The Lonely God: an Agatha Christie Short Story

by Agatha Christie

An unlikely couple find themselves drawn together by their mutual fascination for a sinister little stone idol high on a shelf in the British Museum in London.

Librarian's note: previously published in the anthologies, While The Light Lasts and Other Stories, and The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories.

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

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1926

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 4 out of 5]

A little statue of an unnamed god in a museum brings two lonely people together.
A man named Frank Oliver comes back to England after living abroad for many years and he realizes that he doesn't have any friends anymore. He wants to paint but ends up spending all of his time in a museum starting at this little statue that he thinks of as the lonely god because it has been forgotten just like he has.



He meets a governess who also likes to come to stare at his statue and falls in love with her, eventually asking her to marry him. Then she disappears after sending him a note saying she loves him.
It has a very sweet ending.
And I'm not sure what it was about the way Christie told this story, but it made for quite a nice read.



This was first published in Royal Magazine in 1926.
Read as part of the short story collection The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Here was something vaguely akin to himself; here, too, was someone lost and astray in a strange land."
- Agatha Christie, The Lonely God


OK this is five stars five stars five stars five stars.

A short story, a mythological story, by Agatha, Christie herself!

And somehow I never knew about this?

This was an enchanting, whimsical, sweet fascinating little tale, that takes place almost entirely within the walls of a museum .

You will laugh, you will smile, you will possibly relate. At the very least you’ll be charmed.


So, just who is the lonely God? I’m not going to tell you! You have got to read this.


Now this is not coming from an Agatha Christie mega fan.

Although I’ve read her work, there is only one book I’ve read by Christie that makes it into my top 20 of all time. And there are more books by her. I haven’t read that I have read.


I found this purely accidentally. What happened was I was looking for short stories because I didn’t want anything too long and too heavy right now. I was looking for short stories that were mythological in nature, since I adore ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology.



So I guess I have Amazon to thank for this one because that’s where I encountered it. I should also tell you this takes…

10 to 20 minutes to read at the most


I absolutely love all of the themes here.

The characterizations were so deep and so real. I mean think what you want about Agatha Christie, but you can’t deny she was a wonderful writer and novelist.

OK so I can’t recommend it enough. It’s charming. It’s lovely and

SPOILERS

I am very much a cynic about love, but this little story managed to convince me! The two people, the two main characters you will adore, and you will absolutely fall in love with the lonely God. I also found the other gods fascinating.

I actually considered adding this very brief short story to my favorites list, that’s how well written it was. I’ve also been in a really damn bad mood, and This managed to open a sunny door for me..

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this through Goodreader Bren fall in love with the sea. I read all the Agatha Christie mysteries during COVID. Every last one of them. It was a fun task. However, I had never seen nor heard of this short story until today…because it’s a romance, not a mystery, and it’s a short story, not a novel. It was sweet, just OK, really, but a fun find.

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. A lovely little story that's been told in different ways many times. When it comes to romance, I love a happy ending. But my reading interest has always been in mysteries and thrillers, with a side of adventure. Agatha Christie with Poirot and Marple can't be avoided in the field; indeed shouldn't be. If you enjoy mysteries and thrillers, you've got to try a few of hers. But until I started Goodreads almost a decade ago, I didn't know she did supernaturals and romances as well. We meet a 40-year-old Frank Oliver who has recently returned to London after years in Burma; he feels an overwhelming loneliness. Venturing into the British Museum, the statue of a strange little god attracts his attention. Off in a corner, he empathizes with its loneliness. It doesn't even have a plaque explaining its background. It's not long before he realizes that there's another admirer of the little god, a woman in a shabby coat. Eventually they strike up a conversation but at the first sign of something nice developing, she disappears. Remember I said, a lovely little story that's been told in different ways many times. You'll smile. I'm revising it from four to five. (Ja2026)

