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The Actress: an Agatha Christie Short Story
Jake Levitt can’t believe his luck when, one evening at the theatre in London, he recognizes the lead actress as the former Nancy Taylor, a young woman he knows a lot about. A story of blackmail and murder ensues!
Librarian's note: previously published in the print anthology, The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories.
Librarian's note: previously published in the print anthology, The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories.
22 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1923
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339 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,917 books76.6k 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 62 reviews
February 17, 2023
A scuzzy dude attempts to blackmail a famous stage actress with her past.
We're never told who or what it was that he's blackmailing her with, but it's implied that it had something to do with some embarrassment in her past life. You know, something along the lines of a bad marriage or whatever else would make the 1920s crowd gasp.
Anyway. He had the goods on her!
Or so he thought.
She manages to outwit the blackmailer by giving her maid the night off, giving her understudy a raise, and testing her acting skills to the limit.
This one was more of a fun story than the kind of mystery that you're used to with Agatha Christie's books. I enjoyed it, though!
Read as part of the short story collection The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories.
We're never told who or what it was that he's blackmailing her with, but it's implied that it had something to do with some embarrassment in her past life. You know, something along the lines of a bad marriage or whatever else would make the 1920s crowd gasp.
Anyway. He had the goods on her!
Or so he thought.
She manages to outwit the blackmailer by giving her maid the night off, giving her understudy a raise, and testing her acting skills to the limit.
This one was more of a fun story than the kind of mystery that you're used to with Agatha Christie's books. I enjoyed it, though!
Read as part of the short story collection The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories.
February 19, 2022
Jake Levitt did not join in the clapping, but a slow, appreciative grin gradually distended his mouth. God! What luck!
A Trap for the Unwary is a short story by Agatha Christie first published in The Novel Magazine in May 1923. Unlike most of her books, it isn't a mystery. Instead, it is a story about how an actress outwits a would-be blackmailer.
At 12 pages long, it really is quite short. It opens with a man (Jake Levitt - aka the blackmailer) realizing that an actress he is watching on stage is actually someone else. He quickly forms a plan and sends her a letter hinting about what he knows. The actress, Olga Stormer, tells her manager all about what she did years ago in self defense and she quickly formulates her own plan to thwart the blackmailer.
As much as I really love Agatha Christie there was just a lot missing in the story. Once finished, all I had were incredulity type questions "Wouldn't he realize the next day?" "Surely he didn't believe this." But no matter what I thought about the story, it is always nice to be back in Agatha's world, if only for a short while.
A Trap for the Unwary is a short story by Agatha Christie first published in The Novel Magazine in May 1923. Unlike most of her books, it isn't a mystery. Instead, it is a story about how an actress outwits a would-be blackmailer.
At 12 pages long, it really is quite short. It opens with a man (Jake Levitt - aka the blackmailer) realizing that an actress he is watching on stage is actually someone else. He quickly forms a plan and sends her a letter hinting about what he knows. The actress, Olga Stormer, tells her manager all about what she did years ago in self defense and she quickly formulates her own plan to thwart the blackmailer.
As much as I really love Agatha Christie there was just a lot missing in the story. Once finished, all I had were incredulity type questions "Wouldn't he realize the next day?" "Surely he didn't believe this." But no matter what I thought about the story, it is always nice to be back in Agatha's world, if only for a short while.
May 31, 2016
Short and sweet. The perfect short story to kick off my Agatha Christie one-story a night read <3 well, with breaks in between to read and re read full length AC books. I can't Fangirl enough over her. I'm just utterly in love with her writing <3
January 12, 2016
This story is really meaningful to me because, while on the face of it the main "action" of the story is about a young actress who must stop a blackmailer from going public about a man she once killed in self-defense, the actual deep structure of the story is about her wondering if she's actually a good actress or do people just like her on stage because of her looks. During the course of the story, she does come to learn that yes, she's an actress, she can really act, and it's not all just fluff.
So, in other words, it's a piece about overcoming impostor syndrome, hidden inside a suspense tale. Love the way Christie is able to weave cheap thrills and meaty stuff together like that, and the final line of the story makes me smile every time.
So, in other words, it's a piece about overcoming impostor syndrome, hidden inside a suspense tale. Love the way Christie is able to weave cheap thrills and meaty stuff together like that, and the final line of the story makes me smile every time.
September 25, 2024
What an ingenious way to outwit a blackmailer. A definitive Agatha Christie move.
September 27, 2020
I am slowly working my way through Agatha Christie's short stories, thanks to their availability digitally through my library, and am enjoying them so very much! It amazes me how much ingenuity and depth she packed into this shorter format, and I often read them twice for a more fulfilling experience.
The Actress, one of Christie's shorter stories, is actually two-tiered in theme. First is obviously the mystery, involving the skills of a stage actress in thwarting the schemes of a blackmailer. Second is her insecurity over her acting skills - popular because of beauty or ability? Part of the denouement I kind of saw coming, but not every detail. The themes are cleverly interwoven and I highly recommend this story.
The Actress, one of Christie's shorter stories, is actually two-tiered in theme. First is obviously the mystery, involving the skills of a stage actress in thwarting the schemes of a blackmailer. Second is her insecurity over her acting skills - popular because of beauty or ability? Part of the denouement I kind of saw coming, but not every detail. The themes are cleverly interwoven and I highly recommend this story.
