Personal Call

by Agatha Christie

James Brent receives a chilling telephone call seemingly from beyond the grave. His dead wife, Fay, is waiting for him at the very place she met her grisly end. At his new wife’s insistence, they go to meet her as requested and in the process discover a terrifying and disturbing truth.

Genres: Agatha Christie, Mystery, Plays, Audiobook, British Literature

38 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

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

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for the BBC and broadcast live in 1954, this radio play reads well, and is easy to hear the whole production in my imagination.

There is a straightforward element, a creepy element, a twist and a turn and ultimately — is it a ghost story? a mystery?

How many radio plays have I ever read? This one makes me think I should read more.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! What a spooky short story! I wish I had read this on Halloween!

[Sophie Isabelle Gaumond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frissons et c'est pas à cause de ma clim' dans le tapis.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4:
Personal Call was written specially for radio by Agatha Christie.
A disturbing telephone call from a woman named Fay has consequences for both Richard Brent and his wife Pam.
This 1960 production stars Ivan Brandt and Barbara Lott.

Vivienne Chatterton - Mrs. Lamb
Ivan Brandt - James Brent
Beatrice Bevan - Fay
Barbara Lott - Pamela Brent
George Hagan - Inspector Narracott
James Thomason - Mr. Enderby
William Eedle - Man/Porter
Charles Simon - 2nd Porter/Station Announcer
Michael Turner - Evan/Man
Eva Stuart - Mary/Woman
Penelope Lee - Operator/Woman
Produced by David H Godfrey

https://archive.org/details/PersonalC...

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radio play with a full cast. Creepy and atmospheric.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy, ghostly, Agatha Christie tale of murdering husbands.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐
"Written after a return from the Mallowans' annual archaeological trip, Agatha Christie was praised by the producer as having included all modern radio techniques in her new play. It is the story of a man plagued by his past, who keeps receiving mysterious phone calls from a lady called Fay. The plot has echoes of many of Christie's darker supernatural works, including Endless Night and the short story Philomel Cottage. It also reintroduces the character of Inspector Narracott, who featured in The Sittaford Mystery." https://www.agathachristie.com/storie...

[Taylor's♡Shelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first introduction to this story was in the audio collection titled The Lost Plays. As much as I loved reliving this story, there's certainly a reason it was made for radio. You really need that fuzzy, static surrounding Fay's voice.

This is actually one of my favourite Christie works. That might be odd, but there's something about it that stuck with me. I think Christie performs her best in her shortest pieces. Part of me likes these characters so much that I wish they were expanded into a novel, but part of me knows it's perfect as it is.

[R. R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A play written for the radio, and one of her earlier works that included ghosts and the supernatural. Thank God she dropped this genre or else we wouldn't have been acquainted with the dear Hercule Poirot and sweet Miss Marple.

[Jaeden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well put together short play, there’s a lot to work with since it was originally a radio play if adapted visually, really good for amateur directors and actors as well paced and relatively exciting plot!

[Yinzadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Women protecting women. This radio play is included in the BBC's Agatha Christie: The Lost Plays.

[Maymunah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way this one just didn’t hit where it was supposed to. But I suppose short stories happen.

[Farhana Sufi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is fun to listen to the BBC Dramas of Christie's plays that were written for the radio specifically.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to it as a radio play from BBC radio from 1954 on YouTube, and I enjoy it so much.
It's a good short story.

[Isabella ⸙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to know what Agatha Christie was putting in these half-an-hour plays because they're so good ✋😭

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short radio play. I'll definitely be listening again around Halloween.

[Tom Lowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's never been published but the radio drama has been and I just finished it. Very creepy and I didn't figure it out until very near the end just before the denouement. Very well done and, as usual, well-written. That great lady certainly knew how to plot, and her dialogue is always spot on.

[Carmen]

This is a great short story by the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie. It is a murder mystery and a ghost story all rolled into one. I enjoyed it.