The Manhood of Edward Robinson

A young man learns to take charge of his own life as a result of spontaneously buying a new car. Agatha Christie was very enamoured with her own car and loved the thrill and freedom of driving. There was no license necessary when she first purchased one, the driver only needed the ability to steer. She writes in her autobiography, "I will confess here and now that of the two things that have excited me the most in my life the first was my car: my grey bottle-nosed Morris Cowley."

It was first published in the UK collection The Listerdale Mystery in 1934 and then in 1971 it appeared in the US collection The Golden Ball and Other Stories. The story was adapted for TV in 1982 as part of the series The Agatha Christie Hour. Nicholas Farrell played Edward Robinson and there was an early appearance from Rupert Everett.