January 28, 2026
5 Stars. If I do say so myself, my five stars are devilish. To slightly modify Sally Fields at the 1985 Academy Awards, I liked it; I really, really liked it. [She said, in winning Best Actress, "You liked me; you really, really liked me!"] Yet Christie's story is also about a woman, actually two in this case, proving her acting ability. I read it as one of 9 in The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories. Olga Stormer has taken the London stage scene by storm and come out on top. Triumph followed triumph. While performing in The Avenging Angel, a man in the audience recognized her by her former name. "Little Nancy Taylor." Jake Levitt remembered her as a young actress in Chicago. She explains, "I shot a man, a beast of a man who deserved to be shot." And, "no jury on earth would have convicted me." Now blackmail is in the air as well as Olga's pending upscale marriage to Sir Richard Everard, MP. She consults with her agent, Syd Danahan, and her understudy, Margaret Ryan, and devises a plan. It's devilish and perfect for the occasion. May I have the envelopes please? For Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, the awards go to .. ! (Ja2026)
November 8, 2020
Great short story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Cowardice can always be dealt with!
July 22, 2021
Liked it
It was a short story ending in a surprising way. The whole story was like the ending episode of a longer novel.
It was a short story ending in a surprising way. The whole story was like the ending episode of a longer novel.
November 20, 2021
Ja, leuk kort verhaal.
March 18, 2022
This short story portrays how a famous actress outfox her blackmailer. It's short, interesting but the climax wasn't very convincing given the smartness and experience of the blackmailer.
May 1, 2025
3.5 stars
April 3, 2021
A great little Agatha story
A short that is classic Agatha Christie. I loved every minute.
Blackmail leads an actress to perform her best role.
A short that is classic Agatha Christie. I loved every minute.
Blackmail leads an actress to perform her best role.
December 15, 2025
The Actress was one of Agatha Christie's earliest published works and demonstrates the logic/reason and ease of reading that makes her one of the greatest mystery writers. I love the many writers of mystery for their mastery of reason and detail. This story has both.
July 27, 2016
I liked that the reader is in on the trick.
April 5, 2020
Read 2020
June 8, 2020
This is my first Agatha Christie short story. Written very well, but, it was too short, too quick for me to fully take in properly.
November 5, 2020
Wish they would adapt this one
A story with a strong and savvy woman. A wonderful jest indeed as she exacts her revenge on a would be blackmailer.
A story with a strong and savvy woman. A wonderful jest indeed as she exacts her revenge on a would be blackmailer.
Read
March 30, 2025Read as my March story for the Read Christie Challenge 2025 (a story featuring an actor/actress/performer).
I enjoyed this short tale quite a lot! I do wish it was a bit longer, though.
I enjoyed this short tale quite a lot! I do wish it was a bit longer, though.
April 18, 2025
Short but so clever
July 19, 2025
Aktorka musi pozbyć się swojego szantażysty. W tym celu posłuży się swoim talentem oraz niewątpliwym sprytem.
August 15, 2025
I liked it.
It was a bit too short for my taste, but nice ending (even if you read Agatha you kind of expect that twist :))
It was a bit too short for my taste, but nice ending (even if you read Agatha you kind of expect that twist :))
August 27, 2025
A quick and clever Agatha Christie read about an actress who brilliantly uses her craft to outsmart a blackmailer.
December 31, 2025
The shortest work I've come across by the famed Agatha Christie.
This is a very brief story about a secret past, a parasitic blackmailer, and a woman with some serious acting chops... with the determination to turn an extortion scheme back on its perpetrator.
While this was a decently paced little tale with a plausible premise, complete with a satisfying ending, I would have loved to see it fleshed out to something more novella-ish in length. There is far more telling than showing, and not much time to feel attached to (or invested in) any of the characters.
This is a very brief story about a secret past, a parasitic blackmailer, and a woman with some serious acting chops... with the determination to turn an extortion scheme back on its perpetrator.
While this was a decently paced little tale with a plausible premise, complete with a satisfying ending, I would have loved to see it fleshed out to something more novella-ish in length. There is far more telling than showing, and not much time to feel attached to (or invested in) any of the characters.
September 7, 2022
2022: 3/5 ⭐
🌱📚🌱
Historia breve y entretenida. Y qué personaje es la Señora Olga, supo planear todo de maravilla.
"La irónica sonrisa que asomó a los labios de Olga fue respuesta suficiente. Aunque Danahan no se daba cuenta, tras la aparente calma de la actriz bullía la impaciencia de un cerebro perspicaz que contempla a otro mucho más tardo avanzar trabajosamente por el camino que él ha recorrido antes en un abrir y cerrar de ojos."
-La Actriz, Agatha Christie
🌱📚🌱
Historia breve y entretenida. Y qué personaje es la Señora Olga, supo planear todo de maravilla.
January 29, 2022
It's New To Me
This is an Agatha Christie short story I have never read before. I didn't think there were any of those left. It was pretty easy to figure out so maybe it is one of her earlier works, but it was still well written.
This is an Agatha Christie short story I have never read before. I didn't think there were any of those left. It was pretty easy to figure out so maybe it is one of her earlier works, but it was still well written.
February 28, 2022
Great Actresses and fear
No one can top Agatha even after all these years. Just a start, an amazing setup, an excellent actress and a dead body that's NOT dead...really? Short and sweet this is a great read!
No one can top Agatha even after all these years. Just a start, an amazing setup, an excellent actress and a dead body that's NOT dead...really? Short and sweet this is a great read!
January 16, 2025
The story features a famous woman who is exposed threats come from someone and who creates plans for mastering the man who making threats to her. I was not very satisfied with the story and found it rather mediocre.
October 9, 2017
ছোটগল্প হিসেবে খারাপ না। তাও আরেকটু ভালো পাঞ্চ আশা করছিলাম
October 3, 2018
Good. Saw most of it coming.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews