REVIEW: The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories

 The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories
Author: Agatha Christie

This story collection features 9 short stories with mysteries solved by Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Parker Pyne. I'm not too excited about Parker Pyne, but glad to hit a story with Miss Marple in it! My reading challenge to journey though Agatha's mysteries in publication order means I have a lot of Hercule Poirot to read before I hit Miss Marple. 

I have to be honest and say I have a hard time reading through stories featuring some of Agatha's other characters -- Tommy & Tuppence, Superintendent Battle, Parker Pyne. I'm glad this one is a mix of Poirot, Marple and Pyne...otherwise I think I would be forcing myself to read this collection. 

The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories was first published in the US in 1939. It was not published in the UK, and is the first Agatha Christie book to only be published in the US. All of the stories in the collection were later published in the UK in other books. 

I'm reading my old paperback copy (Dell, 1983) and listening to an audio book (Harper Audio 2012). The audio has several narrators: Hugh Fraser, Joan Hickson, David Suchet, Isla Blair and Simon Vance.

The Regatta Mystery: This story featuring Parker Pyne was first published in this collection. However, it is a re-working of an earlier story written and published in magazines in the US and UK in 1936 that originally featured Hercule Poirot. The Poirot version was not published again until 2008 when it was included in an anthology of all Poirot short stories. I did not find any adaptations of this story. The
television series Poirot did not do an episode based on this story most likely because it is usually listed as a Parker Pyne short story. This story is interesting, but doesn't go into the case in depth. It's a great story to highlight or introduce a character, which is what I think Agatha was doing with the short mysteries she wrote for magazines in the 30s. I can see why she switched the story to Parker Pyne. It doesn't seem like a case that Hercule Poirot would investigate. I read both versions - the one with Parker Pyne and the one with Poirot. It's exactly the same story just with the detective changed. 

The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest:  First published in magazines in the UK and US in 1932, The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest was later lengthened into a novella and re-titled The Mystery of the Spanish Chest in 1960 (in three installments in a magazine). The television series Poirot adapted it as The Mystery of the Spanish Chest (Season 3, episode 8). This review is for the original story only because I'm reading in publication order and Spanish Chest wasn't published until 1960. I will watch the Poirot episode, as I read it follows the plot of the original story more closely rather than the expanded novella. I enjoyed this story. Very interesting mystery that wraps up quickly. I can see why Agatha expanded it into a longer story later, but I have to be honest that I really don't enjoy her habit of recycling stories like that. The Poirot episode follows the basic plot with some changes to interject Poirot into the story sooner and to flesh the plot out into episode length. Inspector Japp and Captain Hastings are added into the mix as well. I enjoyed the episode. Very well done! 

How Does Your Garden Grow?: In 1935, How Does Your Garden Grow? was originally published in magazines in the US and UK. The only adaptation I found is an episode of Poirot (Season 3, Episode 2). This story is the first appearance of Miss Lemon in a Poirot story. I enjoyed this story and was surprised and entertained by the ending. Definitely classic Hercule Poirot style....in a condensed format. There isn't a lot of detail because this is a short story. As soon as I finished reading/listening, I jumped right on to BritBox to watch the Poirot episode. I was so curious how they would flesh the plot out for an episode. I was not disappointed - a very entertaining episode! The plot sticks pretty close to the short story with some changes to add some extra drama, to  bring in Japp and Hastings, and to get Poirot involved sooner.

Problem at Pollensa Bay: This story features Parker Pyne and was first published in a UK magazine in 1935. US publication followed in 1936, also in a magazine, under a different title, Siren Business.  Interesting story with Parker Pyne playing his usual role in helping people make changes to their lives or helping with strange situations that pop up. Short, but enjoyable. If I'm totally truthful, I'm still not a big fan of Parker Pyne. I am giving him a chance though....he may still grow on me. I found no adaptations of this story.

Yellow Iris: Yellow Iris has an interesting backstory. It was first published in magazines in the UK and US in 1937. Later that same year, a radio play was performed on the BBC National Programme at 8 pm on November 2, 1937. Agatha wrote the script for the radio play, but the script was never published. The radio play lasted for an hour and was also re-broadcast on November 4th, 1937 on the BBC Regional Programme. The radio drama was set in a restaurant like the short story, but included musical numbers by artists portrayed as performing at the restaurant that night. The list of the cast and musical performers and even information about the broadcast can be easily found online, but the script and the radio program itself are apparently lost media. Critics did not like the performance, with one review I found stating that the musical numbers were so long and the actual mystery so short that the critic was bored by the performance. Most reviews I found said much the same thing: the music overtook the entire performance with long interludes and left very little time for the mystery. So, the experiment with mixing mystery and music did not go over well. I did read that the previously published short story is different in places from the radio script and that the lyrics included in the short story are not the same as in the audio drama. I am sad that there are no surviving recordings of either performance of this play and that the radio script is also lost media. I would love to read or listen, so that I could form my own opinion. The best part would be hearing the music from the era, and experiencing how they incorporated the performances and lyrics into the story! But, alas, neither version is available. Maybe someday someone will discover a copy, and we will be able to enjoy it!  

