{"id":19758,"date":"2022-02-06T10:37:40","date_gmt":"2022-02-06T15:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=19758"},"modified":"2024-01-21T11:07:28","modified_gmt":"2024-01-21T16:07:28","slug":"parker-pyne-investigates-a-short-story-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19758","title":{"rendered":"Parker Pyne Investigates: A Short Story Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parker Pyne Investigates: A Short Story Collection<\/a><\/em> (1934) Agatha Christie<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Parker<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Case of the Middle-Aged Wife\u201d was first published as \u201cThe Woman Concerned\u201d in Woman\u2019s Pictorial, 8 October 1932.
\n\u201cThe Case of the Discontented Soldier\u201d was first published in the USA as \u201cThe Soldier Who Wanted Danger\u201d in Cosmopolitan, August 1932, then as \u201cAdventure\u2014By Request\u201d in Woman\u2019s Pictorial, 15 October 1932.
\n\u201cThe Case of the Distressed Lady\u201d was first published in the USA as \u201cThe Pretty Girl Who Wanted a Ring\u201d in Cosmopolitan, August 1932, then as \u201cFaked!\u201d in Woman\u2019s Pictorial, 22 October 1932.
\n\u201cThe Case of the Discontented Husband\u201d was first published in the USA as \u201cThe Husband Who Wanted to Keep His Wife\u201d in Cosmopolitan, August 1932, and then as \u201cHis Lady\u2019s Affair\u201d in Woman\u2019s Pictorial, 29 October 1932.
\n\u201cThe Case of the City Clerk\u201d was first published in the USA as \u201cThe Clerk Who Wanted Excitement\u201d in Cosmopolitan, August 1932, and then as \u201cThe \u00a310 Adventure\u201d in Strand Magazine, November 1932.
\n\u201cThe Case of the Rich Woman\u201d was the first Parker Pyne story, published in the USA as \u201cThe Rich Woman Who Wanted Only to Be Happy\u201d in Cosmopolitan, August 1932.
\n\u201cHave You Got Everything You Want?\u201d was first published in the USA in Cosmopolitan, April 1933, and then as \u201cOn the Orient Express\u201d in Nash\u2019s Pall Mall, June 1933.
\n\u201cThe Gate of Baghdad\u201d was first published as \u201cAt the Gate of Baghdad\u201d in Nash\u2019s Pall Mall, June 1933.
\n\u201cThe House at Shiraz\u201d was first published in the USA in Cosmopolitan, April 1933, and then as \u201cIn the House at Shiraz\u201d in Nash\u2019s Pall Mall, June 1933.
\n\u201cThe Pearl of Price\u201d was first published as \u201cThe Pearl\u201d in Nash\u2019s Pall Mall, July 1933.
\n\u201cDeath on the Nile\u201d was first published in the USA in Cosmopolitan, April 1933, and then in Nash\u2019s Pall Mall, July 1933.
\n\u201cThe Oracle at Delphi\u201d was first published in the USA in Cosmopolitan, April 1933, and then in Nash\u2019s Pall Mall, July 1933.
\n\u201cProblem at Pollensa Bay\u201d was first published in Strand Magazine, November 1935, and then in the USA as \u201cSiren Business\u201d in Liberty, 5 September 1936.
\n\u201cThe Regatta Mystery\u201d was first published as \u201cPoirot and the Regatta Mystery\u201d in the USA in the Chicago Tribune, 3 May 1936, and then in Strand Magazine, June 1936. It first appeared in its current form in the American book The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories, published by Dodd, Mead, June 1939.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I read several of the latter stories in different anthologies, but the oldest stories were unfamiliar to me.<\/p>\n

And I am not sad about that.<\/p>\n

I’ve listed the original publication dates of the stories, to remind me that these were written 90 years ago, and things were different. But there were something things that were rough reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Case of the Discontented Soldier\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can assure you. Major Wilbraham, that ninety-six percent of retired empire builders\u2014 as I call them\u2014 are unhappy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Empire builders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Case of the Discontented Husband\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a bare possibility that your wife may be so overwhelmingly in love with this other man that nothing you could say or do will affect her, but I consider that unlikely. She has probably been driven into this affair through boredom\u2014 boredom with the atmosphere of uncritical devotion and absolute fidelity with which you have most unwisely surrounded her.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What? I mean… WHAT?<\/p>\n

\u201cHave You Got Everything You Want?\u201d<\/p>\n

“Your wife, Mr. Jeffries, is a charming, innocent, high-minded girl, and the only way she is going to get any kick out of her life with you is to believe that she has reformed a rake.\u201d <\/p>\n

