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Harley Quin #14
The Harlequin Tea Set - a Harley Quin Short Story
Waiting for his car to be fixed, Mr. Satterthwaite sits in a tea shop called the Harlequin Café. He's thinking of his old friend Harley Quin whom he hasn’t seen in many years. Then, in a burst of sunshine, the very same Mr. Quin walks through the door, along with his diligent dog, Hermes!
Satterthwaite tells Quin the very long history of the family he is off to visit. But then their conversation is interrupted by the abrupt entrance of a member of the family. She is intent upon replacing her harlequin-style tea cups. Satterthwaite desperately asks Quin to accompany him on his trip, but the ever-enigmatic Quin simply leaves his friend with one word, “Daltonism.” What does that word mean, and what is the significance of Quin turning up at the tea shop on that day?
Librarian's note #1: this entry is for The Harlequin Tea Set, which was first published in a collection of short stories, Winter Crimes #3 in 1971. It was one of eight Christie stories in Problem at Pollensa Bay, which came out in 1991, and, The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories of the same year.
Librarian's note #2: the print anthology contains 12 Mr. Quin short stories. Besides those, there are two more found in other collections: The Love Detectives, and The Harlequin Tea Set. Mr. Satterthwaite also appears in Three Act Tragedy and Dead Man's Mirror. All by Agatha Christie, of course!
Librarian's note #3: the entries for all fourteen Mr. Quin short stories can be found on GR by searching for: a Harley Quin short story. Or for Harley Quin. Details such as characters and settings are included for each.
Satterthwaite tells Quin the very long history of the family he is off to visit. But then their conversation is interrupted by the abrupt entrance of a member of the family. She is intent upon replacing her harlequin-style tea cups. Satterthwaite desperately asks Quin to accompany him on his trip, but the ever-enigmatic Quin simply leaves his friend with one word, “Daltonism.” What does that word mean, and what is the significance of Quin turning up at the tea shop on that day?
Librarian's note #1: this entry is for The Harlequin Tea Set, which was first published in a collection of short stories, Winter Crimes #3 in 1971. It was one of eight Christie stories in Problem at Pollensa Bay, which came out in 1991, and, The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories of the same year.
Librarian's note #2: the print anthology contains 12 Mr. Quin short stories. Besides those, there are two more found in other collections: The Love Detectives, and The Harlequin Tea Set. Mr. Satterthwaite also appears in Three Act Tragedy and Dead Man's Mirror. All by Agatha Christie, of course!
Librarian's note #3: the entries for all fourteen Mr. Quin short stories can be found on GR by searching for: a Harley Quin short story. Or for Harley Quin. Details such as characters and settings are included for each.
Audiobook
First published January 1, 1971
33 people are currently reading
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About the author
Agatha Christie
5,775 books75.5k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
April 2, 2022
This is a Harley Quin short story by Agatha Christie that I listened to on audio, over an hour long and narrated by Hugh Fraser. Mr Satterthwaite is on his way to visit Tom Addison and his family on the country estate of Doverton Kingsbourne, a place he knows well, keen to revisit and is nostalgic about. However, he has car problems, and ends up in a cafe, where he meets the oddly the enigmatic Mr Quin, whom he had thought he would have seen again previously, but it was never to be until now. It's a cafe that sells vibrantly coloured Harlequin tea cups, which Tom's daughter-in-law turns up to buy for replacement purposes. Mr Satterthwaite eagerly asks Mr Quin to join him in visiting Tom but he declines, leaving with the strange word, Daltonism, key to the mystery that unfolds. I enjoyed the story, but it is not a favourite.
February 5, 2023
I have a soft spot for Mr. Satterthwaite, so I really enjoyed this one.
This picks up years after The Mysterious Mr. Quin and gives the sweet old man a nice send-off story.
For those of you who haven't read Mr. Quin's stories, he's basically a very nice incarnation of Death that appears to Mr. Satterthwaite and helps him solve a few mysteries.
The gist is that Satterthwaite has been invited to the house of his longtime friend to hang out with his family at their estate.
When his car breaks down, Mr. Quin shows up at the small town tea shop he is waiting at and gives him some very helpful advice.
