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Endless Night
"Some are born to sweet delight/Some are born to endless night." —William Blake
Agatha Christie wrote Endless Night in 1967, and it is one of her greatest—and most unusual—novels. Creepy, malevolent, and claustrophobic, it is a story about choices, the nature of good and evil, and grim retribution. Mike Rogers had a childhood fantasy about what life would be like as an adult: he'd have a beautiful wife, they would live in a beautiful home, and this would be a peaceful and deserved reward for a turbulent early life. When he meets Ellie Gutman at a lovely, remote spot known as Gypsy's Acre, suddenly it is all within his grasp. However, things are not as idyllic as they seem —local legend has it that the land is cursed, and several terrible accidents have occurred there. Mike and Ellie pay no attention to these tales: but when they move into their new home, the curse suddenly seems to come to life and they find themselves in grave danger. .
Dramatised for BBC Radio 4 by Joy Wilkinson and starring Jonathan Forbes and Lizzy Watts, this is a menacing drama that perfectly evokes the atmosphere of Agatha Christie's brooding, malevolent tale, infused with passion, hauntings, and grim retribution. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 30 August 2008.
1 CD. 1 hr.
Agatha Christie wrote Endless Night in 1967, and it is one of her greatest—and most unusual—novels. Creepy, malevolent, and claustrophobic, it is a story about choices, the nature of good and evil, and grim retribution. Mike Rogers had a childhood fantasy about what life would be like as an adult: he'd have a beautiful wife, they would live in a beautiful home, and this would be a peaceful and deserved reward for a turbulent early life. When he meets Ellie Gutman at a lovely, remote spot known as Gypsy's Acre, suddenly it is all within his grasp. However, things are not as idyllic as they seem —local legend has it that the land is cursed, and several terrible accidents have occurred there. Mike and Ellie pay no attention to these tales: but when they move into their new home, the curse suddenly seems to come to life and they find themselves in grave danger. .
Dramatised for BBC Radio 4 by Joy Wilkinson and starring Jonathan Forbes and Lizzy Watts, this is a menacing drama that perfectly evokes the atmosphere of Agatha Christie's brooding, malevolent tale, infused with passion, hauntings, and grim retribution. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 30 August 2008.
1 CD. 1 hr.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 10, 2015
Rich girl, regular bloke fall in love and build their dream house
Well, I sure didn't see THAT one coming!
Mrs. Christie, I am putty in your hands.
Well, I sure didn't see THAT one coming!
Mrs. Christie, I am putty in your hands.
September 15, 2016
3.5 Didn't really get it, but the parts I got I really liked
January 26, 2022
The audiobook adaption was way too abridged, I’ll have to read the full book at some point.
August 9, 2013
Well-written, but too dark and twisted for my tastes. It appears that some "mystery" novels breathe life into numerous grossly evil characters, whereas the life is literally snuffed out of the innocent and the good.
March 6, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2015
Excellent audio narration. A chilling story.
August 22, 2022
Listen to Endless Night on Audio loved it and didn't expect the twist at the end and the play version is brilliant
January 18, 2025
While of course the book is better (and one of my favorite stand alone novels) this radio drama was very well done! It really captures the mood of the original novel, from the title coming from a William Blake poem, the Gypsy curse and the epic love story. In true Christie style, the genius is in the plot twist. Which was only hidden because we'd rather not see the truth staring us in the face.
December 29, 2025
Audiobook
Narrator: Jonathan Forbes
Surprisingly effective adaptation even with being so short.
It's Dame Agatha so it's an automatic 5 stars because of nostalgia.
Narrator: Jonathan Forbes
Surprisingly effective adaptation even with being so short.
It's Dame Agatha so it's an automatic 5 stars because of nostalgia.
October 10, 2025
Eh, the book was better. As creative as they were in using specific sound effects in capturing the narrator's state of mind, the play itself just wasn't able to fully encapsulate the atmosphere of the original novel.
February 10, 2025
For me, "Endless night" is an outstanding and impressive novel for several reasons.
First of all, I really enjoyed that it was not the typical murder mystery. The novel shows that Christie's psychological thrillers are often underrated and that she is capable of switching gears very easily even with 76 years old. The novel also demonstrates how ingenious and versatile she was because it combines several older plots (e.g. Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death on the Nile) with a deep foundational knowledge of psychological disorders, which I appreciated a lot.
But most of all, the character of Michael Rogers captures the pulse of Christie's time and the social problems of the youth so precise that I couldn't believe that a woman her age wrote that character.
The whole story left me utterly amazed and deepend my love for Christie even more.
A five star read and one of my favourite Christie's.
First of all, I really enjoyed that it was not the typical murder mystery. The novel shows that Christie's psychological thrillers are often underrated and that she is capable of switching gears very easily even with 76 years old. The novel also demonstrates how ingenious and versatile she was because it combines several older plots (e.g. Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death on the Nile) with a deep foundational knowledge of psychological disorders, which I appreciated a lot.
But most of all, the character of Michael Rogers captures the pulse of Christie's time and the social problems of the youth so precise that I couldn't believe that a woman her age wrote that character.
The whole story left me utterly amazed and deepend my love for Christie even more.
A five star read and one of my favourite Christie's.
October 9, 2018
I was a little disappointed in this book. It was short and well read but it didn't really catch my interest very well. This plot was good but I just couldn't really get with the characters. Total twist at the end that completely caught me off-guard. Did not see that coming. Good for any time reading and passing time. I think it was the perspective or how it was read. I'm not quite sure, but it doesn't put me off my Agatha. The others I've read by this author I have enjoyed, so I'll maybe try reading this myself or try listening to this in a different format. Good Luck
October 14, 2013
I hate giving 3 star rating on a Christie book but I really don't think this story deserves more than 3. The book is divided into 3 parts. It's not til the 3rd part that the story gets interesting. If this book was written by anyone else I doubt I would have made it to the 3rd part.. just didn't hold my interest at all.
February 11, 2017
What's not to love in an Agatha Christie novel.
January 31, 2021
I read and listened to different variants of this novel before however, this execution was overwhelming and thrilling. I have goosebumps
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews