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The Dressmaker's Doll
Alicia Coombe manages her very smart dressmaking business with the help of her young assistant, Sybil. One day, a doll appears in the shop—a floppy, long-legged doll that is found sitting on the best sofa. But where did it come from, and why does it appear to watch them? Each day gets more eerie.
Published in the print anthologies "Miss Marple's Final Cases," and "Double Sin and Other Stories."
Librarian's note: this entry is for the story, "The Dressmaker's Doll." Collections of short stories by the author can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. Stand-alone short stories by the author, those without a lead such as Hercule Poirot, can be found on Goodreads by searching: "an Agatha Christie Standalone Short Story."
Published in the print anthologies "Miss Marple's Final Cases," and "Double Sin and Other Stories."
Librarian's note: this entry is for the story, "The Dressmaker's Doll." Collections of short stories by the author can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. Stand-alone short stories by the author, those without a lead such as Hercule Poirot, can be found on Goodreads by searching: "an Agatha Christie Standalone Short Story."
37 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1958
20 people are currently reading
483 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,805 books75.4k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
October 5, 2024
Unusual short story about a doll in a dressmaker's shop (no one can remember how it got there) which, when no one is looking, seems to move around with a life of its own.
A strange story that I found amusing and creepy at times. Good to read around Halloween.
A strange story that I found amusing and creepy at times. Good to read around Halloween.
September 10, 2025
This is maybe the creepiest story Agatha Christie ever wrote.
Of course any story written about a haunted doll is going to scare the shit out of me. That's my thing.
Dolls. Ugh. Brrr!
Ok, so one day these two dressmakers just notice that this somewhat creepy doll is there in the shop. They don't remember when it wasn't there and they don't remember having bought it.
This terrifying Victorian doll is. just. there.
And it seems to be moving from one place to another.
But that's just crazy, right?
Or so they keep telling each other. At least until they can't deny it anymore.
What does this doll want?!
THAT ENDING
This is easily a 5-star story that should be read around Halloween.
Highly Recommended for fans of Agatha's brand of spooky.
Read as part of the short story collection The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot & The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural.
Of course any story written about a haunted doll is going to scare the shit out of me. That's my thing.
Dolls. Ugh. Brrr!
Ok, so one day these two dressmakers just notice that this somewhat creepy doll is there in the shop. They don't remember when it wasn't there and they don't remember having bought it.
This terrifying Victorian doll is. just. there.
And it seems to be moving from one place to another.
But that's just crazy, right?
Or so they keep telling each other. At least until they can't deny it anymore.
What does this doll want?!
THAT ENDING
This is easily a 5-star story that should be read around Halloween.
Highly Recommended for fans of Agatha's brand of spooky.
Read as part of the short story collection The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot & The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural.
August 27, 2025
But they were wrong. The doll was not at the desk. Instead, she was on the window sill, looking out into the street. And again there was an extraordinary naturalness about her position.
One of Agatha Christie's few paranormal works, The Dressmaker's Doll is the story of a team of dressmakers and the doll they find in their fitting room - a doll that is supernaturally natural, that is always in a different position when left unobserved, and that seems to affect their memories of the time before it.
Not at all like Christie's usual mysteries, this story is creepy with a dash of horror thrown in and is as much the doll's story as it is the dressmakers'. A quick plot with believable characters, the premise centers on the doll's wants and how it slowly takes over the shop until it's satisfied with an ending that is most palatable to everyone.
Overall, recommended for anyone interested in Agatha Christie's experimental work with paranormal stories!
“Perhaps she flew in through the window one day on a broomstick,” said Alicia Coombe. “Anyway, she belongs here now all right.” She looked round.
“You could hardly imagine the room without her, could you?”
“No,” said Sybil, with a slight shiver, “but I rather wish I could.”
