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Rate The Mysterious Mr. Quin

detectivepauljohn 03 Oct 08 at 10:01 a.m. GMT

I like this book containing 12 shorts whodunit/mystery stories by Agatha Christie. I'll gonna rate it 8/10. I love the exciting twists and plots especially in "The Voice in the Dark" and "The Shadow on the Glass". I like Mr. Satterwhaite. I think Satterwhaite met Poirot in one of the novels featuring Poirot. I don't know who are my favorite characters because there are so many characters but maybe Quin and Satterwhaite. How about you? what can you say?

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MissQuin 07 Oct 10 at 1:59 p.m. GMT

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Mr Quin isn't really a sleuth. Because he is all knowing! He already knows all there is about any mysteries. He can speak to the dead, which is a very useful way of finding out who a murderer is- just ask the victim!! Rather unquie in the way of mystery stories isn't it?

It's Mr Sattersthwaite's job to piece together the facts. Really on the Favourite dectectives option, it should be Mr S. Although I don't really mind too much.

But Mr S couldn't solve the Three Act Tragedy Case. Without Mr Q to appear, he didn't get there. But why didn't Mr quin appear? I presume because of being omniscient, he knew Poirot woud solve it!

Pongo 07 Oct 10 at 5:41 a.m. GMT

Thank you for the reply, MissQ.

So, is Mr. Quin the "sleuth"?  Though you are right that, in Three Act Tragedy, Mr. S does not solve the crime thereof, Mr. S. does serve as the "sleuth" in the Quin stories, doesn't he?  Whether the inspiration is completely internal or whether it is external (in the form of Mr. Q), there is no doubt that Mr. S. is the sleuth here, right? 

MissQuin 04 Oct 10 at 2:16 p.m. GMT

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In response to your question pongo, I don't think people are quite sure when The last two Mr Quin stories were published. I suppose it might not matter. It will remain as mysterious as the stories themselves!

On my profile I listed Halrey Quin as my favourite detective, even though he's not a detective is he?. SPOILER WARNING!! He's really a omniscient being, who doesn't solve any puzzles, but promts Mr S to do so. Mr Satterthwaite's not exactly a sleuth either, as in Three Act Tragedy, he didn't actually solve the murder. Even though he's intelligent, he needs  Mr Quin to help. Rather like Mrs Oliver, she doesn't solve crimes, but inspires other people todo so.

Tommy_A_Jones 27 Sep 10 at 2:35 p.m. GMT

I am glad you liked the book, I am in the minority for many things, it would be odd if we all felt the same.

MissQuin 25 Sep 10 at 4:28 p.m. GMT

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Shame you didn't like it Tommy, I've not rated them so far, so I give the sotries 10/10! The Bird With the Broken Wing is so sad, it's unusual for a motive not to be given..

Tommy_A_Jones 20 Sep 10 at 2:23 p.m. GMT

I finished The Mysterious Mr Quin at the weekend but the site was down so was unable to give my verdict before now, I was Surprised from what people have said about the book I was expecting to like it much more than I did, I liked some of the stories like The Coming of Mr Qun, At The Bell's and Motley, The Man From The Sea and The Dead Harlequin and a couple more but others just bored me like The Bird With The Broken Wing, The World's End and Harlequin's Lane and othersI found hard going aif not dull, In the end I give it 5.    

MissQuin 17 Sep 10 at 1:24 p.m. GMT

Thank you Pongo! Ths was puzzled me for years!! I did think that it was later, maybe 50's,  because a lady was riding a motorbike, there's some refrences to smoking dope. The way people spoke didn't sound like 20's or even 30's. So I think what you said could be correct.

It's another case like Poirot and Marple, where the sleuth is in their dotage! But we still love them anyway! It's good to know that Mr S is still active, mind still ticking, he's taking strolls around town and such.

Mr Quin is unique in the fact he never ages! You will notice in the desciption of him, into whatever age it was, say 50's, that he's still young, handsome and muscular. Very nice! But also gives us a futher clue about Harley Quin.

