more obscure short stories and novellas that I couldn't remember at all. They are a smörgåsbord of choices that range from mystery to gothic to bittersweet general fiction showing off a talent that wasn't a one-trick mystery pony of a writer.

Like any story collection, some stories resonated more than others and some resonated more because of the talented Hugh Fraser and Christopher Lee narrating these in audiobook format. Though I wasn't as take with a few, these few were still fabulous storytelling and I never lost interest. I know I'll be coming back to this collection at some point and recommend it to those who want to experience Christie's writing, but not just her mysteries.

[Tara]

It’s hard to rate short stories sometimes. I’ve read enough Agatha now to understand that she is going to take me for a crazy ride within a few pages. This being no exception.

There’s adventure and romance; thrilling escapades and heavy coincidence that takes the main character out of their normal lives. I love how so many of the characters just want to be wrapped up in some type of intrigue for kicks…similar to her short stories featuring Parker Pyne but not orchestrated by anyone; just happenstance that it works out that way!

I will say though; the last story was quite sad and I’m a little peeved it was the last one. Definitely not a good way to start off the day if you’re an animal lover.

As I’m trying to read in publicized order; the Golden Ball messed me up. As I could not get my hands the original short stories published under the title The Listerdale Mystery; I’m a few decades ahead of myself. However, there were a couple of tales from The Hound of Death that I was happy to revisit.

[Tom]

The Listerdale Mystery 4⭐
The Girl in the Train 3⭐
The Manhood of Edward Robinson 5⭐
Jane in Search of a Job 4⭐
A Fruitful Sunday 4⭐
The Golden Ball 3⭐
The Rajah's Emerald 4⭐
Swan Song 5⭐
The Hound of Death 5⭐
The Gipsy 5⭐
The Lamp 5⭐
The Strange Case of Sir Andrew Carmichael 5⭐
The Call of Wings 4⭐
Magnolia Blossom 4.5⭐
Next to a Dog 3.5⭐

[Kari Selleck]

I always love Agatha Christie. These short stories were fun and quick. Although left me wanting more!
This would be a good book to leave on your nightstand and read a story every once in a while.

[Mariya]

A couple fun stories but mostly meh and downgraded further for the one story where someone was evil and had occult powers and the reasoning for this was that she was Asian.