The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrees by Agatha Christie - Weekend Read

A marvellous read whether it be Christmas or not
From Agatha Christie 's Foreword
  "This book of Christmas fare may be described as "The Chef's Selection." I am the Chef!
There are two main courses: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and The Mystery of the Spanish Chest; a selection of Entrees: Greenshaw's Folly, The Dream, The Under Dog and a Sorbet: Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds.
  The Mystery of the Spanish Chest may be described as a Hercule Poirot Special. It is a case in which he considers he was at his best! Miss Marple, in her turn, has always been pleased with her perspicuity in Greenshaw's Folly.
  The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding is an indulgence of my own, since it recalls to me, very pleasurably, the Christmases of my youth. After my father's death, my mother and I always spent Christmas with my brother-in-law's family in the north of England - and what superb Christmases they were for a child to remember! Abney Hall had everything! The garden boasted a waterfall, a stream, and a tunnel under the drive! The Christmas fare was of gargantuan proportions. I was a skinny child, appearing delicate, but actually of robust health and perpetually hungry! The boys of the family and I used to vie with each other as to who could eat most on Christmas Day. Oyster Soup and Turbot went down without undue zest, but then came the Roast Turkey, Boiled Turkey and an enormous Sirloin of Beef. The boys and I had two helpings of all three! We then had Plum Pudding, Mince-pies, Trifle and every kind of dessert. During the afternoon we ate chocolates solidly. We neither felt, nor were sick! How lovely to be eleven years old and greedy!
  What a day of delight from "Stockings," in bed in the morning, Church and all the Christmas hyms, Christmas dinner, Presents, and the final Lighting of the Christmas Tree!
  And how deep my gratitude to the kind and hospitable hostess who must have worked so hard to make Christmas Day a wonderful memory to me still in my old age.
  So let me dedicate this book to the memory of Abney Hall - its kindness and its hospitality.

  And a happy Christmas to all who read this book."

My copy was published for The Crime Club in 1960 with an original cost of 12s.6d. it did service in the W.H.Smith & Son Library where it could be borrowed for the charge of :

Up to four days - 2d per day

(Minimum charge 6d)

9d first week 1d per day thereafter

Weekend Read - Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden

Whilst browsing charity shop books I came across a copy of Miss Happiness and Miss Flower Not a vintage copy unfortunately but I bought it anyway.I started reading it as soon as I got home and was instantly enchanted.It was magical and now I wish I had a Miss Happiness and Miss Flower of my very own.

Weekend Read - The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp by Charles Terrot

"On a certain Monday in May, business was very slack in Mr. Webman's second-hand store. Just before closing time, however, there came into the shop the most beautiful girl Len Burrows, the assistant had ever seen. Beside her stood a full-sized harp. Was she an angel? She looked like one and behaved like one, but here she was in Mr. Webman.s East End shop apparently trying to raise a loan, and on her harp of all things! Nor did she seem too scrupulous about how she came by the money. yet it was curious, as time went on, the effect she had on people, the way ahe brought out the best in them, the way in which, in the end, she showed them the way in which their happiness lay."

So far I'm completely completely and utterly charmed by Charles Terrot's The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp and now I've found out that there is a 1950's film of the book starring Diane Cilento which of course I'm now quite keen to see.

Weekend Read - Christmas Flutter emag

 

A free emag for you to read this weekend from the creative designer Amanda Herring of The Quilted Fish.  The 22 pages of Christmas and craft inspiration can be found, free of charge by clicking here
By the way Flutter is the newest fabric line from The Quilted Fish and Riley Blake Designs

Weekend Read - The Musical Umbrella by Friedrich Feld

 Love the 1950's illustrations by Ferelith Eccles Williams in The Musical Umbrella by Friedrich Feld.

 "Mr Aldermar had spent ten years on his invention, a marvellous umbrella which made the sound of lovely chiming bells when he put it up. It looked quite ordinary, but it was the only musical umbrella in the world. Then, on the first day he went out with it, he lost it - and was plunged into the depths of despair, Thanks to Marin and Helen - and clever Brownie the dog - he gets it back in the end, after some very funny and surprising happenings."

The  original title was DER MUSIKALISCHE REGENSCHIRM, The Musical Umbrella was translated from the German by W. Kersley Holmes. This vintage copy is  from 1958  published by Blackie & Son Ltd, London and Glasgow.

Weekend Read - After the Armistice Ball by Catriona McPherson

After the Armistice Ball ~ a v. appropriate read for this weekend

ISBN-10: 1845291301
ISBN-13: 978-1845291303

"To socialite Dandy Gilver a spot of amateur sleuthing seems like harmless fun. And what could be better than to try and track down the Duffy diamonds, stolen from a country house after the Armistice Ball? Before long though Dandy's innocent pastime is swept away by something much more serious. The untimely death of the lovely Cara Duffy in a seaside cottage is recorded as an accident, but Dandy, and Alec, Cara's fiance, feel sure the Duffy family is hiding a dark secret..."

(Taken from the Dandy Gilver website)

I'm not sure what I was more charmed by, the website or the book, or to be more precise Dandelion Dahlia Gilver herself. I really liked Dandy and Alec, I think in real life we could have been friends.

Do take a look at the website where you'll find extracts from the book and all sorts of useful information such as how to make tomato sandwiches and the care of linen.

Have to say that I agree with the Scotland on Sunday review, 'Society sleuth Dandy Gilver is the most engaging and ingenious crime-cracker I've met in ages'

Weekend Read - Retreat From Murder by Marian Babson

ISBN 978-1841199016

Loved this one. I haven't read Marian Babson before but I will be looking out for more of her books.

Our sleuths are a group of mystery writers who live in the village of Brimful Coffers. Their peaceful life is turned upside down by visiting novelists who both use the same historical character in their books, a spate of tragic hit and run incidents, a bitchy chic- lit author and the enforced diet of Roscoe the cat.

A thoroughly entertaining Sunday afternoon read.