Book of the Month - The Mysterious Mr. Quin

Why We Chose This Short Story Collection

Described by Agatha Christie's husband Max Mallowan as "a natural product of Agatha's peculiar imagination," Christie labelled Quin her favourite character and he is indeed one of her most unusual. Quin rarely appears to anyone but the reader and he relies on Mr Satterthwaite, his friend in the real world, to be the active investigator. With Quin's mystic influence, Mr Satterthwaite solves mysteries that once seemed incapable of a solution.

The Mysterious Mr. Quin is a collection comprising of 12 short stories. The first short story to appear in print, The Coming of Mr Quin, was printed under the title The Passing of Mr Quin in the Grand Magazine in 1924. Since its initial publication, The Coming of Mr Quin has been adapted into an engaging online story starring Game of Thrones actor Gethin Anthony as Mr Satterthwaite. The adaptation, titled Mr Quin, is experienced as a fast paced multimedia stream.

It had been a typical New Year's Eve party. But as midnight approaches, Mr Satterthwaite - a keen observer of human nature - senses that the real drama of the evening is yet to unfold. And so it proves when a mysterious stranger knocks on the door. Who is Mr Quin? Mr Satterthwaite's new friend is an enigma. He seems to disappear almost like a trick of the light. In fact, the only consistent thing about him is that his presence is always an omen - sometimes good, but sometimes deadly...

Did You Know?

The character of Mr Quin was inspired by a set of Dresden figures owned by Agatha Christie's mother that fascinated Christie as a child. They represented the Italian commedia dell'arte: Harlequin, Columbine, Pierrot, Pierette, Punchinello, and Punchinella and inspired Christie to start writing poetry. In fact, Christie's first appearance in print was one of her poems based on these figurines, Harlequin's Song.

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