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| From Fantastic Fiction |
Tea is a mainstay in the Miss Marple novels, as well as many other Agatha Christie mysteries. "The Harlequin Tea Set", a short story by Agatha Christie, features two of her lesser-known detectives, Mr. Satterthwaite and the mysterious Mr. Harley Quin. The Harley Quin tales tend to have an aura of the supernatural about them, and an appearance by Mr. Quin is always preceded by some reference to the Harlequin or a harlequin color pattern. A Harlequin tea set, such as the one in the story, is a set of cups and saucers each of which is a different color. Tea sets in this pattern were made by a number of different companies. The genteel Miss Marple would probably have preferred a more elegant set in pastel colors, such as one of these (top left: Royal Albert Gossamer tea set at Everything Stops for Tea; top right: Queen Anne pastel tea set at Everything Stops for Tea: bottom: A Pretty Penny):
Personally, I prefer the bolder colors and sturdier china of the following examples (top left: Happy Heidi; top right: Susie Cooper Harlequin coffee cans on eBay; bottom: Adderley Harlequin coffee/tea cups on eBay):
In fact, if I could find a tea set decorated with colorful harlequin diamonds as depicted in this painting I would buy it on the spot, but so far I have not been able to find the real thing. I intend to keep on looking, though!
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| From Second Life Marketplace |
I have a harlequin tea set that was my Mum's; it's beautiful
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