Advice that may just save his friends.
Read as part of the short story collection The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories
This picks up years after The Mysterious Mr. Quin and gives the sweet old man a nice send-off story.
For those of you who haven't read Mr. Quin's stories, he's basically a very nice incarnation of Death that appears to Mr. Satterthwaite and helps him solve a few mysteries.
The gist is that Satterthwaite has been invited to the house of his longtime friend to hang out with his family at their estate.
When his car breaks down, Mr. Quin shows up at the small town tea shop he is waiting at and gives him some very helpful advice.
Advice that may just save his friends.
Read as part of the short story collection The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories
December 2, 2025
“It was a beautiful early evening and the green of the grass was a soft deep color. The golden light came through the copper beech and the cedar showed the lines of its beauty against a soft pinkish-golden sky.”
There is a tangible wistfulness in this later and final Mr. Quin and Satterthwaite story, which becomes quite moving. Satterthwaite has considerably aged as The Harlequin Tea Set begins. He is on his way to visit a very old friend and the man’s family at a home which holds many fond childhood memories for Satterthwaite.
Memories in fact play a big part in this resonating final entry, with Satterthwaite unable to recall at first his old friend Mr. Quin, and why the splash of color in a shop in the nothing little town of Kingsbourne Ducis stirs him so. But Satterthwaite has grown old, the memory initially just out of his reach.
Satterthwaite’s sentimental rumination about his old friend and the man’s family are captured wonderfully and realistically by Agatha Christie. Time appears to have passed Satterthwaite by as he laments the newer automobiles and their lack of simplicity. But all that is about to change.
Drawn to The Harlequin Café Satterthwaite happens upon his old friend Mr. Quin and the memories return. Their reunion is heartfelt and tender, for they have not seen each other since the haunting Harlequin’s Lane, many years prior. For the supernatural Mr. Quin of course, it has been but a moment, but for Satterthwaite, much more aware of time’s passage, it has been far too long.
Mr. Quin has acquired a small black dog named Hermes who of course is very bright and endearing in this final entry. Quin comforts Satterthwaite in regard to his fears that everything will be changed, tainting the memories Satterthwaite holds so dear. Mr. Quin also assures Satterthwaite that he has it within himself to know what to do when the time comes; whenever Mr. Quin appears, matters of love, and often life and death are sure to follow.
The parting of the two old friends only comes after the new wife of of one of Satterthwaite’s old friend’s sons comes into the shop to acquire some new colored cups for his very visit. She meets Mr. Quin, who begs off an invitation to join them at the large reunion. But Mr. Quin always has a reason for appearing somewhere…
What follows at the reunion is wonderful for a time, but suddenly it becomes exciting. Two young men and a cup, a vast inheritance, and Mr. Quin’s one-word reminder of daltonism aiding Mr. Satterthwaite in preventing tragedy. It turns out Mr. Quin was right all along, yet it has been his reminder to Satterthwaite which once agains brings out the best in Satterthwaite, allowing him to become a participant in life rather than an observer one final time.
A wonderful ending involving Satterthwaite’s enjoyment at being part of something and other people in his latter years, a scarecrow, a burning field, a thankful woman now part of Quin’s world rather than Satterthwaite’s, and of course Quin’s charming little dog Hermes make this one a melancholy final accounting of Mr. Quin and Satterthwaite.
Both bittersweet and wonderful, The Harlequin Tea Set is an absolute must for fans of Agatha Christie’s Satterthwaite and Mr. Quin stories. It is part of The Harlequin Tea Set collection of stories, and also included in the Problem at Pollensa Bay collection. Memorable.
There is a tangible wistfulness in this later and final Mr. Quin and Satterthwaite story, which becomes quite moving. Satterthwaite has considerably aged as The Harlequin Tea Set begins. He is on his way to visit a very old friend and the man’s family at a home which holds many fond childhood memories for Satterthwaite.
Memories in fact play a big part in this resonating final entry, with Satterthwaite unable to recall at first his old friend Mr. Quin, and why the splash of color in a shop in the nothing little town of Kingsbourne Ducis stirs him so. But Satterthwaite has grown old, the memory initially just out of his reach.
