1. Crime Fiction

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding setgray ’Dials Mystery The Mysterious M Quin r The Sittaford Mystery The Hound of Dea 3 An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 77–85 Fulham Palace Road Hammersmith, London W6 8JB www.harpercollins.co.uk This Agatha Christie Signature Edition published 2002 8 First published in Great Britain. In the Poirot reading list, it lists a short story called 'Christmas Adventure' (1923). Does this refer to 'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding?'

Agatha Christie’s seasonal Poirot and Marple short story collection, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. First came a sinister warning to Poirot not to eat any plum pudding then the discovery of a corpse in a chest next, an overheard quarrel that led to murder the strange case of the dead Agatha Christie’s seasonal Poirot and Marple short story collection, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. First came a sinister warning to Poirot not to eat any plum pudding then the discovery of a corpse in a chest next, an overheard quarrel that led to murder the strange case of the dead man who altered his eating habits and the puzzle of the victim who dreamt his own suicide. What links these five baffling cases?

The little grey cells of Monsieur Hercule Poirot! The home stretch of my Poirot run!

#33, and the story, “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” (a.k.a. The Theft of the Royal Ruby) is not a story I would normally want to read in August.

Well, I guess I might never want to read a light-hearted family tale set at Christmas-time, truthfully. Oh, with a murder, of course, but hey, it’s Christmas, so it’s the least grisly murder mystery. The story is part of a short story collection, which I read quickly, not that interested in most of them, and n The home stretch of my Poirot run!

#33, and the story, “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” (a.k.a. The Theft of the Royal Ruby) is not a story I would normally want to read in August. Well, I guess I might never want to read a light-hearted family tale set at Christmas-time, truthfully. Oh, with a murder, of course, but hey, it’s Christmas, so it’s the least grisly murder mystery. The story is part of a short story collection, which I read quickly, not that interested in most of them, and not a mystery short story fan, but you know, I made a commitment to read all these Poirot books. “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” is really a novella, the first and longest in the collection.

Hercules Poirot is invited to attend Christmas at a house where a ruby is missing. All the kids in the house challenge Poirot by setting up a subplot. Poirot solves the case and teaches the kids a lesson. “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” was the only one set during Christmas. In Christie’s foreword Christie she explains how her childhood Christmases spent in Abney Hall inspired the story.

As with many Christmas stories, it feels nostalgic and sentimental, a mystery directed to a perhaps younger audience, for the first time in my experience with Christie. The 70 year old Christie, writing this now in 1960, makes a couple digs at beatnik culture of the time evident in England. Dame Christie was no beatnik, in case you were wondering. Christie’s characters here are forgettable, but sh is ever the cleverest plot-master (she would prefer plot-mistress, I think), so the resolution of this little harmless story adds a star. A short story collection featuring 6 stories incl The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, The Under Dog, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, The Dream and Greenshaw's Folly. All the stories were good. But of all the stories, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, The Under Dog,The Dream and Greenshaw's Folly really stood out.

The plot, the characters and the main mystery, all were truly excellent and unique. If you are a Poirot fan and if you enjoy short stories, you will A short story collection featuring 6 stories incl The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, The Under Dog, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, The Dream and Greenshaw's Folly. All the stories were good. But of all the stories, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, The Under Dog,The Dream and Greenshaw's Folly really stood out. The plot, the characters and the main mystery, all were truly excellent and unique. If you are a Poirot fan and if you enjoy short stories, you will surely enjoy this one. This Hercule Poirot short story was first published in, “The Sketch,” on the 12th December, 1923.

This is an expanded version of that story and begins with M. Poirot being approached in London by the discreet Mr Jesmond and the heir to an unnamed, but rich and important State. It is revealed that this young prince brought some family jewels to London, to be re-set by Cartier for his future bride. However, his head was turned by a pretty girl and he allowed her to wear a famous ruby; only to find This Hercule Poirot short story was first published in, “The Sketch,” on the 12th December, 1923. This is an expanded version of that story and begins with M.