The Love Detectives A great story and a brilliant scene in the car headlights, which I love.  But that doesn't seem to be any particular age. Wheras the other's feel 20's, but oddly timeless.

Pongo 17 Sep 10 at 1:13 p.m. GMT

MissQuin,

According to Charles Osborne, The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie, (publisher Contemporary Books page 70):

"The fugitive Harley Quin story mentioned by Max Mallowan, 'The Harlequin Tea Set', is a pendant to the series written much later, after the Second World War.  It contains an oblique reference to the Mau Mau troubles in Kenya in the early 1950s.  Mr. Sattersthwaite, 'now of an advanced age', has a final adventure involving Mr. Quin whom he encounters...."

So, based on the above, if the story has an oblique reference to an event of the early 1950s, and if Mr. S is of an advanced age, then not only was it written later but it is also probably SET in a later period, such as the 1950s.  

Mr. S was in his late 60s during the Mysterious Mr. Quin stories, so he must be nearing 90 by now!!  

Can anyone verify or correct me?  

MissQuin 17 Sep 10 at 1:06 p.m. GMT

Ive not been able to find out when The Harlequin Tea Set, was set. It setting feels alot later than 20's. But goodness how old Mr Satterthwaite must have been if it was much later!

Anyone know?

Tommy_A_Jones 16 Sep 10 at 4:10 p.m. GMT

Mr Quin has been on Radio 4 but it finished today.

Pongo 16 Sep 10 at 2:30 a.m. GMT

Thank you very much for this.  Is this a public reading? 

Tommy_A_Jones 14 Sep 10 at 4:15 p.m. GMT

He is Narrating the stories but not in the order they come in the book as today was Journey's End his wife Rosalind Ayres is Directing, they have a Company J and A, I listen to Audio books quite alot, I have both Readings like The Thirteen Problems and Audio Cassettes and CDs, I have all the Miss Marples with June Witfield playing Miss Marple, Joan Hickson reads The Thirteen Problem I think you should listen to Audio Cassettes, They are Brilliant.

MissQuin 14 Sep 10 at 4:02 p.m. GMT

Is Martin Jarvis reading as Mr Sattethwaite? I'm at the book club that day, so i'll mss it. Actually I don't listen to audio books, but maybe I should.

Tommy_A_Jones 14 Sep 10 at 3:52 p.m. GMT

Miss Quin and Pongo and anyone elsebut Martin Jarvis is reading Mr Qin stories Tuesdsay Wednesday and Thursday this week 3.30 PM to 3.45 PM

MissQuin 14 Sep 10 at 9:37 a.m. GMT

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Mr Quin, where to I begin?! I love the stories and was very sceptical before I read them. Then I was converted.

With The Mr Quin stories there's never been a full length novel. I see that as a good thing. I like the way Mr Quin suddenly turns up and leaves again unexpectedly. Although every story stand alone, they are even better read in order. I was often in suspense waiting for Harley Quin to appear, so that I could learn just that little bit more about him. By the time of The Man From The Sea, we learn that Mr Quin is no mere mortal.

I was sad the dog died, it came out of the blue.

I think that on midsummer Eve, Mr Quin may have been wearing his motley. There's a couple of hidden or obscure refrences. Like the Opera Mr S goes to see.

Which story collection do you have Pongo? I had to buy the Love Detectives collection, just so I could read the extra Quin tales, The Love Detectives and The Harlequin Tea Set!

I never thought of Mr S as dim, it's just he needs the facts laid before him. I love the unexpected twists in the stories. A interesting threory on Mr S here:

http://www.agathachristie.com/forum/have-your-say/non-series-books-and-characters/mr-satterthwaite-nuts/

But yes, in the Harelquin's lane sotry, Mr Quin is frightening. I posted on the topic itself.

Pongo 14 Sep 10 at 4:12 a.m. GMT

MissQuin,

Thank you for answering my question regarding "Midsummer's Eve."  Yes, I gathered that it was less to do with the actual mystery at hand and more instead to do with the nature of Mr. Quin. 

