A Fruitful Sunday

by Agatha Christie

Edward Palgrove has saved up to buy a small car, which he and his fiancée, Dorothy Pratt, are both proud of. But neither one is prepared for the journey it will take them on when they go for a drive and along the way, buy some fruit.

Librarian's note: previously published in the print anthologies, The Golden Ball and Other Stories, and The Listerdale Mystery and Other Stories.

Genres: Mystery, Agatha Christie, Short Stories, Classics, Audiobook, Fiction, Crime

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 1928

About the author

Agatha 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)

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
A couple on a date pulls off the side of the road and end up buying a basket of fruit. Inside they find a ruby necklace. They also find a newspaper and read about a big jewel robbery
Now they've got to decide what to do with it.



It's a morality tale and not a very interesting one. Neither of the characters really appealed to me because he seemed cheap (I can't stand cheap men) and she seemed silly.

Read as part of the short story collection A Deadly Affair.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorothy, a housemaid, is out for a Sunday drive with her fellow, Edward. The car is old and in poor repair, but the pair are enjoying their Sunday outing nevertheless. They stop and buy a basket of fruit from a man at the roadside, who tells them they are getting more than their money's worth by buying one particular basket. What they discover inside nestled alongside the cherries sends them on quite the adventure!

This story was first published in the Daily Mail in August 1928 in the UK, and later included in the story collection, The Listerdale Mystery, in 1934. It was not published in the US until 1971 when it was included in The Golden Ball and Other Stories.

Cute story. Very entertaining. It was nice to get a break from stories that are all about the upper class where the characters make very judgmental comments about their servants or where the servants are the villains in one way or another. This time, the main characters are a servant out on her day off and her boyfriend who is a city clerk. The plot doesn't center around rich, spoiled people this time. I liked Dorothy. She's enjoying a day out where she doesn't have to please anyone but herself and doesn't have to feel like a servant, and she vents a bit about her job. And also gets tempted to make a poor decision, but learns a lot about herself -- and Edward -- in the process. Loved the story!

I like these little views into 1920s/1930s English society. Well, fictionalized society, but a peek into the mindset of the time, nevertheless....or people would not have gravitated to Christie's writing like they did. A housemaid, out enjoying a Sunday drive with her man, is caught up in thoughts that she is just like everyone else out enjoying a car ride that day and not just a servant. And then fate poses her a question about her character....and she learns a lesson about herself and her man. Christie really did possess great storytelling powers! This tale was fun to read, and it had a nice lesson in the end!

On to the next!

[Lovely Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75⭐️

I’m honestly, just so confused…..?

A couple read about a jewelry theft in the newspaper, and the out of the blue, the jewels end up in their possession…but how? And why?

[Douwke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastisch!!!

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Agatha Christie : I've also read
- Murder with Mirrors
- A Caribbean Mystery
- Nemesis
- The Mirror Crack'd
- A Holiday For Murder / Hercule Poirot's Christmas
- The Pale Horse
- Postern Of Fate
- Murder at the Vicarage
- Curtain
- Hallowe'en Party
- What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw !
- The Body in the Library
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Thirteen at Dinner
- The ABC Murders
- Cards on the Table
- Death on the Nile
- Third Girl
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
- A Murder Is Announced
- At Bertram's Hotel
- The Moving Finger
- By The Pricking of My Thumbs
- N or M
- The Golden Ball
- The Listerdale Mystery
- The Girl in the Train
- The Manhood of Edward Robinson
- Jane in Search of a Job
- A Fruitful Sunday
- The Rajah's Emerald
- Swain Song
- The Hound of Death
- The Gipsy
- The Lamp
- The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
- The Call of Wings
- Magnolia Blossom
- Next to a Dog
- The Seven Dials Mystery
- The Big Four
- Passenger To Frankfurt
- The Tuesday Club Murders
- The Idol House of Astarte
- Ingots of Gold
- The Blood-Stained Pavement
- Motive v. Opportunity
- The Thumb Mark of St. Peter
- The Blue Geranium
- The Companion
- The Four Suspects
- A Christmas Tragedy
- The Herb of Death
- The affair at the Bungalow
- Death by Drowning
- Elephants Can Remember
- Murder at Hazelmoor
- The Under Dog
- The Plymouth Express
- The Affair at the Victory Ball
- The Market Basing Mystery
- The Lemesurier Inheritance
- The King of Clubs
- The Submarine Plans
- The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
- The Regatta Mystery
- The Mystery of the Bagdad Chest
- How Does Your Garden Grow?
- Problem at Pollensa Bay
- Yellow Iris
- Miss Marple Tells a Story
- The Dream
- In a Glass Darkly
- Problems at Sea
- Double Sin
- Wasps' Nest
- The Theft of the Royal Ruby
- The Dressmaker's Doll
- Greenshaw's Folly
- The Double Club
- The Last Seance
- Sanctuary
- Murder on the Links
- The Mysterious Mr. Quin
- The Shadow on the Glass
- At the Bells and Motley
- The Sign in the Sky
- The Soul of the Croupier
- The World's End
- The Voice in the Dark
- The Face of Helen
- The Dead Harlequin
- The Bird With the Broken Wing
- The Man From the Sea
- Harlequin's Lane
- Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective
- Easy To Kill
- Endless Night
- After The Funeral
- Sparkling Cyanide / Remembered Death
- Black Coffee
- Death in the Air
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles
- Peril at End House
- Sleeping Murder
- And Then There Were None (also Ten Little Indians)

[Noninuna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just okay. Seriously, i dont know where the mystery part in this short story except the part where people questioning something. Then, it's solve. I mean, what?