Poirot being approached in London by the discreet Mr Jesmond and the heir to an unnamed, but rich and important State. It is revealed that this young prince brought some family jewels to London, to be re-set by Cartier for his future bride.

However, his head was turned by a pretty girl and he allowed her to wear a famous ruby; only to find that both she, and the jewel, have disappeared. Against his inclinations, Poirot finds himself persuaded to spend Christmas at a fourteenth century manor house in the country; only slightly mollified by the reassurance of a good supply of hot water and central heating. The Lacey family are having a traditional Christmas, but, amongst them lurks a possible suspect. Can Poirot not only recover the ruby, but also sort out a few romantic tangles along the way? As Mr Jesmond points out – the ruby must be recovered and M.

Poirot is the man to recover it. This is a delightful short story with a Christmas theme. It has a great cast of characters – including a rather unsuitable young man with an unsavoury reputation, who is hoping to marry the Lacey’s granddaughter and a beautiful young widow looking for love. There is also a good, country house setting; so often the traditional location for a Golden Age mystery. With cryptic clues, a posed ‘murder’ and the theft of a famous jewel, there is much to enjoy here and, as always, Poirot does not disappoint. As much as I love audiobooks, I’ve never been a fan of dramatizations. HOWEVER, I have to make an exception for this BBC Radio 4 dramatization of The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.

I don’t know that it was much of a mystery – I could spot whodunnit as soon as the characters were introduced, but it was still fun, fun, fun. This is only the second Poirot that I’ve read, but I can see why he has such a following.

Audiobook from my public library, via Overdrive. Full cast production was great. As much as I love audiobooks, I’ve never been a fan of dramatizations. HOWEVER, I have to make an exception for this BBC Radio 4 dramatization of The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding. I don’t know that it was much of a mystery – I could spot whodunnit as soon as the characters were introduced, but it was still fun, fun, fun. This is only the second Poirot that I’ve read, but I can see why he has such a following. Audiobook from my public library, via Overdrive.

Full cast production was great. I read this for The 16 Tasks of the Festive Season, for Square 10, December 21st: Book themes for Pancha Ganapati: Read anything involving a need for forgiveness in the story line; a story about redemption –OR– Read a book whose cover has one of the 5 colors of the holiday: red, blue, green, orange, or yellow –OR– Read a book involving elephants. This book has both red and green on the cover. I jos jedna fina kolekcija kracih prica o M. Poarou (mada se mis Marpl usunjala kao uljez u zadnjoj prici:P).

Mada ove kolekcije imaju sve manje i manje prica: kod ove samo 6, sto nije ni lose posto ima vise mesta da nas uvuce u svaku. Po meni naj prica jeste prva po kojoj kolekcija i nosi ime. Daleko od toga da je najbolja misterija ali ljubav i detalji kojej je mis Agata ubacila iz ljubavi prema starom dobro engleskom bozicu cini ovu pricu izuzetno zabavnom za citanje.

Plus budem nostalgican z I jos jedna fina kolekcija kracih prica o M. Poarou (mada se mis Marpl usunjala kao uljez u zadnjoj prici:P). Mada ove kolekcije imaju sve manje i manje prica: kod ove samo 6, sto nije ni lose posto ima vise mesta da nas uvuce u svaku. Po meni naj prica jeste prva po kojoj kolekcija i nosi ime. Daleko od toga da je najbolja misterija ali ljubav i detalji kojej je mis Agata ubacila iz ljubavi prema starom dobro engleskom bozicu cini ovu pricu izuzetno zabavnom za citanje. Plus budem nostalgican za nesto sto nisam ni doziveo.

Sem toga sta reci sem da imamo fine price majstora svog zanata i ne trba ih zaobici. A fun collection of crime mysteries solved by Hercule Poirot, with a bonus one solved by Miss Marple.

Sadly only one story in the collection of 6 is actually set at Christmas time, so this wasn't as 'Christmassy' as I was hoping. Overall the stories are well structured for such short crime snippets, revealing and resolving themselves in Christie's signature dramatic style. As with all Christie's novels the attitudes towards servants being best when they have no discernible personality, 3.5 stars. A fun collection of crime mysteries solved by Hercule Poirot, with a bonus one solved by Miss Marple.