Other adaptations include a radio episode of Murder Clinic that aired in the US in 1943, but the episode appears to be lost media. And, the television show Poirot made an episode (Season 5, episode 3). This story is really good - I enjoyed the unusual way it started and how Poirot got pulled into the mystery. I can see why they wanted to combine the story with music. It's a shame that the radio performance didn't get better reviews. The ending of the short story is just awesome!

The Poirot episode changes a few things like how Poirot joins the investigation, and also fleshes the plot out to stretch it to episode length. I enjoyed the episode. It follows the original story closely, with just a few changes to make it fit into a television episode better.

 Miss Marple Tells a Story: This story was first presented as a radio play on the BBC radio National Programme. It aired on May 11.1934 with the script being read by Agatha Christie herself! I am completely disappointed, but I was unable to find a recording of this broadcast. More Agatha lost media!! Sadness!! It was first printed as a story in a magazine in 1935 under the title "Behind Closed Doors." I found no other adaptations of this story. I loved this story! The audio book version was read by Joan Hickson who starred in the Miss Marple television show from 1984 - 1992. I love this story! It's told in first person with Miss Marple's usual stream of details from serving cherry brandy to guests to her views on younger people. The character just always seems so....lovely. Like a friendly elderly lady who would be enjoyable to have a cup of tea with. :) She solved a complex murder case without even getting up out of her chair. :)

 The Dream: This tale is another Agatha Christie short story that was first published in magazines. The Saturday Evening Post ran it in 1937 and it appeared in The Strand Magazine in the UK in 1938. I would love to see one of the old issues of The Strand! I'd love to see how these stories were presented, what advertisements were in the issues, and what other authors were featured! The only adaptation I found for this Hercule Poirot story is an episode of Poirot (Season 1, Episode 10). The plot for this story is definitely interesting! The Poirot episode was well done and followed the original story relatively closely. Some changes were made to fit the show and expand the plot to episode length.

In a Glass Darkly: I didn't expect a story like this in this collection. It was a nice change of pace! As usual, this tale was first published in magazines in the US and UK in 1934. It is a standalone story that doesn't feature any of Agatha's usual characters. And, it's not really a murder mystery either. It has a bit of a supernatural feel to it, and is quite unusual. Very enjoyable! Adaptations that I found are a 1982 episode of The Agatha Christie Hour, and BBC Radio aired an audio drama based on the story in 2003. 

I watched The Agatha Christie Hour on AcornTV. The episode fleshed out the plot, adding more build-up and drama, but stayed true to the basic story. The quality of the video is definitely poor (grainy, dark, definitely filmed for 1980s television), but the story was engaging and enjoyable. 

I happen to have the BBC radio audio book, Twelve Radio Mysteries, which includes the radio drama based on this story. It has been modernized to take place at the time of the Gulf War and makes some pretty sweeping changes to the plot. But, I still enjoyed listening. I like these full-cast audio dramas! Good quality recording and I didn't mind the modernization for the most part. I wouldn't like it being done to a novel by Agatha Christie, but for a short story I don't mind it.

Problem at Sea: The final story in this collection is another Hercule Poirot tale. It was first published in magazines in the US and UK in 1936. Once again, Poirot is trying to vacation. He is on board a ship traveling to Alexandria when a rather difficult passenger is murdered. It has a rather interesting twisty ending. I enjoyed this one! The only adapation I found is, of course, an episode of Poirot (Season 1, episode 7). The episode was very good and kept closely to the original story. A couple sideplots were added to lengthen the story and Hastings was added. All in all, it was an enjoyable presentation of the story! 

For the most part, I enjoyed all of these stories. I wish there had been more Miss Marple though. The story included for her was a bit weak. The stories were varied, and I enjoyed reading them all. A few were stronger than others, but I didn't think any were bad. After I finished the last story, I relegated my worn out paperback to the trash.

On to the next book -- Murder is Easy! I don't have a paperback for this one, and have never read it before. It has Superintendent Battle in it, which is probably why I never bought it or read it. I feel like I'm forcing myself to read this one. I still have that nagging dislike of her lesser known characters like Battle, Tommy & Tuppence, Parker Pyne, etc. I'm hoping reading the novel will help me towards getting over that!