🌟🌟🌟🌟
[One star for the premise and the whole story; 3/4 star for the characters; 3/4 star for the plot and themes; 3/4 star for the world-building; 3/4 star for the writing - 4 stars in total.]
One of Agatha Christie's few paranormal works, The Dressmaker's Doll is the story of a team of dressmakers and the doll they find in their fitting room - a doll that is supernaturally natural, that is always in a different position when left unobserved, and that seems to affect their memories of the time before it.
Not at all like Christie's usual mysteries, this story is creepy with a dash of horror thrown in and is as much the doll's story as it is the dressmakers'. A quick plot with believable characters, the premise centers on the doll's wants and how it slowly takes over the shop until it's satisfied with an ending that is most palatable to everyone.
Overall, recommended for anyone interested in Agatha Christie's experimental work with paranormal stories!
“Perhaps she flew in through the window one day on a broomstick,” said Alicia Coombe. “Anyway, she belongs here now all right.” She looked round.
“You could hardly imagine the room without her, could you?”
“No,” said Sybil, with a slight shiver, “but I rather wish I could.”
🌟🌟🌟🌟
[One star for the premise and the whole story; 3/4 star for the characters; 3/4 star for the plot and themes; 3/4 star for the world-building; 3/4 star for the writing - 4 stars in total.]
September 29, 2025
"Well I can't do that any longer because I've got a stomach now as well as a behind, And I mean -- well you can't pull it in both ways, can you?"
- Agatha Christie, The Dressmaker's Doll
I love creepy little doll stories, explanation gosh when I was a child, there were a few things that could scare me more! And they still scare me even as an adult.
This was good but so much time was spent, and wondering where the doll came from and who put it there and was someone playing a joke on them, that a lot of the creepy factor was lost.
That. doesn’t mean I didn’t thoroughly enjoy it, but I think it could’ve been even eerier and creepier.
It also way too short and it kind of ended just where it was getting good so I really debated about what to read this little Agatha Christie gem.
At first I thought a four might be good but honestly I had some problems with it.
I loved the meat of the story and I love that we got To fill in a lot of blanks, so I think this little story was the perfect 3.5 stars
- Agatha Christie, The Dressmaker's Doll
I love creepy little doll stories, explanation gosh when I was a child, there were a few things that could scare me more! And they still scare me even as an adult.
This was good but so much time was spent, and wondering where the doll came from and who put it there and was someone playing a joke on them, that a lot of the creepy factor was lost.
That. doesn’t mean I didn’t thoroughly enjoy it, but I think it could’ve been even eerier and creepier.
It also way too short and it kind of ended just where it was getting good so I really debated about what to read this little Agatha Christie gem.
At first I thought a four might be good but honestly I had some problems with it.
I loved the meat of the story and I love that we got To fill in a lot of blanks, so I think this little story was the perfect 3.5 stars
March 7, 2023
2 Stars. People first encountered this innocuous looking, but disconcerting little story in the British-based "Woman's Journal" in 1958. Mine was from the collection, "Miss Marple's Final Cases" of 1979 as reprinted by HarperCollins in 2016. But none of Christie's stars, including Jane Marple, are in the it. There's some supernatural to it, although I'd sooner call it creepiness! Alicia Coombe's dressmaker shop is a flurry of activity with deadlines always a minute away. We have all experienced similar situations. One day the shop's fussiest customer, Mrs. Fellows-Brown, arrives with her Pekinese dog Fou-Ling. The dog was fascinated by a puppet doll propped up on a chair. Kept staring at it. All the staff searched their memory but no one could remember when the doll arrived in the dress shop. Fou-Ling soon decided he didn't like the idea of its very existence. He barked in protest as his owner forcefully carried him out of the room and away from the doll which didn't even have a nickname. That's the start of it. Is someone moving the doll or does it have a life of its own? Why does it seem to be taking over the shop? Not really my cup of tea. (March 2021)
June 21, 2025
A Doll's House?