Edward Jeffries was staring at him, openmouthed. <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean what I say,\u201d said Mr. Parker Pyne. \u201cAt the present moment your wife is in love with you, but I see signs that she may not remain so if you continue to present to her a picture of such goodness and rectitude that it is almost synonymous with dullness.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What? The ACTUAL. Fuck? <\/p>\n

\u201cI never want to look at any other woman but Elsie,\u201d said Mr. Jeffries simply. <\/p>\n

\u201cSplendid, my boy,\u201d said Mr. Parker Pyne. \u201cBut I shouldn\u2019t let her know that if I were you. No woman likes to feel she\u2019s taken on too soft a job.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Are you SERIOUS?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pearl of Price\u201d<\/p>\n

Miss Carol Blundell\u2014 pretty, spoiled, and extremely sure of herself as the only woman among half a dozen men.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How is this one of the less offensive sentences? <\/p>\n

I shan’t be reading this again.<\/p>\n

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
\nRating: 4\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parker Pyne Investigates: A Short Story Collection (1934) Agatha Christie \u201cThe Case of the Middle-Aged Wife\u201d was first published as \u201cThe Woman Concerned\u201d in Woman\u2019s Pictorial, 8 October 1932. \u201cThe Case of the Discontented Soldier\u201d was first published in the USA as \u201cThe Soldier Who Wanted Danger\u201d in Cosmopolitan, August 1932, then as \u201cAdventure\u2014By Request\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,30,292,33,8],"tags":[228,546],"class_list":["post-19758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anthology","category-british","category-ebook","category-historical","category-mystery","tag-agatha-christie","tag-interwar-period"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-58G","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12868,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12868","url_meta":{"origin":19758,"position":0},"title":"Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories","author":"Michelle","date":"May 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) These stories were published between 1927 and 1957. \"(S)o many people seem to me not to be either bad or good, but simply, you know, very silly.\u201d The Thirteen Problems (previously published as The Tuesday Club Murders) (1932) The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Miss Marple The Complete Short Stories","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Miss-Marple-The-Complete-Short-Stories.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21101,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/21101","url_meta":{"origin":19758,"position":1},"title":"Thirteen Problems","author":"Michelle","date":"May 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Thirteen Problems (1932) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The Tuesday Night Club (1927) The Idol House of Astarte (1928) Ingots of Gold (1928) The Blood-Stained Pavement (1928) Motive versus Opportunity (1928) The Thumb Mark of St. Peter (1928) The Blue Geranium (1929) A Christmas Tragedy (1930) The Companion (1930) The Herb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Tuesday Club Murders","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/The-Tuesday-Club-Murders.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24633,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24633","url_meta":{"origin":19758,"position":2},"title":"Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories","author":"Michelle","date":"June 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985) Agatha Christie The Thirteen Problems (1932) 1. The Tuesday Night Club (1927) 2. The Idol House of Astarte (1928) 3. Ingots of Gold (1928) 4. The Bloodstained Pavement (1928) 5. Motive v. Opportunity (1928) 6. The Thumbmark of St. Peter (1928) 7. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Miss Marple The Complete Short Stories","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Miss-Marple-The-Complete-Short-Stories.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4902,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4902","url_meta":{"origin":19758,"position":3},"title":"Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories","author":"Michelle","date":"October 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (2013) Agatha Christie From The Thirteen Problems (1953) The Tuesday Night Club The Idol House of Astarte Ingots of Gold The Bloodstained Pavement Motive v. Opportunity The Thumbmark of St. Peter The Blue Geranium The Companion The Four Suspects A Christmas Tragedy The Herb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Miss-Marple-The-Complete-Short-Stories","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Miss-Marple-The-Complete-Short-Stories.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3463,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3463","url_meta":{"origin":19758,"position":4},"title":"The Thirteen Problems","author":"Michelle","date":"January 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Thirteen Problems (1928, 1929, 1930, 1933) Agatha Christie (Also published as The Tuesday Club Murders) I read several stories in this collection, but not all, so I don't think I'd previously read this collection as is. After dinner seems a good time to sit around and discuss crime, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Thirteen Problems","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/thirteen-problems.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12850,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12850","url_meta":{"origin":19758,"position":5},"title":"The Murder at the Vicarage","author":"Michelle","date":"May 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) I was listening to Read or Dead and they were talking about Agatha Christie's first book, which had been published in 1920--100 years earlier, and one of them mentioned her being a comfort read, and I was immediately, \"YES. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Murder at the Vicarage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/The-Murder-at-the-Vicarage.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}