Agatha Christie wrote her first short story, The House of Beauty while recovering in bed from an undisclosed illness. This was about 6,000 words on the topic of "madness and dreams", a subject of fascination for her. Biographer Janet Morgan commented that despite "infelicities of style", the story was nevertheless "compelling". In “The Mystery of the Blue Jar,” a pair of thieves utilize the current fad of occultism to perpetrate a clever ruse on a gullible young man. Jack Hartington persuades himself that he hears cries of help, presumably from future crime, emanating from a pretty French lodger. She and her accomplice, who poses as a “Doctor of the Soul,” convince Jack to hand over his uncle’s priceless, and recently acquired Ming vase. Christie pokes fun here at those who are quick to believe what they wish to be true. The reader is taken in neither by the obvious attraction that Jack has for the girl nor by the trust that he has in a false authority. Christie, however, is determined to teach a lesson to those easily duped by con artists and spiritualists, human forces working for evil ends. A very pedantic and accurate medium appears, however, in “The Red Signal.” Mrs Thompson gives a horrific warning to one of several people during a séance, then, shrugging and yawning, trudges off into the night “dead beat.” She is a most unconvincing spiritualist, yet she warns the victim truthfully of impending danger, which is narrowly averted. Enjoy free online English audiobook “The Mystery of the Blue Jar”, a novel by Agatha Christie.