Sadly only one story in the collection of 6 is actually set at Christmas time, so this wasn't as 'Christmassy' as I was hoping. Overall the stories are well structured for such short crime snippets, revealing and resolving themselves in Christie's signature dramatic style. As with all Christie's novels the attitudes towards servants being best when they have no discernible personality, and the general sexism throughout, bother me. I understand that those were the prevailing attitudes of the time, and Christie was certainly writing to her intended audience. Despite this these elements are emphasized or highlighted in every tale. They are not background issues or overarching themes that I am picking up on through deep analysis.

Overall, if you are looking for a Christmas crime collection to read during the holiday season there are certainly more targeted volumes available. For lovers of Poirot and Marple however these little tales from later in their fictional 'careers' would certainly be on interest. The Adventures of the Christmas Pudding - The title tale begins with a jewellery heist, a lover, a Prince from an unspecified foreign land, and an invitation to Christmas at an English country house.

The stage is set for murder, and there are only a limited set of people in the house who could have committed the crime. Of all the tales I found this one the most far-fetched, and the title seems awkwardly disconnected from the plot. The Mystery of the Spanish Chest - A husband is found dead inside a large chest, where he has been hidden while his wife and closest friends dine, unknowingly, in the same room. There is jealousy, intrigue, and everyone seems to have a motivation but not the means to have done the deed. Leica digilux 2 user guide. The Under Dog - The longest of the collection at just under 80 pages, this story is the most complex. Like the first two tales it concerns a household, and in this the patriarch has been murdered. The police have arrested someone, but the wife of the murdered man insists they have got it wrong.

Poirot stays in the house to investigate, learning about the lives and quirks of everyone inside, and to test his theories, behaving increasingly erratically. I enjoyed the story even if the 'repressed lower classes' themes were really out in force. Four and Twenty Blackbirds - A clever little tale where food reveals the clues. An eccentric old man dines at the same restaurant twice a week on the same days at the same time. Until one week he dines on a different day, then disappears. Poirot must unravel the clues about dining habits to solve the disappearance. The Dream - Probably the most irritating of the six, and certainly my least favourite.

An eccentric billionaire contacts Poirot to ask for assistance in interpreting a recurring dream he has been having about committing suicide at a specific time of day. I found this whole story ridiculous and didn't enjoy any of the characters introduced. Greenshaw's Folly - This tiny tale reminded me in some ways of Dickens' Great Expectations, an elderly woman living in a crumbling old mansion with only a servant or two, and then the controversy of her will.

Being a Miss Marple tale the style is a little different to the others in this collection, and she, as always, simply happens to be in the right place at the right time to assist with interpreting the strange events that occur. Around Christmastime, I figured it'd be nice to start a tradition and read something light and Christmasy (but not fluffy), and Christie knocked on my door again. Because the collections have a confusing publication history, I noticed I had actually read some of the stories before in another collection, but I couldn't remember the murderers anymore, so a reread was in order. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding was the only one set during Christmas, and in her foreword Christie explains how her Around Christmastime, I figured it'd be nice to start a tradition and read something light and Christmasy (but not fluffy), and Christie knocked on my door again.

Because the collections have a confusing publication history, I noticed I had actually read some of the stories before in another collection, but I couldn't remember the murderers anymore, so a reread was in order. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding was the only one set during Christmas, and in her foreword Christie explains how her childhood Christmases spent in Abney Hall inspired the story, and why she wanted to dedicate the book to its memory. The story does feel very nostalgic prior to things starting to get awry (the description of the Christmas feast made my mouth water), and thanks to the conclusion it's also one of the best ones. It really turns on its head all the expectations one has of a crime story. The other one I liked was The Dream, where an eccentric millionaire needs Poirot's help, because he has been having a concurring dream where he shoots himself. Soon enough, the man is found dead.