Satterthwaite’s sentimental rumination about his old friend and the man’s family are captured wonderfully and realistically by Agatha Christie. Time appears to have passed Satterthwaite by as he laments the newer automobiles and their lack of simplicity. But all that is about to change.
Drawn to The Harlequin Café Satterthwaite happens upon his old friend Mr. Quin and the memories return. Their reunion is heartfelt and tender, for they have not seen each other since the haunting Harlequin’s Lane, many years prior. For the supernatural Mr. Quin of course, it has been but a moment, but for Satterthwaite, much more aware of time’s passage, it has been far too long.
Mr. Quin has acquired a small black dog named Hermes who of course is very bright and endearing in this final entry. Quin comforts Satterthwaite in regard to his fears that everything will be changed, tainting the memories Satterthwaite holds so dear. Mr. Quin also assures Satterthwaite that he has it within himself to know what to do when the time comes; whenever Mr. Quin appears, matters of love, and often life and death are sure to follow.
The parting of the two old friends only comes after the new wife of of one of Satterthwaite’s old friend’s sons comes into the shop to acquire some new colored cups for his very visit. She meets Mr. Quin, who begs off an invitation to join them at the large reunion. But Mr. Quin always has a reason for appearing somewhere…
What follows at the reunion is wonderful for a time, but suddenly it becomes exciting. Two young men and a cup, a vast inheritance, and Mr. Quin’s one-word reminder of daltonism aiding Mr. Satterthwaite in preventing tragedy. It turns out Mr. Quin was right all along, yet it has been his reminder to Satterthwaite which once agains brings out the best in Satterthwaite, allowing him to become a participant in life rather than an observer one final time.
A wonderful ending involving Satterthwaite’s enjoyment at being part of something and other people in his latter years, a scarecrow, a burning field, a thankful woman now part of Quin’s world rather than Satterthwaite’s, and of course Quin’s charming little dog Hermes make this one a melancholy final accounting of Mr. Quin and Satterthwaite.
Both bittersweet and wonderful, The Harlequin Tea Set is an absolute must for fans of Agatha Christie’s Satterthwaite and Mr. Quin stories. It is part of The Harlequin Tea Set collection of stories, and also included in the Problem at Pollensa Bay collection. Memorable.
April 14, 2021
What an interesting find. A character Agatha Christie seems to have written a number of short stories about but although extensively reading her books I had no prior knowledge about. (Harley Quin).
A short story is a brilliant format for Mr Quin to pop up in.
His presence has a catalytic impact on the life of his “friend”, Mr Satterthwaite. A chance meeting with Mr Quin in a village again propels Satterthwaite into a life and death situation. Where his ‘sixth sense’ or keen observation may just avert a disaster for his long-standing friend, Tom, who he was on his way to see before his car had mechanical problems.
The story builds up a deep sense of fore-boding. You turn each page with a feeling of dread since it seems something awful is about to happen in this lovely tranquil, quintessential English landscape.
This is topical Christie but more thrilling, like a horror story touching on the supernatural. But like her mysteries the drama involves real people with flawed characters and selfish motives.
Can Satterthwaite arrive in time and intervene before the family endures a new loss?
Great that this publisher, HarperCollins has seen the advantage ebooks gives to reach a new audience for a story first published 50 years ago. Thank you!
A short story is a brilliant format for Mr Quin to pop up in.
His presence has a catalytic impact on the life of his “friend”, Mr Satterthwaite. A chance meeting with Mr Quin in a village again propels Satterthwaite into a life and death situation. Where his ‘sixth sense’ or keen observation may just avert a disaster for his long-standing friend, Tom, who he was on his way to see before his car had mechanical problems.
The story builds up a deep sense of fore-boding. You turn each page with a feeling of dread since it seems something awful is about to happen in this lovely tranquil, quintessential English landscape.
This is topical Christie but more thrilling, like a horror story touching on the supernatural. But like her mysteries the drama involves real people with flawed characters and selfish motives.
Can Satterthwaite arrive in time and intervene before the family endures a new loss?