It has been a couple days since I finished this collection, but I cannot seem to get the image of Mr. Quin out of my head.  Mr. S. is fast becoming one of my most favorite of all of AC's characters.  I like how he is seemingly dim, like Hastings, and yet he has real acute powers of perception and recall that are otherwise latent. 

I also love AC's description of events in the past, and how things become more pronounced the further removed one is from the events of the past, that the logic of past events unfold in terms of relativity. 

Pongo 13 Sep 10 at 8:12 a.m. GMT

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SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!

To MissQuin,

Last night, I finished the short story collection The Mysterious Mr. Quin, and, frankly, the ending of the last story "Harlequin's Lane" left me numb.... I do not know whether to like Mr. Quin or be afraid of him. 

More interestingly, though, as I take a step back (away from the cliff's edge as it were) and consider the collection as a whole, I must say that I loved the stories, but especially The Man from the Sea and Harlequin's Lane.  Is it me, or could it be that these stories rank as among the strongest literary output from AC?  These stories can really be regarded as some fine examples of British literature. 

I especially loved the seemingly random episode in the Man from the Sea about how the dog finds the rubbish heap and then suddenly gets killed, while giving Mr. S one final glance before death.  The dog's death seems linked to the death of Anna at the end of Harlequin's Lane, death just as one is on the verge of becoming fulfilled. 

By the way, I hated that actress from World's End!  Thanks to her carelessness with that opal, a man was imprisoned for a year!!!!! 

MissQuin 11 Sep 10 at 1:57 p.m. GMT

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I'm honoured you just ask me Pongo! I can't anwser your question entirely. I don't think that Midsummer Eve is a clue about the Sign In The Sky Story, but I think it's an obscure reference to the Harlequin legend.

In England and Italy there were costume parades and plays held on Midsummer Eve.

I think that the Harlequin's Lane story might give some clues about the Midsummer's eve question. Let us know what you think of the last two stories.

Face of Helen- I did think the explantion was rather too scientific for me. Ive no idea if that experiment  would work, nor do I wish to try it out!! I did like the rest of the story and the opera references. In fact there'sn ot a bad Mr Quin story, I think Chrisite put her heart into these short stories. They are at times sad and The Man from the Sea is particuarlly moving.

Pongo 11 Sep 10 at 12:30 p.m. GMT

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SPOILERS

MissQuin,

I am two stories from finishing this collection.  To be honest, I didn't expect to enjoy it, but it is totally taking me by surprise.  I like them all, but the one that hit me the most was "The Man from the Sea", the ending for which left a lump in my throat... Dame Agatha was truly capable of painting some great literary imagery.  Mr. Quin standing there on the cliff's edge... that image is mysterious and yet it explains everything about that character.  

Although I liked it, I must say that the "Face of Helen" is my least favorite of the stories so far, whose plot is a bit of a stretch that I could not suspend my disbelief as much as was needed.  

My question is this: in the story "The Sign in the Sky", when they are talking about Mr. Satterthwaite going to Canada, they talk about "Midsummer's Eve" and Mr. S is "startled, as though the words held a clue that he did not quite understand."  

What is the significance of "Midsummer's Eve"??

fedora_mavrick 23 Apr 10 at 6:08 p.m. GMT

8.5/10. It's definitely up there in my top 10 favorite Christie books. And I liked Mr. Satterthwaite; I found him endearing. 

MissQuin 23 Apr 10 at 4:41 p.m. GMT

Male? or female? I don't know, will you tell me?

HarleyBarley 23 Apr 10 at 4:25 p.m. GMT

Aheheh...not to sound rude, but what do you think?

MissQuin 23 Apr 10 at 4:17 p.m. GMT

Are you male or female Harley? I'm only curious...

HarleyBarley 23 Apr 10 at 4:05 p.m. GMT

Well, then let us rabbit a lot here. Perhaps someone's Britneys will perk up (Cockney rhyming slang ahoy).

No, I have not. But I agree - the ambiguity on Quin's actual being does serve as some intrigue. I used to have this idea that he is a psychopomp, or even the true Harlequin.

MissQuin 23 Apr 10 at 3:47 p.m. GMT

Oh, I'm here quite often rabbiting away!