The whole case is a little bizarre and mystical, and the conclusion is fantastic. So much so, that this was my absolute favorite story of the collection. The Under Dog is slightly drawn out and boring, but as for the rest, they're pretty decent with great twists.

In all six stories, hints are spread throughout and some of them are even so obvious when you notice them afterwards, that you feel kind of stupid not to have seen them. Christie takes the idea of secrets behind one's demeanor even further, and it's a recurring theme of the collection. The tiny tidbits about the social realities of the era aren't absent either, as is evident from Poirot's ponderings about the butler: 'This Parsons, then, he will have the characteristics of his class, he will object very strongly to the police, he will tell them as little as possible. Above all, he will say nothing that might seem to incriminate a member of the household.

A house-breaker, a burglar, he will cling to that idea with all the strength of extreme obstinacy. Yes, the loyalties of the servant class are an interesting study.'

' We also learn that Poirot likes curvy women. Actually, 'he liked them lush, highly coloured, exotic. There had been a certain Russian countess – but that was long ago now. A folly of earlier days'. Tell me more. The fact that something this substantial is revealed about Poirot's past, or that he doesn't mind being kissed under the mistletoe by Bridget, caught me off guard. Is this the Agatha Christie Christmas spirit we're seeing?

Merupakan koleksi cerita pendek yang sebagian besarnya merupakan kasus Hercule Poirot (ada 1 di paling akhir tentang Miss Marple). Saya suka sekali cerita 'Yang Tak Diperhitungkan'. Mungkin bukan karena motif atau cara pembunuhannya, tetapi lebih karena background ceritanya.

Membaca cerpen yang dijadikan judul novel ini sendiri (Skandal Perjamuan Natal) juga cukup seru (seperti sepotong kue/ piece of cake). Meskipun selama membaca buku ini, saya menyadari ternyata saya belum terlalu 'mengenal' Her Merupakan koleksi cerita pendek yang sebagian besarnya merupakan kasus Hercule Poirot (ada 1 di paling akhir tentang Miss Marple). Saya suka sekali cerita 'Yang Tak Diperhitungkan'. Mungkin bukan karena motif atau cara pembunuhannya, tetapi lebih karena background ceritanya. Membaca cerpen yang dijadikan judul novel ini sendiri (Skandal Perjamuan Natal) juga cukup seru (seperti sepotong kue/ piece of cake). Meskipun selama membaca buku ini, saya menyadari ternyata saya belum terlalu 'mengenal' Hercule Poirot. Berbeda sekali dengan Sherlock Holmes yang karakternya saya sudah tahu.

Terkadang saya merasa tak ada bedanya membaca kasus Poirot dengan kasus Holmes, padahal pasti berbeda. Mungkin karena belum banyak membaca Agatha Christie. Buku ini pun berupa kumpulan cerpen, seperti layaknya Sherlock Holmes yang kasusnya (hampir) tak pernah panjang. Buku Agatha Christie sebelumnya yang saya baca selalu merupakan satu kasus satu buku.

Karena berupa kumpulan cerpen inilah, pembaca lebih mudah menemukan spot 'pemenggalan' ketika harus berhenti membaca sejenak atau beberapa jenak. Plot dan alur cerita buku ini mudah diikuti, dan tokohnya pun tidak banyak seperti pada kasus yang panjang. 3.7 bintang, dibulatkan menjadi 4. I read this book in portuguese. This books are translated by RBA and I think that their translator is quite good. (Usually I am against reading translated books but I have this collection so.) First of all I have a theory. Don't know if it's true or not but.

Three of these stories Agatha Christie complains or criticize the new age she was living. This book was written when she was 70 years old and since she had been born and live her adult life with a mentality I think the new age of the 40 I read this book in portuguese.

This books are translated by RBA and I think that their translator is quite good. (Usually I am against reading translated books but I have this collection so.) First of all I have a theory. Don't know if it's true or not but. Three of these stories Agatha Christie complains or criticize the new age she was living. This book was written when she was 70 years old and since she had been born and live her adult life with a mentality I think the new age of the 40's 50's and 60's were taking her toll on her. This is also present in other books from Christie from this era. I think that Miss Marple, H Poirot and Agatha Christie are remnants from another era.