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

adorable.
two people meet in the museum. Both are fascinated by a small battered statue of an unknown god who sits with his head in his hands. Each person thinks the statue looks lonely, like they are. She is wearing clothes so battered and frequently mended that he assumes she is a nanny; she's too well spoken for a maid.
The meet cute: he buys a lady's handkerchief so he can ask if she dropped hers. He is a little older than her, much travelled and approaching forty. His friends keep trying to match-make him but he only has eyes for the lost looking young woman in the Museum. A guard notices them and always tries to be in another room so they can have some moments alone.
But one day, she doesn't come. He waits, but she does not return. He is heartbroken and throws his emotions into his art. Touched by a story he read about a woman who had everything and was still alone, he paints her, as the girl from the museum. The painting causes a sensation.
the twist: she wrote the story, she is a rich spoilt woman who has everything of worth and nothing of value. She has disguised herself in her own maid's clothing. In Paris, she saw the art, and recognised herself. She returns to the museum in her own clothes and the guard is astounded. The small god, gives everything he has; his only two worshippers to make them meet. The man is in the museum that day, too, even though he has been avoiding it. A scene which I found incredibly touching. [I'm such a softie]
They go off together, into a happy future.
4 sweet stars - I mean it brought a tear to my eye.

[Maho · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bloody love this story. There’s this admirable thing in it—the idiosyncratic touch of Agatha Christie that makes it superb. I don’t know why but the love here between the two, or the depiction of it, resembles those we find in Shakespeare. Pure, at first sight, genuine love.

[Selah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Agatha Christie "fairytale"!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, what a wonderfully sweet story. It revolves around two random people who meet in a corner of the British Museum and strike up a conversation over a little unknown deity. Really tugs on the proverbial heart strings.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange little tale with just a little touch of romance.

[Dennis Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh I'm such a sap for a story like this...wonderful! 4 of 5 stars!

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

the Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again

[Susy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I really liked this one, what a ending.

[R. R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know. It's not so often that one find Agatha Christie books in the romance genre, if at all. This was a classic love story, simple and clear.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Amazing considering its length.

[Aisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was just beautiful

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read 2020

[Manoj Saha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this

[Joop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niet verwacht van Agatha, maar mooi romantisch verhaal.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute story about the statue of a small lonely God that has no admirers until one day, a miracle happens. A very lonely man comes to the museum and notices him, and starts to admire him frequently.
Then a second worshiper comes, a young lonely lady with very cheap clothes that sees the kindness of the God.
The lonely man devices a way to talk to her and they slowly become friends. He confesses his feelings for her and while she reciprocates them, she stops coming to the museum and leaves a note saying goodbye.
Heartbroken, the lonely man reads a story about a lonely princess and gets the inspiration for a painting. When this painting becomes famous, he meets hid lonely girl once again, who confesses that she's actually rich and felt ashamed of lying to him all along, convinced he would hate her if he knew the truth. In the end, two lonely people find each other and the lonely God sacrifices his worshipers so they can be together.
One of my favorite short stories so far. What can I say? I'm a sucker for love.

[JKS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is so gorgeous. It is layered, complex, and simultaneously so simple. I was extremely curious what Agatha Christie would be like in non-murder mystery books. Turns out she can't turn her back completely towards mystery because the element also turns up ever so softly in this novel. With this story, she has reminded me why she is considered a great writer. She has written a short, concise piece that is deeply human and yet not complicated or dramatised. Sure, judging with modern standards, this relationship would be scoffed at, but also, just consider that with this novel, she has captured the experiences of loneliness, art, and connection. That's beautiful.

[Mert Köse · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man and a woman meet while looking at a lonely statue of a god in a museum, a statue that was once worshipped as a god but is now neglected compared to the other god statues in the museum, and they fall in love with each other. However, the woman tells her lover many lies and keeps secrets from him. The story has a bit of a clichéd fairy tale vibe to it. I can’t say it’s a great story. It’s an ordinary love story with some surprising elements.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorites of hers that I have read to date. Agatha's short stories are just as entertaining as her full-length mysteries. What a wonderful writer she is. :) I wasn't sure if I would like the short ones, but I did.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could see this happening. Not much suspense.

[nic p · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

[Perrilyn Pringle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooooooohhhh.... so cute I love a good love story. Im glad it worked out and they came together in the end. 🧡

[Aubrey Nekvinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was entirely dissimilar to other Agatha Christie story stories. Not sure what to think of it but I did miss the classic style she always uses

[Kayezone · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite Agatha Christie short story so far!

[Damira · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story.

[Barry Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very sweet and enjoyable story.