Endless Night

Agatha Christie

Sep 2010 · BBC Digital Audio · Narrated by Full Cast, Jonathan Forbes, and Lizzy Watts

About this audiobook

'Some are born to sweet delight/Some are born to endless night' - William Blake. Agatha Christie wrote Endless Night in 1967, and it is one of her greatest - and most unusual - novels. Creepy, malevolent and claustrophobic, it is a story about choices, the nature of good and evil, and grim retribution. Mike Rogers had a childhood fantasy about what life would be like as an adult; he'd have a beautiful wife, they would live in a beautiful home, and this would be a peaceful and deserved reward for a turbulent early life. When he meets Ellie Gutman at a lovely, remote spot known as Gypsy's Acre, suddenly it is all within his grasp. However, things are not as idyllic as they seem - local legend has it that the land is cursed, and several terrible accidents have occurred there. Mike and Ellie pay no attention to these tales: but when they move into their new home, the curse suddenly seems to come to life and they find themselves in grave danger... Starring Jonathan Forbes and Lizzy Watts, this is a menacing drama that perfectly evokes the atmosphere of Agatha Christie's brooding, malevolent tale, infused with passion, hauntings and grim retribution.

Ratings and reviews

Not the abridged but dramatized version. The book is 236 pages but the audiobook is approx a hour of listening.

Perfect

About the author

Agatha Christie, the acknowledged ‘Queen of Crime' (The Observer) was born in Torquay in 1890. During the First World War she worked as a hospital dispenser, and it was here that she gleaned the working knowledge of various poisons that was to prove so useful in her detective stories.

Her first novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced Hercule Poirot to the world. This was published in 1920 (although in fact she had written it during the war) and was followed over the next six years by four more detective novels and a short story collection. However, it was not until the publication of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd that Agatha Christie’s reputation was firmly established. This novel, with its complex plot and genuinely shocking conclusion, attracted considerable public attention and has since been acknowledged by many experts as a masterpiece. In 1930 the sharp-witted spinster sleuth Miss Marple made her first appearance in The Murder at the Vicarage. In all, Agatha Christie published over 80 novels and short story collections.

The brilliance of Christie’s plots, and her enduring appeal, have led to several dramatisations of her work on radio, television and film. In 1930 she was one of a number of crime writers asked to contribute a chapter to a mystery, Behind the Screen, that was broadcast on BBC radio on 21st June that year. More recently, June Whitfield portrayed Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4, whilst John Moffat starred as Hercule Poirot. On screen, Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, Margaret Rutherford, Joan Hickson, Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie have all memorably played Agatha Christie’s famous sleuths.

As her play The Mousetrap (the longest-running play in the history of theatre) testifies, Agatha Christie’s detective stories are likely to appeal for a long time to come.

Agatha Christie was awarded a CBE in 1956 and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1971. She died in 1976.