Victorian era where Title, Honor and Family matter. This new age had no respect for their elders. Now back to the review. The main story, novella lenght, “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” Herculae Poirot was the first tale. Poirot is invited to attend Christmans at a house where, supposedly, is a stolen jewel.

After meeting all the family and friends Poirot gets to work. There is a main plot and a sub-plot where a bunch of young kids want to see how good is Poirot. Of course, not only, Poirot solves the case but also teaches a lesson to the young kids. 'The Mystery of the Spanish Chest” gets it's attention to Poirot after reading the case in a newspaper.

It seems that this story has a love Triangle. Mrs Clayton, a beautiful lady, asks Poirot for his help because she is convinced that Mr Rich is not the killer, even afterthe body was discovered at his house. Poirot talks to everyone and soon realizes the simalarities between this story and Othelo from Shakespeare. “The Under Dog” has Poirot investigation a family murder (What kind more there is with Agatha Christie?) and Lady Astwell knows who the killer was. She just can't proove it. Nice little story with a more active Poirot (even searching everybody rooms). In “Four and Twenty Blackbirds” was one of the funniest short stories I read from Agatha Christie.

An elderly man eats the same things over ten years and one day he ordered something else. After being discovered killed Poirot tries to unveil the crime.

'The Dream' was a nice tale of a man who dreams everyday of suicide and after meeting Poirot he suddently kills himself. Was suicide or not? Poirot discovers. “Greenshaw’s Folly” is the only story featuring Miss Marple. Again the differences between Poirot and Marple are there but the only way she would have discover this tale would be if she used her little grey cells as Poirot puts it. I wanted to read at least one seasonal book during this Christmas time, and this seemed a nice choice.

Christie’s books seem appropriate for this season due to their tone and settings alone, regardless of the time of year they take place in. As it turned out, in this collection of stories only the first is set during Christmas celebrations, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book at all. In “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” Hercule Poirot is invited to join a traditional countryside I wanted to read at least one seasonal book during this Christmas time, and this seemed a nice choice. Christie’s books seem appropriate for this season due to their tone and settings alone, regardless of the time of year they take place in.

As it turned out, in this collection of stories only the first is set during Christmas celebrations, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book at all. In “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” Hercule Poirot is invited to join a traditional countryside Christmas in order to find a missing ruby.

A body found in a chest, an irresistible woman and a murder that could only have been committed by one of two men (or could it?) give Poirot a fascinating investigation in “The Mystery of the Spanish Chest”. “The Under Dog” has Poirot investigation when a widow suspects that her nephew is not the one who killed her husband, despite all the evidence saying he is.

In “Four and Twenty Blackbirds” it is a solitary man’s eating habits which explain his apparently accidental death for Poirot. An eccentric millionaire tells Poirot of a recurring dream in which he kills himself only to be found shot a few days later. It appears the man has acted out his dream, but our detective proves otherwise.

“Greenshaw’s Folly” is the only story featuring Miss Marple in this book and has her untangling a confusion of identities and family relations. I always enjoy Agatha Christie’s mysteries.

Yes, she does cheat a bit at times in that she doesn’t give the reader all the information which is available to the detectives in her stories. But she makes up for that with the wonderful characters she has created for us. Her descriptions of people and places are wonderful, sharp and not always nice, which makes them all the more enjoyable for the reader. Now that my library has quite a few Agatha Christie books on its shelves, I can see myself bringing one home with me regularly for moments of nostalgic and relaxing reading pleasure. 2015 reading challenge - a book of short stories I've been meaning to read this book for over a year, but it was always checked out of the library when I wanted to borrow it. But now I've finally read it and I enjoyed it very much! The book consists of 6 short stories.