I like supernatural books, Victorian ghost stories, Gothic tales and all that. But as Mr Quin isn't a ghost it makes him different. The closest character I can get to in comparrasion is the Inspector in The Inspector Calls play. Have you read/ seen that?

HarleyBarley 23 Apr 10 at 3:12 p.m. GMT

I daresay you have been here for quite a while then. It seemed like I had missed much during my absence.

The Dead Harlequin...there is something uncanny about it that makes it differ from the normal supernatural tales. I do not quite like the supernatural genre, but Harley Quin I find fascinating. The Indonesian cover for The Mysterious Mr Quin is actually the painting from The Dead Harlequin, you know.

MissQuin 23 Apr 10 at 3:07 p.m. GMT

HarleyBarley

Ah, if you should ever change to Columbine, then allow me to become Harlequin.

That's a nice offer! But everyone's got used to calling me MissQuin or Miss Q or sometimes MQ. I don't like like the name Columbine much, so Miss Quin I'll remain, unless one day I become Mrs Quin!

I loved the Dead Harlequin too.

HarleyBarley 23 Apr 10 at 3 p.m. GMT

Ah, if you should ever change to Columbine, then allow me to become Harlequin.

On the contrary, I liked Harlequin's Lane. Besides that, The Man from the Sea, The Dead Harlequin, and The Harlequin Tea Set (from where my name came from) are amongst my favourites. I certainly do like all of them, though.

MissQuin 23 Apr 10 at 2:49 p.m. GMT

I was going to be called Columbine as a user name, but I didn't. I think it would be long to type, I would probaby end up as Biney as a nickname!

I think we have a common interest in Mr Quin. I like your username Harley Barley. Have you a fave Mr Q story? I love The Edge, The Love Detectives and The Shadow on The Glass. In fact I love them all except harlequin's lane. I felt that was was too mystercial, and Mr Quin was so different.

HarleyBarley 23 Apr 10 at 10:36 a.m. GMT

What, I was gone from the boards for a while and this thread popped up!

I especially loved The Mysterious Mr Quin. I have always had a fascination with the Harlequin since I was a child, and I grew fond of Harley Quin partially because of that. I originally wanted to use the username Harley Quin or some variation thereof, but decided I will only chance a degradation for him and named myself after a scarecrow in his likeness instead.

HeiseiHolmes 08 Apr 10 at 7:57 p.m. GMT

I got it today, and I look forward to reading it.

MissQuin 21 Mar 10 at 1:04 p.m. GMT

No Harley Quin doesnt appear in any other stories but there are mentions of Harlequin in The Affair at the Victory Ball is based on the costumes.Third Girl theres a Harlequin painting above someones head as their found murdered.

The Harlequin Lane is really sad and I felt it was a sad end to the tale.

Jane101 21 Mar 10 at 12:27 p.m. GMT

I read this for the second time a couple of months ago, the first time I read it was a few years back, and in my oppinion they are my favourite stories. I love Harley Quin and the sense of mystery and the darkness of some of the stories.

I haven't read all Agatha Christies books so can anyone tell me if Mr Quin appears in any other stories.

MissQuin 06 Feb 10 at 11:46 a.m. GMT

Thanks Bruno for answering my question. It's interesting to see how more formal people were in the AC time period. Hastings and Poirot are old friends, but they always call each other by their last names. Mrs Oliver, Mr Satterwaite, Mr Goby, Japp, Mr Quin are all formalised.

bruno13069 06 Feb 10 at 4:51 a.m. GMT

MissQuin, Satterthwaite was never listed with a first name, but I've always thought of him as "John" Satterthwaite. Nice firm English sounding name.

MissQuin 06 Jan 10 at 6:22 p.m. GMT

I like your name Mr Satterwaite! I dont think the other Mr Satterwaite, ever had a first name in the books!

Mr_Satterthwaite 05 Jan 10 at 9:59 p.m. GMT

As you might tell from the name - I quite like the stories!

MissQuin 30 Dec 09 at 4:44 p.m. GMT

Dead mans mirror appears in the Poirot short story collection Murder in the Mews. Plus its in the Satterwaite collection The love detectives. I cant say that Dead mans mirror was one of my favourite short stories. Its not too bad though.

