The Listerdale Mystery

A collection of 12 short stories, none of which feature any of Christie's recurring characters. They are sorted by original publication date (usually magazines). All also appear either in _The Golden Ball and Other Stories_ or _The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories_."The Girl on the Train" (February 1924) Like another George in "The Golden Ball", George Rowland has just been fired from his City job by his uncle. In this case, they both celebrated too much the previous night, and when George came to work 2 hours late and hungover, the uncle ordered him out. The butler at home (having had a hard night) reassures George, who takes the next train to a picturesquely named spot - Rowland's Castle - on a whim, but leaving a forwarding address against the time when his uncle cools off. And he meets the kind of girl featured in dime novel adventures: she bolts into his 1st-class compartment, and persuades him to hide her from ominous foreign pursuers. This looks promising..."Jane in Search of a Job" (August 1924) - Jane Cleveland is out of work, and needs something fast to be able to eat tomorrow, let alone pay the rent. But she hasn't got enough work experience to land anything that'll keep her head above water, and she resorts to the last hope: the Agony column. And one of the ads specifies a good French-speaking mimic who matches Jane's description. Jane should have smelt a rat at that point, but chose not to see it - when a large fee is finally mentioned, she feels it must be crime, but that crime's OK in moderation. :)"Mr. Eastwood's Adventure", a.k.a. "The Mystery of the Second Cucumber", "The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl" (August 1924) Anthony Eastwood is working on writing "The Mystery of the Second Cucumber" when a mysterious phone call with 1 word - 'cucumber' - entangles him in a *real* mystery."Philomel Cottage" (November 1924) This story has been adapted for film 3 times as "Love from a Stranger" (U.S. titles were different). Upon meeting an attractive stranger, Alix Marin falls for him, breaks off with her old flame, and marries him. Then, like Bluebeard's wives, she gets curious about his past..."The Manhood of Edward Robinson", a.k.a. "The Day of His Dreams" (December 1924) - Edward's fiancee henpecks him, especially about money. When he wins 500 pounds in a contest, and she complains about spending a few pence at the cinema, he keeps quiet about the prize money and buys the object of his dreams: a red car costing 465 pounds. On his first day out, he eventually parks for a while to take a break from night driving. On his return, someone has mistaken his car for their own. The other, older red car has a diamond neckace and a note for a meeting in it, and Edward takes the chance of romance and adventure, on this one day when he's acting like a man instead of a downtrodden worm..."The Listerdale Mystery", a.k.a. "The Benevolent Butler" (December 1925) As with young "Jane in Search of a Job", the middle-aged, widowed Mrs. St. Vince