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding was an enjoyable story and I especially liked how the plot was in-cooperated in the seasonal setting. In The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, Poirot is faced with a deeply emotional case, along wi 2015 reading challenge - a book of short stories I've been meaning to read this book for over a year, but it was always checked out of the library when I wanted to borrow it. But now I've finally read it and I enjoyed it very much! The book consists of 6 short stories. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding was an enjoyable story and I especially liked how the plot was in-cooperated in the seasonal setting.

In The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, Poirot is faced with a deeply emotional case, along with a set of dramatic characters. I liked the game Poirot was playing with the suspects in The Under Dog. Four and Twenty Blackbirds was another food-based mystery, and a very short story. I was intrigued by the slightly supernatural layer in The Dream.

The last story, Greenshaw's Folly, features Miss Marple, who somehow manages to solve a case while sitting in her chair and knitting. In short, every story has its charm and it was a fast and easy read.

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym, and was occasionally published under the name. Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time. She wrote eighty crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and several other books. Her books have sold roughly four billion copies and have been translated into 45 languages. She is t Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym, and was occasionally published under the name. Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time.

She wrote eighty crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and several other books. Her books have sold roughly four billion copies and have been translated into 45 languages.

She is the creator of the two most enduring figures in crime literature-Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple-and author of The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theatre. Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England, U.K., as the youngest of three. The Millers had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880–1929), called Monty, ten years older than Agatha. During the First World War, she worked at a hospital as a nurse; later working at a hospital pharmacy, a job that influenced her work, as many of the murders in her books are carried out with poison. On Christmas Eve 1914 Agatha married Archibald Christie, an aviator in the Royal Flying Corps. The couple had one daughter, Rosalind Hicks.

Crime Fiction

They divorced in 1928, two years after Christie discovered her husband was having an affair. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, came out in 1920. During this marriage, Agatha published six novels, a collection of short stories, and a number of short stories in magazines. In late 1926, Agatha's husband, Archie, revealed that he was in love with another woman, Nancy Neele, and wanted a divorce.

On 8 December 1926 the couple quarreled, and Archie Christie left their house Styles in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to spend the weekend with his mistress at Godalming, Surrey. That same evening Agatha disappeared from her home, leaving behind a letter for her secretary saying that she was going to Yorkshire. Her disappearance caused an outcry from the public, many of whom were admirers of her novels. Despite a massive manhunt, she was not found for eleven days. In 1930, Christie married archaeologist Max Mallowan (Sir Max from 1968) after joining him in an archaeological dig. Their marriage was especially happy in the early years and remained so until Christie's death in 1976.

In 1977, Mallowan married his longtime associate, Barbara Parker. Christie frequently used familiar settings for her stories. Christie's travels with Mallowan contributed background to several of her novels set in the Middle East. Other novels (such as And Then There Were None) were set in and around Torquay, where she was born.

Christie's 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express was written in the Hotel Pera Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, the southern terminus of the railway. The hotel maintains Christie's room as a memorial to the author.

The Greenway Estate in Devon, acquired by the couple as a summer residence in 1938, is now in the care of the National Trust. Christie often stayed at Abney Hall in Cheshire, which was owned by her brother-in-law, James Watts. She based at least two of her stories on the hall: the short story The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, which is in the story collection of the same name, and the novel After the Funeral. 'Abney became Agatha's greatest inspiration for country-house life, with all the servants and grandeur which have been woven into her plots. During the Second World War, Christie worked in the pharmacy at University College Hospital of University College, London, where she acquired a knowledge of poisons that she put to good use in her post-war crime novels. To honour her many literary works, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1956 New Year Honours. The next year, she became the President of the Detection Club.

In the 1971 New Year Honours she was promoted Dame Commande.

The plot of this short story doesn't make sense to me and I have a few questions about it. How did they know the ruby was at Kings Lacey? If they knew it was there, why did they ask Poirot to get involved?

Why couldn't the prince just show up with his hired hands and get it back?. Why did the thieves even stick around Kings Lacey once they had the jewel? In the TV version of this story, they mention it's because they ran into problems with the airplane, but that isn't in the story. Are we supposed to believe that the granddaughter was hanging around with a jewel thief for a long time? Was Desmond already involved with her when he had the ruby stolen?.