A review of the William Morrow eBook (September 24, 2013) of the short story first collected in Double Sin and Other Stories (1958).
I had only recently read The Mysterious Mr. Quin and reviewed it thinking that it was Agatha Christie's only series of stories featuring a somewhat paranormal character with the lead Harley Quin. But then The Dressmaker's Doll appeared as a Kindle Deal of the Day and reading the synopsis I discovered that Christie did write the occasional other supernatural story.
A mysterious doll appears in a dress shop and no one can remember how it arrived there. Soon it begins to appear as if the doll had a life of its own, appearing in different positions in the room with all the shop assistants swearing that they didn't touch it. The owner and manager begin to be creeped out by the apparent poltergeist antics of the doll and finally drastic steps are taken.
This story features none of Christie's investigative sleuths, but the mystery is still "solved" in its own way by the end. So this was yet another supernatural outing for Christie and a solid 3-star "Like".
A review of the William Morrow eBook (September 24, 2013) of the short story first collected in Double Sin and Other Stories (1958).
I had only recently read The Mysterious Mr. Quin and reviewed it thinking that it was Agatha Christie's only series of stories featuring a somewhat paranormal character with the lead Harley Quin. But then The Dressmaker's Doll appeared as a Kindle Deal of the Day and reading the synopsis I discovered that Christie did write the occasional other supernatural story.
A mysterious doll appears in a dress shop and no one can remember how it arrived there. Soon it begins to appear as if the doll had a life of its own, appearing in different positions in the room with all the shop assistants swearing that they didn't touch it. The owner and manager begin to be creeped out by the apparent poltergeist antics of the doll and finally drastic steps are taken.
This story features none of Christie's investigative sleuths, but the mystery is still "solved" in its own way by the end. So this was yet another supernatural outing for Christie and a solid 3-star "Like".
November 4, 2022
Well this was a creepy story, I had to turn on a few lights.....
June 13, 2016
I love Agatha Christie, but this went nowhere.
March 26, 2021
➶ 2021 books: 43/60
real rating: 2.5 stars
I listened to the BBC Radio 4 full cast dramatisation of this story and it was enjoyable! I loved how modern it was, the humour and the voice actors were amazing. The audiobook was also only 28 minutes long so definitely a quick read.
I also really liked the spooky vibes however I felt like due the book being so short, nothing at all happened.
real rating: 2.5 stars
I listened to the BBC Radio 4 full cast dramatisation of this story and it was enjoyable! I loved how modern it was, the humour and the voice actors were amazing. The audiobook was also only 28 minutes long so definitely a quick read.
I also really liked the spooky vibes however I felt like due the book being so short, nothing at all happened.
June 24, 2013
Quite a creepy little tale. It's also interesting for Dame Agatha to write something that cannot be explained logically. A good stormy night's read, or listen to.
July 12, 2019
I enjoy creepy doll stories, but this one felt a bit bland. Maybe I have been spoiled by to many modern doll stories to be freaked out by an older one.
May 8, 2024
Gothic .. creepy
March 15, 2018
I am not a big fan of creepy doll stories, especially not when I am walking the streets alone after dark.
The women are high fashion dressmaker’s and the doll image in my head was a dressform; the life sized kind of dressmaker’s doll. So it took me a while to work out it was just a standard doll with a painted face. [This is where audio fails, right?]
And so far as story goes, there’s no explanation for it, and no ending. The doll arrives. Haunts them for a few days, and they pass it on.
Meh
2 stars
The women are high fashion dressmaker’s and the doll image in my head was a dressform; the life sized kind of dressmaker’s doll. So it took me a while to work out it was just a standard doll with a painted face. [This is where audio fails, right?]
And so far as story goes, there’s no explanation for it, and no ending. The doll arrives. Haunts them for a few days, and they pass it on.
Meh
2 stars
February 12, 2018
Not really a mystery, more like a creepy story. Did Agatha Christie really live into the era of checking emails to start a workday, or was that modernization part of the dramatization?
