Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder’s Reviews > While the Light Lasts > Status Update

9. While the Light Lasts *** A woman and her 2nd husband are touring a tobacco farm in Rhodesia, Africa when she discovers to her shock that her 1st husband who had supposedly died during the war is in fact alive. First published in the Novel Magazine in April 1924. The plot was later used as the basis for the Mary Westmacott novel “Giant’s Bread” (1930).

8. The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest **** Hercule Poirot is asked to solve the mystery of how a dead man came to be found in a chest in the home of a man who was the rival for his wife’s affections. First published in The Strand Magazine in January 1932. Later revised as The Mystery of the Spanish Chest and collected in "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées" (1960).

7. Within a Wall *** A painter’s love is divided between two woman, but one of them is not his wife. He paints both their portraits, but one painting is flat and without life whereas the other is full of life. Then one woman dies and a secret is revealed. First published in the Royal Magazine on October 2025.

5. The Lonely God **** A meet-cute story of two lonely people who are drawn towards a rather neglected statue in the British Museum which they think of as the Lonely God. After some initial encounters, the woman suddenly disappears, but the man is inspired to do a painting which may reunite them. First published in the Royal Magazine in July 1926.

4. Christmas Adventure **** Hercule Poirot attends a Christmas gathering and receives a secret message warning him “Don’t eat any plum-pudding.” Meanwhile the other guests are planning a mock murder in order to trick Poirot. First published in The Sketch in December 1923 as The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding .

3. The Edge *** Clare Halliwell discovers that Vivien Lee, her romantic rival, is having an extramarital affair and debates whether to reveal it to Vivien’s husband Sir Gerald Lee and then hopefully claim his affections when he is divorced and on the rebound. The two women have a fateful encounter by the side of a dangerous cliffside known as “The Edge.” First published in Pearson’s Magazine in February 1927.

2. The Actress *** Actress Olga Stormer is subject to a blackmail attempt when an old Chicago acquaintance discovers her on a London stage. She plans to turn the tables on the blackmailer with the help of an understudy. First published in the Novel Magazine in 1923 with the title “A Trap for the Unwary.”

1. The House of Dreams *** A man has a recurring dream of a house that he cannot enter and then falls in love with a woman who says she can never marry. Adapted and revised from Christie’s early story “The House of Beauty” (pre-WWI) which was "the first thing I ever wrote that showed any sign of promise.” First published in Sovereign Magazine January 1926.