Great that this publisher, HarperCollins has seen the advantage ebooks gives to reach a new audience for a story first published 50 years ago. Thank you!
September 27, 2025
3 Stars. The final Mr. Quin story. Published 4 decades after the second last. Agatha Christie had a fondness for Quin and Satterthwaite and proved it by returning to them late in her career. It's a little sedate, but not without a big surprise. Mr. S must at least be in his mid 70s and hasn't see Quin in many years. He's taking a drive to see his old friend Tom Addison and his family at their country estate, Doverton, Kingsbourne. He was there often in his youth. Mr. S is always having car problems, and the latest occurs near a shop, the Harlequin Café. Intrigued, he drops in and finds Quin! He's excited and realizes that Mr. Q's presence must mean something serious could be in the works. The shop not only sells tea and cakes, but Harlequin tea cups, multi-coloured and flashy. Suddenly Mrs. Gilliatt, the daughter-in-law of Tom Addison, drops by to purchase a few replacement cups for the estate. Interesting. The intro ends when Satterthwaite presses Quin to join him later in the day at the estate for tea but Quin refuses. Mr. Q departs with just one word, "Daltonism." What does he mean? (Se2021/Se2025)
January 20, 2021
Another excellent short story by Agatha Christie about the enigmatic Mr. Harley Quin. Perfectly performed by Hugh Fraser.
May 21, 2020
AGATHA CHRISTIE AND HER PEERS
1971 - This is the last Christie short/novella to be published. It does have the feel of a final short story as we say goodbye to a couple of characters, but I think this was written much earlier but to be held for publication.
CAST - 4 stars: The very strange Mr. Harley Quin pops up out of nowhere along with his very smart dog. A family that has seen better days thinks about the past. A Mr. Satterthwaite serves as a detective of sorts and is on his way to spend a weekend with old friends. Among them is Satterthwaite's dear friend, Tom Addison, who is the owner of...
ATMOSPHERE - 5 stars: ...Dover Kingsbourne, a classic country manor house in the midst of a classic country house party: Christie created this subgenre and it's beautifully done. A massive lawn, slightly unkempt, is the setting for an afternoon tea with all the trimmings. A few attendees are oddly high-strung: a scarecrow in the distance is much too well-tailored for a field. Naturally, on his drive to Dover, Satterthwaite's attention is caught by a tea set in a shop window. Dame Christie is in her element here: just a touch of romance and a bits of supernatural elements are just right.
CRIME - 3 stars: This story is all about what MIGHT be happening.
INVESTIGATION - 3 stars: Satterthwaite almost misses Quin's specific one-word instruction but...
RESOLUTION - 3 stars: ...remembers just in time before a devilish murder takes place.
SUMMARY - 3.6 stars. Christie doesn't excel at short stories, she needs to be surrounded by one of her many sets of brilliant casts. But if I had to name a favorite Christie short/novella, this is the one. I don't much care for Christie's romantic subplots but this one is slight and very nice, and I do think Christie could have done more in the area of the supernatural. And this second reading was a revelation as it was better twice read.
1971 - This is the last Christie short/novella to be published. It does have the feel of a final short story as we say goodbye to a couple of characters, but I think this was written much earlier but to be held for publication.
CAST - 4 stars: The very strange Mr. Harley Quin pops up out of nowhere along with his very smart dog. A family that has seen better days thinks about the past. A Mr. Satterthwaite serves as a detective of sorts and is on his way to spend a weekend with old friends. Among them is Satterthwaite's dear friend, Tom Addison, who is the owner of...
ATMOSPHERE - 5 stars: ...Dover Kingsbourne, a classic country manor house in the midst of a classic country house party: Christie created this subgenre and it's beautifully done. A massive lawn, slightly unkempt, is the setting for an afternoon tea with all the trimmings. A few attendees are oddly high-strung: a scarecrow in the distance is much too well-tailored for a field. Naturally, on his drive to Dover, Satterthwaite's attention is caught by a tea set in a shop window. Dame Christie is in her element here: just a touch of romance and a bits of supernatural elements are just right.
CRIME - 3 stars: This story is all about what MIGHT be happening.