Tommy_A_Jones 30 Dec 09 at 4:29 p.m. GMT

That explains it, I haven't read Dead Man's River yet, what book of short stories is it in?

MissQuin 30 Dec 09 at 4:04 p.m. GMT

Hi Tommy,

 I was including the short Poirot story Dead Mans Mirror. But Mr Sattherwaite only appears very brieftly at the start. Its easy to forgot Mr S is even in the story. I'm lucky enough to own The Love Detectives edition, which has all the  Mr Quin stories along with Three act tragedy and Dead mans mirror.

Tommy_A_Jones 29 Dec 09 at 3:24 p.m. GMT

Miss Quin what was the other Poirot book Mr Satterthwaite appeared in? I thought Three-Act Tragedy was the only one.

MissQuin 29 Dec 09 at 11:14 a.m. GMT

I wondered if it would have been better if Mr Satterwaite hadnt appeared in the two Poirot stories? That way Mr Satterthwaite's world would be a self contained fantasty world where supernatural events can easily happen. Strangely, when Mr S was in Three act tragedy, Mr Quin did not appear to help him.

hilary_swank 15 Oct 08 at 1:40 a.m. GMT

The book is not really one of my favs but Quin is my fav character. So I give the book 8.5/10. I don't like Satterthwaite at all. My fav story was Shadow on the Glass. What I liked best about the book was that it was different and had a supernatural touch.

wellington 12 Oct 08 at 4:30 p.m. GMT

How weird, I'm reading this at the moment. Exactly halfway through in fact as I finished story 6 today. Haven't warmed to Mr Satterthwaite much as I found him a bit of a snob. But his heart's in the right place I suppose. You don't think there's too much reliance on co-incidence? There's plenty in the Croupier's story and The Man from the Sea. I don't mean Mr Quin turning up unexpectedly, that's part of every story. But other people keep appearing in just the right place at the right time.

ariadnepoirotmarple 12 Oct 08 at 7:45 a.m. GMT

There's many peoples that are mad about the book, I didn't wanted to be attacked by them.

detectivepauljohn 10 Oct 08 at 5:05 a.m. GMT

ariadnepoirotmarple

And what do you mean that you'll be attacked?duhh

detectivepauljohn 10 Oct 08 at 5:02 a.m. GMT

But I agree I think it's quite scary

detectivepauljohn 10 Oct 08 at 5:02 a.m. GMT

ariadnepoirotmarple

That's why the title is "The Mysterious Mr. Quin".

ariadnepoirotmarple 09 Oct 08 at 8:50 p.m. GMT

Different Christie book. I excepted something funny, fresh and enjoyable but no, it was pretty scary! Some of the stories were really melancholic and sad. It was all so mysterious. It's the worst AC I've ever read but that's only my opinion because it's a good book, truly magical, but too scary, mysterious and melancholic for my taste. Quin is a nice character. AC's favourite. I don't really have a favourite detective but I think Harley Quin is one of Christie's best creations. I won't rate it because if I did it, I would be attacked, for sure. And, it's pretty stupid to rate something that you confess that is good but it's not what you usually love. It's the same thing as watching a well done fantasy movie when you hate fantasy, you can't rate, just talk. I recommend to any Christie fan, anyway, it's different, refreshing and it's a good way to view Christie's writing mysterious/scary side.

go_leafs_nation 09 Oct 08 at 8 p.m. GMT

I, for one, really didn't like these stories, as they focused too much on the mysterious part of the Mysterious Mr. Quin. The stories were bland and uninteresting, focusing on Quin's harlequinade.

detectivepauljohn 04 Oct 08 at 5:41 a.m. GMT

dada222

I also like this book. There is no Agatha Christie worst/bad story for me. All Agatha Christie books are great!

dada222 03 Oct 08 at 12:43 p.m. GMT

I loved this book. Some people say that it's Agatha Christie's worst but that's definitely not the case. It's certainly in the top 15 for me. Great, great great, that's all there is to it. 8.5/10