While the Light Lasts and Other Stories
Encyclopedia
While the Light Lasts and Other Stories is a short story
collection by Agatha Christie
first published in the UK on August 4 1997
by HarperCollins
. It contains nine short stories.
Manx Gold was one of the most unusual commissions undertaken by Christie in her career. As described in detail in an editorial note, the idea of a treasure hunting
story was prompted by a wish on the part of Manx politicians to promote tourism to the Isle of Man
. Christie wrote a short story which was serialised in the Daily Dispatch
in five instalments on May 23, 24, 26, 27 and 28, 1930. The story gave the clues to the location of four snuffboxes hidden on the island, each of which contained a voucher for £100 - a considerable sum in 1930. Island residents were barred from taking part. To further promote the hunt, the story was then published in a promotional booklet entitled June in Douglas which was distributed at guesthouses and other tourist spots. Although a quarter of a million copies of this booklet were printed, only one is known to have survived.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
collection by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
first published in the UK on August 4 1997
1997 in literature
The year 1997 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Clancy signs a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. , giving him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books . A second agreement gives him another US$25 million for a...
by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
. It contains nine short stories.
Contents
In addition to detailed notes by the renowned Christie scholar Tony Medawar, the collection comprises the following stories- The House of Dreams
- The Actress
- The Edge
- Christmas Adventure
- The Lonely God
- Manx Gold
- Within a Wall
- The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest
- While the Light Lasts
Publication history
- 1997, HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, August 4, 1997, Hardcover, 182pp ISBN 0-002-32643-4 - 1998, HarperCollins, July 20, 1998, Paperback, 224pp ISBN 0-00-651018-3
First publication of stories
Details of the first UK publication of the stories published in While the Light Lasts are as follows:- The House of Dreams: First published in issue 74 of the Sovereign Magazine in January 1926, illustrated by Stanley Lloyd.
- The Actress: First published in issue 218 of The Novel Magazine in May 1923 under the title of A Trap for the Unwary, with an illustration by Emile Verpilleux. Prior to the publication of this volume, the story (with its 1923 illustration) was reprinted in the 1990 paperback Agatha Christie - Official Centenary Celebration by Belgrave Publishing (ISBN 0-00-637675-4). The Actress is Christie's original title for this story.
- The Edge: First published, unillustrated, in issue 374 of Pearson's Magazine in February 1927.
- Christmas Adventure: First published, unillustrated, in issue 1611 of The SketchThe SketchThe Sketch was a British illustrated newspaper weekly, which focused on high society and the aristocracy. It ran for 2,989 issues between February 1, 1893 and June 17, 1959. It was published by the Illustrated London News Company and was primarily a society magazine with regular features on royalty...
Magazine on December 11, 1923. The story was later expanded into novellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
form and was printed as the title story in the 1960 UK collection The Adventure of the Christmas PuddingThe Adventure of the Christmas PuddingThe Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on October 24 1960. It is the only Christie first edition published in the UK that contains stories with both Hercule...
. - The Lonely God: First published in issue 333 of the Royal Magazine in July 1926, with illustrations by H. Coller. Christie's original title for this story was The Little Lonely God.
- Within a Wall: First published in issue 324 of the Royal Magazine in October 1925.
- The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest: First published in issue 493 of the Strand MagazineStrand MagazineThe Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
in January 1932. The story was later expanded into novella form and was printed as The Mystery of the Spanish Chest in the 1960 UK collection The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding. - "While the Light Lasts": First published in issue 229 of The Novel Magazine in April 1924, with two illustrations by Howard K. Elcock.
Manx Gold was one of the most unusual commissions undertaken by Christie in her career. As described in detail in an editorial note, the idea of a treasure hunting
Treasure hunting
Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure which has been a notable human activity for millennia. -In modern times:In recent times, the early stages of the development of archaeology included a significant aspect of treasure hunt; Heinrich Schliemann's excavations at Troy, and later at...
story was prompted by a wish on the part of Manx politicians to promote tourism to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. Christie wrote a short story which was serialised in the Daily Dispatch
Daily Dispatch
Daily Dispatch is a South African newspaper published inEast London in the province of Eastern Cape.Founded in 1872 as East London Dispatch, the Dispatch is today the Eastern Cape'sbest selling daily with a circulation of about 33,000 copies....
in five instalments on May 23, 24, 26, 27 and 28, 1930. The story gave the clues to the location of four snuffboxes hidden on the island, each of which contained a voucher for £100 - a considerable sum in 1930. Island residents were barred from taking part. To further promote the hunt, the story was then published in a promotional booklet entitled June in Douglas which was distributed at guesthouses and other tourist spots. Although a quarter of a million copies of this booklet were printed, only one is known to have survived.
External links
- While the Light Lasts at the official Agatha Christie website