[Mo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook
About 20 minutes

[Nafisa Nawar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn’t expecting any mystery from the very beginning. Therefore, it couldn’t disappoint me either. It's actually a pretty funny story!

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one story that would have made O' Henry proud. It has absolutely wonderful descriptions, witty dialogues, black humour, and a neat twist.
Recommended.

[a ☕︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

would have been much better if the necklace was the genuine article. i do want cherries now though…

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good a story IMO. Again, focus on characters and dialog (beyond perot) doesn't seem Agatha's thing (yet?)

[Watchdogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Fruitful Sunday: A Short Story by Agatha Christie
First published in 1928.

Thumbnail -
Edward Palgrove has saved up to buy a small car, which he and his fiancée, Dorothy Pratt, are both proud of. But neither one is prepared for the journey it will take them on.

My thoughts -
A short story involving two ordinary working-class folks out for a Sunday drive in a not too reliable small car. They make a purchase of a carton of cherries while in the countryside only to discover what may be a very valuable necklace at the bottom of the fruit. What next transpires can best be described as a moral dilemma. A nicely scripted story reminiscent of an O. Henry work. Not so much a mystery as an entertainment. Fully worthy of my 3-star rating - meaning - Good - better than average - consonant with my rating system.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A maid is with her boyfriend on her day out and they go for a drive. On the way, they stop at a farm stand and he buys her a basket of cherries. While reading the paper, the maid sees that a famous ruby necklace has been stolen. At the bottom of the basket of cherries is a ruby necklace! It must be the stolen necklace. She convinces her boyfriend to find a fence to sell it. The next day he tries to find a fence but the maid calls and tells him not to, that she doesn’t know what she was thinking. They agree to meet to talk it over when he sees an article in the paper that says that it is advertising stunt that random baskets of fruit will contain an imitation necklace.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another rather jolly story by Agatha Christie. This story revolves around a Jewellery Robbery whilst a young couple are out on a walk who then buy a basket of fruit. What would you do in the situation?

[As You Wish · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was so random. As though a fake ruby necklace would look as nice as a real one when they were giving them away as a gimmick. I get it if it was something done by a jeweler to look legit but was a cheaper stone. I think these two folks are two peas in a pod. I hope they’re very happy together.

[itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

eponymous-ey sentence:
p11: Baskets of fruit were sold yesterday and will be on sale every Sunday.

That was a close call.

Read as part of the collection The Listerdale Mystery and Eleven Other Stories.

[Thomas Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Golden Ball and Other Stories. 10 pages.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read 2020

[Forked Radish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never buy fruit from strangers.

[Yazlina Saduri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strand of red gems in a basket of cherries. Interesting gem adventure but not interesting enough

[Joop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Een wat minder boeiend verhaaltje van AC.

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a weird cross-promotion... cherrys and jewels?!

[Jina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little story, I enjoyed it. I listened to audiobook
Read by Hugh Fraser .

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. An amusing little story. Plus an insight into the lives of young Londoners of the working class in the 1920s. Getting a first car, going for a drive in the country, disliking employers, going to the pictures, I enjoyed it. Christie wrote many in the 1920s - adventures with a little mystery and romance. This one had a dab of morality which she occasionally throws into her novels as well. It first appeared in the Daily Mail in 1928. Dorothy Pratt is a parlour maid enjoying her day off with her boyfriend, Edward Palgrove. He's just bought a fourth-hand Austin and they take it for a drive in the country. Cars were much less dependable back then than now. I laughed when he complained about the spongey brakes and the recalcitrant clutch. The two turn into a lovely lane where they spot a fruit vendor and, for 2 shillings, get a small basket of cherries. Can you imagine the shear joy of driving in beautiful rural England, eating fresh and tasty cherries, and tossing the pits into the ditch? Or spitting them! I did that once in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. They discover a gorgeous diamond necklace in the box, and read of a theft of one yesterday. Could this be it? (Ja2025)

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!
Edward Palgrove just bought a cheap second-hand car. He runs into problems trying to drive it - bad breaks, to take out his girl.
They manage to stop at a fruit stand along the road. But there's more than cherries in that basket, and possibly the beginning of many more dangerous trouble!
I loved the humor and the final twist.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one. Listened to it as part of a compilation under the title 'The Listerdale Mystery' narrated by the lovely Hugh Fraser. Short and sweet. Nice little 'listen'.

[Bear Wiseman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frankly, this was was a bit dull compared to the others.

[John Somers · Rating 3 out of 5]

11/20.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

auidobook

[A.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A couple find something in a basket of cherries that makes them rethink their lives … at least until the truth emerges.
2 stars