Dimming Lights

Name: Dimming Lights
ISBN: 9787513320078

Agatha Christie / 王霖New Star Press · ChinaApr 2017

3.8

Word count: 92K words
Chapters: 10
ISBN: 9787513320078

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Summary

This collection brings together nine of Christie's early short stories, published in Simplified Chinese for the first time. Supernatural forces, psychological suspense, and haunting tales of emotion—an unmissable feast of Christie short fiction. Includes the story that inspired "The Body in the Library," revealing a different side of the Queen of Crime. John dreams of a beautiful country house, then dreams of it again and again, longing to enter—until one night he glimpses something horrifying behind its curtains. The sought-after actress Olga Stormer has a past she cannot escape, and Jacques, a scoundrel who makes his living blackmailing women, knows her secret. Young and beautiful Isabel was once the toast of society; she has everything but money. Among her many suitors, Isabel unexpectedly chooses Alan, then an unknown painter. A sudden accident makes Alan truly see his wife—and the last bright color fades from his work…

Editor's review

Though not one of Agatha Christie's best-known Poirot or Miss Marple books, The Lamp Still Burns is a hidden gem with a radiance all its own. Closer to a psychological or social novel, it reveals the "Queen of Detective Fiction" testing the boundaries of genre. Set beneath the tranquil surface of English country life after World War I, the story begins with a sudden death from heart failure at a family gathering, peeling back layers of jealousy, lies, and unhealed wartime trauma beneath the veneer of warmth. Christie deliberately sets aside her signature puzzle-solving built on physical clues, delving instead into the undercurrents of human relationships and the unreliability of memory, with an insight into human nature no less sharp than in any of her masterpieces. Its value lies in the unique prism it offers on Christie's full literary range—she was not only a designer of puzzles but a keen painter of the human heart's folds. For readers familiar with her detective series, this book is a delightful expansion, showing a great writer moving with ease beyond suspense into emotional tension and social observation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Veteran fans eager to explore Agatha Christie's less typical works
Readers who prefer delicate psychological portraiture and family drama
Readers interested in English society and social mores around World War I
Readers seeking a slow-burning sense of suspense in classic literature

Not a good fit for

Hardcore mystery fans expecting fast-paced, tightly logical deduction
Readers interested only in the Poirot or Miss Marple series

Reading tips

Try setting aside the question of "whodunit" and focus instead on the subtext and subtle emotions in the characters' dialogue
Understanding the characters' motives against the backdrop of post-World War I English society will deepen the reading experience
The portrayal of family relationships is strikingly tense; best enjoyed immersed in a quiet setting

About the publisher

New Star Press China · Founded in 1989

New Star Press focuses on classic works, mystery and detective fiction, science fiction, history, foreign literature and art, and its 602 titles in the library show a balance between popular reading and humanistic depth. Representative books include The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Illustrated Collector's Edition, And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, The Player of Games, Local Government in Qing China, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and A Collection of Fine Ukiyo-e Prints, spanning classic literature, detective fiction, science fiction, local history and visual art. Its authors and contributors include William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie and Iain M. Banks, as well as translators such as Zhu Shenghao and Su Fuzhong and illustrators such as John Gilbert and George Cruikshank. Known for the detective series Midnight Library and for social-science and humanities titles, the press emphasizes edition design and reading experience; public information is limited, so this profile highlights the publishing features reflected in the library's books.

英文版序言
白屋梦魇
女演员
绝路
圣诞历险记
孤独的神祇
马恩岛的黄金
围墙之内
巴格达箱子之谜
灯火阑珊

FAQ

Is this a detective novel? Is there a detective protagonist?

It leans more toward psychological suspense and social fiction. There is no series detective like Poirot or Miss Marple; the central mystery revolves around a sudden death, but its resolution depends more on analyzing characters' psychology and relationships than on traditional gathering of clues and deduction.

Where does this book stand among Agatha Christie's works?

It is a rather unusual, more literary and experimental work in Christie's oeuvre. Unlike her widely loved pure puzzle mysteries, it showcases her deep skill in portraying complex human nature and social relations, and is often regarded by critics as one of her more "serious" works—important for understanding the full scope of her writing.

How is the pacing? Will it feel dull?

The pacing is relatively gentle—a "slow-burn" type. The opening focuses on establishing the network of relationships and social background, with suspense seeping in and building gradually. Readers who enjoy savoring character psychology and atmosphere will feel the tension steadily mount. Those seeking high-energy plotting from the first page may find the buildup long.

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About the author

Agatha Christie Author · United Kingdom · 1890–1976

Agatha Christie (1890–1976) was a British detective novelist, widely known as the "Queen of Crime." Over her lifetime she wrote more than eighty detective novels, generally classified as foreign literature and suspense or mystery fiction, and is noted for tightly constructed plots, steadily mounting suspense, and unexpected endings. She created two contrasting detectives: the Belgian investigator Poirot, who relies on deduction and his "little grey cells," and the elderly village spinster Miss Marple, who sees through appearances by drawing on everyday human nature and close observation. Her representative works include And Then There Were None, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and Murder on the Orient Express; the first is admired for its closed-circle structure of a nursery rhyme killing on an isolated island, while the second is often praised for its narrative technique. Her books have been translated into many languages and have had a lasting influence on later mystery writing, and they have long attracted a wide readership in the Chinese-speaking world as well.

王霖 Author

Wang Lin is a Chinese book author whose publicly available information is currently quite limited; no clear records have been found regarding birth and death dates, nationality, or educational background. Judging from the two works held in the library, Wang Lin's writing covers two categories, biography and foreign literature, spanning a fairly broad range of subjects. The representative work Agatha Christie: An Autobiography belongs to the biographical category, centering on the life of the British mystery writer Christie, while Lights Fading falls under foreign literature, indicating that the author has also been engaged in compiling and introducing literary works. Overall, Wang Lin's writings focus on introducing biography and foreign literature to general readers, in a plain narrative style. Due to limited public information, the author's personal experience and full body of work await further documentation.