INVESTIGATION - 3 stars: Satterthwaite almost misses Quin's specific one-word instruction but...
RESOLUTION - 3 stars: ...remembers just in time before a devilish murder takes place.
SUMMARY - 3.6 stars. Christie doesn't excel at short stories, she needs to be surrounded by one of her many sets of brilliant casts. But if I had to name a favorite Christie short/novella, this is the one. I don't much care for Christie's romantic subplots but this one is slight and very nice, and I do think Christie could have done more in the area of the supernatural. And this second reading was a revelation as it was better twice read.
June 30, 2020
The Harlequin Tea Set is Christie's last published short story, and it's a very good one. The Mr. Quin stories are quite unusual, with a slight touch of the supernatural, and I've grown to love them. This story ends with a "to our next meeting" note from Mr. Quin to Mr. Satterthwaite and I wish there could have been many more such meetings.
I loved every word in this story. It opens with an aging Mr. Satterthwaite spending time in a tea shop while his car is being repaired, and complaining about the quality of the day's newer models. Halfway expecting to reconnect with Mr. Quin, who he hasn't seen in several years, he's not really surprised when said gentleman walks in. Many delightful pages are spent in setting the stage - descriptions of the English countryside, the extended family that he is on the way to visit, etc. The actual murder mystery unfolds in the last few pages, with all that came before laying the foundation.
Christie does a great job in the short story format, with most crying out for a second or third read to be more fully satisfying. The Harlequin Tea Set is another Quin favorite. Highly recommended.
I loved every word in this story. It opens with an aging Mr. Satterthwaite spending time in a tea shop while his car is being repaired, and complaining about the quality of the day's newer models. Halfway expecting to reconnect with Mr. Quin, who he hasn't seen in several years, he's not really surprised when said gentleman walks in. Many delightful pages are spent in setting the stage - descriptions of the English countryside, the extended family that he is on the way to visit, etc. The actual murder mystery unfolds in the last few pages, with all that came before laying the foundation.
Christie does a great job in the short story format, with most crying out for a second or third read to be more fully satisfying. The Harlequin Tea Set is another Quin favorite. Highly recommended.
July 29, 2016
Interesting mystery (that would never work in modern times!).
December 4, 2022
4.5 Stars - After reading two other short stories about Mr. Quin I find I am slightly obsessed with him. This story was excellent, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more!
February 5, 2023
A short story that requires you to pay attention till the end.
Secrets of heritage, family and a hind of colour blindness.
Secrets of heritage, family and a hind of colour blindness.
January 10, 2021
Audio version read by Hugh Fraser.
First book that I have read by Agatha Christie and it was enjoyable. A lovely short story increasing my curiosity on other Agatha Christie books in the future.
First book that I have read by Agatha Christie and it was enjoyable. A lovely short story increasing my curiosity on other Agatha Christie books in the future.
November 16, 2024
I really enjoyed reading about Mr Satterthwaite and Mr Harley Quin again. It’s been decades since their last adventure and they meet up at The Harlequin Tea Shop when Mr S’s car breaks down on the way to visit family friends—his childhood best friend Tom is now the grandfatherly lord of the manor, with all his extended family visiting. I loved the tea shop and Mr Quinn’s little black dog Hermes, and I really enjoyed the sense of family Mr S has for Tom and his progeny. Mr Quin was delightfully mysterious and there was a benign ghost. Why only three stars then? Because the murder attempt made no sense to me. But it is a good swan song for Mr S.
January 18, 2023
Interrsting!
June 2, 2025
Christie’s Harley Quin stories were a favorite in high school, so when I found my old book again I couldn’t resist. Then I learned there were two stories not included in my book, so I tracked them down. I’ve enjoyed them all.
April 28, 2020
The Harlequin Tea-Set was written when Agatha Christie was in her 80s and her plotting powers were in steep decline. She had been using a dictaphone and that had had a further ‘loosening’ effect on her writing. Not unlike Postern of Fate, the last novel she produced before her death, The Harlequin Tea-Set is altogether too muddled, rambling and repetitious and it teems with incongruities, irrelevancies and self-indulgences.