September 9, 2020
Creepy, though I wish it had more time to develop
February 20, 2022
I loved this short story. And it caught me by surprise, because it's unlikely any other story by Agatha Christie. It's of course, rather creepy, but the ending is great. I think it's one of those stories, with many layers to it that keeps you thinking. I certainly saw parallels with Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story, A very old man with enormous wings in terms of how society treats people that are different.
January 18, 2023
Ugh, creepy doll! Not usual Christie but still very entertaining. Really enjoyed the audio of this story.
September 13, 2022
Enjoyable weird short story
April 11, 2025
An Agatha Christie horror story! Chucky’s grandmother, of sorts. I read this in Double Sin and Other Stories<\i>.
December 19, 2018
The Dressmaker's Doll: A Short Story by Agatha Christie
Genres; Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense
5 Stars
I had to find this one to share with my fellow GR readers.
Once again I was about 16 when I read it. That would be around 1976. I couldn't find the right edition so I settled for this one.
You want creepy.
This one has it.
If I remember correctly, the ending will leave you.....
a tad bit shaky.
Don't forget to check under your bed & in your closet before you turn out the lights for beddy bye time.
Wha ha ha
Genres; Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense
5 Stars
I had to find this one to share with my fellow GR readers.
Once again I was about 16 when I read it. That would be around 1976. I couldn't find the right edition so I settled for this one.
You want creepy.
This one has it.
If I remember correctly, the ending will leave you.....
a tad bit shaky.
Don't forget to check under your bed & in your closet before you turn out the lights for beddy bye time.
Wha ha ha
May 8, 2019
Alicia Coombe, an aging dressmaker notices a creepy looking doll lying carelessly on her sofa. She doesn’t remeber when could she possibly purchase one, and most of all why would she? The doll scares everyone who enters the room and if that wasn’t enough, changes places from time to time. Neither her nor her assistant Sybil, can figure out the reason behind the doll’s ever changing posture and place of being. Who could come up with such a scary joke, and more importantly, why would anyone?
July 23, 2016
Seriously creepy! This reminded me more of Daphne du Maurier than Agatha Christie - although that could've been because Anna Massey narrated both this story and Rebecca (or maybe she narrated both because her voice is right for creepy stories?).
January 23, 2018
Well, not exactly what I was expecting from Agatha Christie, but I really enjoyed the spooky mood to the story! The characters are likable, the plot is precious and devious, everything you would want from a supernatural spooky story!
April 19, 2019
“The Dressmaker’s Doll” by Agatha Christie
“The doll lay in the big velvet-covered chair. … She sprawled there, eternally limp and yet strangely alive. She looked a decadent product of the twentieth century.”
Pre-Chucky creepy doll. Not much of a tale, though. **
“The doll lay in the big velvet-covered chair. … She sprawled there, eternally limp and yet strangely alive. She looked a decadent product of the twentieth century.”
Pre-Chucky creepy doll. Not much of a tale, though. **
June 9, 2014
Great dramatization of one of Agatha Christie's short stories.
November 12, 2017
Oh my so creepy! This is definitely a creepy story and good for Halloween! I listen to this as an audio book BBC dramatization, which made it so real!!!
May 6, 2021
The narrators modernized the story and change the whole dynamics.
September 21, 2021
The Dressmaker's Doll is a short story with supernatural overtones; some might even say "creepy." There's no murder. The story revolves around a doll that appears in a dressmaker's shop with no explanation as to how it got there, and the focus is on how the staff and customers relate to the doll and its human-like tendencies. The story is creative and suspenseful. Christie is a talented, versatile writer, but I don't care for the supernatural, so this wasn't one of my favorite short stories.
February 11, 2022
Lo escuche en modalidad "audiolibro" y sentí el terror desde la primera frase. Magnífico.
October 19, 2022
creepy af
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews