REVIEW: The Gypsy

 The Gypsy
Author: Agatha Christie

After breaking his engagement, a man opens up to a close friend. It turns out his breakup isn't just about the woman involved, but more to do with a sort of nightmare the friend has endured his entire life. This short, spooky tale was first published in Agatha Christie's short story collection, The Hound of Death, in 1933 (UK). It did not appear in print in the United States until 1971 (The Golden Ball and Other Stories).

The idea of fate is an interesting one. Can a person be saved from their fate if someone knows that outcome ahead of time? Or is fate sealed? It took me about half this story to understand what Christie was getting at....but once I saw it, it hit home. That was the way she crafted the story....not letting the reader grasp if this was about a ghost, a vision, fate/fortune....or maybe a mix of all of it. Interesting! And very entertaining!

I could not find an audio version of The Hound of Death story collection, so listened to this short story in an audio book of The Golden Ball and Other Stories. Only when I reached the tales in GB that were included in Hound of Death did I discover the audio was taken from a prior HOD audiobook. These stories are narrated by Christopher Lee! I love that man's voice -- he does horror, fantasy and supernatural stories SO WELL! Perfect!

BBC4 Radio broadcast a "modernized'' version of this story in the early 2000s. While I applaud the adaptation of Christie's work for radio or television, I don't like it when the stories are fundamentally changed or modernized, so I skipped this one. It's no longer her story if it's radically changed. The modernized versions of 12 of her stories broadcast by BBC4 in the early 2000's are available -- Agatha Christie: 12 Radio Mysteries. So far I have resisted buying this collection because I know the stories have all been altered. I might change my mind at some point....but not yet. 

I enjoyed this story. I listened to it twice and found that I missed a couple important lines early in the story. This is one you have to read/listen to carefully to fully understand the ending. Very well told! I'm enjoying these short stories. 

The Hound of Death short story collection was first published in 1933 as part of a publisher's publicity campaign. Readers could cut out a coupon in the publisher's magazine and pay seven shillings to receive one of six books. The short stories were later re-published in a version for sale in bookshops in 1936.