A long opening paragraph introduces us to the jaundiced views of the elderly Mr Satterthwaite aimed at modern cars which ‘broke down more frequently than they used to.’ Quite unnecessarily Harley Quin is given a little black dog called Hermes, clearly named after the winged herald and messenger of the gods, tho one strongly suspects modeled on Agatha Christie’s beloved dog Bingo. A scarecrow called Harley Barley makes an embarrassing appearance and so does the ghost of Lily, the mother of the intended victim, ‘dressed in some pale mother-of-pearl colouring’. At one point the scarecrow rather dramatically, though for no apparent reason, bursts into flames. The middle-aged and respectable-looking Mrs Gilliatt rides a motorbike — which on one page changes to ‘bicycle’. Daltonism or colour blindness is mentioned early in the story’s ten-page exposition, but when the time comes for this important detail to be slotted into the mystery, the result is something of a damp squib.
There is a happy end, with Mr Sattherthwaite managing to avert a murder by poisoning, though exactly how the killer might have hoped to get away with it is unclear. Conveniently the killer — rather, the would-be killer — commits suicide and Mr Satterthwaite thinks it ‘best left that way’. He tries to explain why thus: ‘It’s an old house. And old family. A good family...A lot of good people in it...One doesn’t want trouble, scandal, everything brought upon it.’
The Harlequin Tea-Set is a story which Christie completists will treasure despite all its flaws, however it would be very wrong to recommend It as an introduction to The Queen of Crime. What the reader can take away from it is the reassuring country-house setting and the very English atmosphere of a particular ‘cozy’ kind, much beloved by aficionados of the genre.
This is Mr Satterthwaite arriving at the house splendidly called Doverton Kingsbourne:
Tea was set out upon the lawn. Steps led out from the French windows in the drawing room and down to where a big copper beech at one side and a cedar of Lebanon on the other made the setting for the afternoon serene...two painted and carved white tables and various garden chairs...hoods over them to guard you from the sun...a soft pinkish-golden sky...
A long opening paragraph introduces us to the jaundiced views of the elderly Mr Satterthwaite aimed at modern cars which ‘broke down more frequently than they used to.’ Quite unnecessarily Harley Quin is given a little black dog called Hermes, clearly named after the winged herald and messenger of the gods, tho one strongly suspects modeled on Agatha Christie’s beloved dog Bingo. A scarecrow called Harley Barley makes an embarrassing appearance and so does the ghost of Lily, the mother of the intended victim, ‘dressed in some pale mother-of-pearl colouring’. At one point the scarecrow rather dramatically, though for no apparent reason, bursts into flames. The middle-aged and respectable-looking Mrs Gilliatt rides a motorbike — which on one page changes to ‘bicycle’. Daltonism or colour blindness is mentioned early in the story’s ten-page exposition, but when the time comes for this important detail to be slotted into the mystery, the result is something of a damp squib.
There is a happy end, with Mr Sattherthwaite managing to avert a murder by poisoning, though exactly how the killer might have hoped to get away with it is unclear. Conveniently the killer — rather, the would-be killer — commits suicide and Mr Satterthwaite thinks it ‘best left that way’. He tries to explain why thus: ‘It’s an old house. And old family. A good family...A lot of good people in it...One doesn’t want trouble, scandal, everything brought upon it.’
The Harlequin Tea-Set is a story which Christie completists will treasure despite all its flaws, however it would be very wrong to recommend It as an introduction to The Queen of Crime. What the reader can take away from it is the reassuring country-house setting and the very English atmosphere of a particular ‘cozy’ kind, much beloved by aficionados of the genre.
This is Mr Satterthwaite arriving at the house splendidly called Doverton Kingsbourne:
Tea was set out upon the lawn. Steps led out from the French windows in the drawing room and down to where a big copper beech at one side and a cedar of Lebanon on the other made the setting for the afternoon serene...two painted and carved white tables and various garden chairs...hoods over them to guard you from the sun...a soft pinkish-golden sky...
April 19, 2014
As an ebook, only 31 pages, but totally delightful. It's difficult to review without giving away too much, but it sets up quickly and the "bad guy" is exposed cleverly. Dame Agatha puts you "at the scene of the crime" to the degree that you feel the breeze on the lawn at tea, and are yourself deciding between cucumber sandwiches and home-made pate. The family genealogy is important, so don't skip over.
November 22, 2013
This is an interesting collections of Agatha Christie stories. I didn't realize that she'd written so many non-mystery short stories. Turns out she really found her niche with the mysteries and the short fiction is a bit too cryptic and bland at the same time. There was a great Poiroit story in the middle though.
March 15, 2020
A nice little stand alone mystery. A short story but quite a lengthy one story that. The mysterious Harley Quin makes another appearance and helps to foil an attempted poisoning for financial gain. Recommended.
June 15, 2024
This one wasn’t my favorite. I found myself trying to go over what I had just read because I kept getting bored. There were some parts that caught my attention, but others just made me thing it was dragging on.
July 21, 2021
This was the last of Agatha Christie's short stories to be published in 1971. This was 48 years after "The Affair at the Victory Ball" first appeared in "The Sketch" in 1923.
May 22, 2025
An unusual addition to Christie’s catalog. I haven’t read anything like this from the Queen of crime so far. There’s a very big supernatural element that I don’t think I’ve seen before in her work. This was also my first Mr Quin read from her and I’m not sure what to think so far.
I would recommend picking this one up if you need your dose of Agatha and want something to go through quickly that still feels satisfying.
I would recommend picking this one up if you need your dose of Agatha and want something to go through quickly that still feels satisfying.
December 31, 2021
start of my agatha cristie era? maybe so
this one was less about the mystery and more about the eldritch being harley quin, which a. love that for agatha and b. made this a very sentimental little tale. somehow she managed to capture the themes of love and family and aging in so few pages, and so eloquently.
this one was less about the mystery and more about the eldritch being harley quin, which a. love that for agatha and b. made this a very sentimental little tale. somehow she managed to capture the themes of love and family and aging in so few pages, and so eloquently.
July 23, 2023
3 stars
September 3, 2022
Can’t there just be more stories about pretty china and pretty cups?? If you know some, send them my way!
March 30, 2025
a final goodbye to an aged and nostalgic mr. satterthwaite.
February 8, 2023
the pinnacle of comfort, tea platters and cups tossed about and all around
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February 10, 2021This is the worst story I ever read by Agatha Christie who usually is on the money. Spoiler:
We know the woman bought a blue, green and red cup at the store. Back home, attempting to murder the person, she knocks over and breaks the red cup and replaces it with a blue cup (poisoned, one assumes.) The person to be murdered doesn't notice the change in cup because he is color blind.
Why bother with that at all? We know she has a red cup, just use that for the poison and no one would be the wiser - the hero wouldn't have noticed.
Of course, had she been successful, it is not explained how she thought she'd get away with it. Yes, it was her "son" but she was the one doing all the tea serving so she wasn't scot free.
It's like Ms Christie had color blindness in her sites and wondered how she could make a murder story out of it. Not so good.
We know the woman bought a blue, green and red cup at the store. Back home, attempting to murder the person, she knocks over and breaks the red cup and replaces it with a blue cup (poisoned, one assumes.) The person to be murdered doesn't notice the change in cup because he is color blind.
Why bother with that at all? We know she has a red cup, just use that for the poison and no one would be the wiser - the hero wouldn't have noticed.
Of course, had she been successful, it is not explained how she thought she'd get away with it. Yes, it was her "son" but she was the one doing all the tea serving so she wasn't scot free.
It's like Ms Christie had color blindness in her sites and wondered how she could make a murder story out of it. Not so good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2020
This story is one of the reasons I moved away from reading Christie. . . the reveal is just, just so preposterous. The framework is off too. If I had been her writing short stories teacher I would have complained. I don't want to divulge spoilers so I will just say that crime had 1) Too long an arc to be believable 2) forces us to conclude that a father can't recognize his own baby and 3) leaves a gaping plot hole, the motive doesn't fit the crime or rather the crime doesn't fulfill the need of the motive. Dems some pretty big problems, and all for the sake of introducing a half-magical character, Mr Quinn.
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