Why did they put the ruby in the Christmas pudding? Seems like a terrible place to hide something, especially if everyone in the family has a chance to get a hold of it (even if was served at New Years like they intended). There seems to be a strong political undertone to the story in the TV version, but this isn't present in the original story. Did Agatha Christie intend for that undertone to be implied? The plot of this short story doesn't make sense to me and I have a few questions about it. How did they know the ruby was at Kings Lacey? If they knew it was there, why did they ask Poirot to get involved?

Why couldn't the prince just show up with his hired hands and get it back?. Why did the thieves even stick around Kings Lacey once they had the jewel? In the TV version of this story, they mention it's because they ran into problems with the airplane, but that isn't in the story. Are we supposed to believe that the granddaughter was hanging around with a jewel thief for a long time? Was Desmond already involved with her when he had the ruby stolen?. Why did they put the ruby in the Christmas pudding?

Seems like a terrible place to hide something, especially if everyone in the family has a chance to get a hold of it (even if was served at New Years like they intended). There seems to be a strong political undertone to the story in the TV version, but this isn't present in the original story. Did Agatha Christie intend for that undertone to be implied? The only one I can answer is putting the ruby into the pudding. That was done to hide it when it was announced that Poirot, a detective was there. I believe they intended to take the whole New Years pudding with them when they snuck away, or sneak down in the middle of the night and smash it to get the ruby out, then take off. It was a great plan and fell apart because the Christmas Day pudding was destroyed.

In the novella with spoilers - The ruby was in the possession of the woman with whom the prince had a dalliance. She was associated with the unsavory “Des,” now Sarah’s young man. Both Des and the girl were under suspicion. Sarah was inviting Des to spend Christmas with her family, the Laceys, and it was surmised that he was bringing the ruby with him. Des had the girl assume the role of his sister – a plan they both hatched. Apparently, they were to fence the jewel in Paris.

Des was a charming blackmailer and preyed upon wealthy women. The sister was promised money. She also was the one to procure the ruby from the prince. Des intended to get the ruby out of the country by way of getting Sarah to elope with him in his private airplane.

He was aware that the fear of scandal gave him great leverage to do these things as no one wanted anything in the papers and having noble Sarah present was added security. So, it was supposed to be a Christmas dinner at Sarah's grandparents and then the elopement. It all went awry when Des and the sister heard the famous Poirot was attending. Mr.

Jesmond, an intermediary to the prince, gets Poirot an invitation to attend. The sister was afraid to be recognized by Poirot so she remained bedridden. She also thought she could be searched and wanted to hide the ruby. She managed to go the kitchen when they were making the pudding and put the ruby in the New Year's mold as she thought they would be leaving with it after Christmas. It was just by chance, that the Christmas mold was broken and the New Year's mold used instead for the dinner. Des knew when the Colonel Lacey discovered red glass in his pudding that it was the ruby.

Poirot pocketed the red glass/ruby. Des then decided to get the ruby from Poirot by putting something in Poirot's coffee which Poirot pretended to drink. Poirot also pretended to be asleep when the visitor came to his room and looked at his belongings for the ruby. Poirot also mentions he brought with him a fake ruby so he could substitute when the time came. When Poirot overheard the young people wanting to make a mock murder; he thought it was a good idea to use this as a way to reveal Des’ true character and mission and enlisted Bridget to go along with his plan.

When Des saw the ruby (this one was fake) clenched in Bridget’s hand and she was supposed to be dead, he just took off without the sister and without Sarah figuring he did not want to be associated with murder and he was so happy to locate the ruby he just wanted to escape abroad as quickly as possible. The sister revealed everything as she was dumped. Sarah was wiser and rather lucky not to have been associated publicly with a scoundrel. The prince got back his ruby - the real one. And Des would probably discover in Paris or wherever abroad that he had been tricked.

But nobody will have been charged and nothing will be in the papers.