"You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me."
— C. S. Lewis
Agatha Christie | First Editions
1890 - 1976
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English crime novelist, short story writer and playwright. She also wrote six romances under the name Mary Westmacott; however, Christie is best known for the 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections that she wrote under her own name, most of which revolve around the investigative work of such characters as Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple, Parker Pyne, Ariadne Oliver, Harley Quin/Mr Satterthwaite and Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Christie also wrote the world's longest-running play, a murder mystery entitled The Mousetrap. In 1971, she was made a Dame for her immense contribution to literature.
Christie was initially unsuccessful in getting her work published, but in 1920 The Bodley Head press published her novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, featuring the character of Hercule Poirot. This launched her literary career. Today, the Guinness Book of World Records lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies worldwide, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books (behind Shakespeare's works and the Bible). Christie remains the world's most-translated individual author – having been translated into at least 103 languages. And Then There Were None is Christie's best-selling novel, with 100 million sales to date, making it the world's best-selling mystery ever. Nearly all of Christie's books and short stories have been adapted for television, radio, video games and comics, and more than thirty feature films have been based on her work.
See below our stock of Agatha Christie First Editions, fine bindings, sets, and signed copies.
Agatha Christie
Passenger to Frankfurt.
London: The Crime Club, Collins, 1970. [Crime fiction] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.256. Finely bound by the Baker Bindery, Anniston, Alabama in green full morocco, with gilt titles and decoration to spine, green patterned paste-paper endpapers, generous turn-ins ruled in gilt, with gilt motifs of dagger..... More
Passenger to Frankfurt.
London: The Crime Club, Collins, 1970. [Modern Literature] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.256. Publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt to spine. With the typographic dust-jacket, printed price of £1.25p to front flap. Internally bright and clean. Some sunning to dust-jacket backstrip. Near fine. A late Christie airport drama..... More
Peril at End House.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1932. [Murder Mystery] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm) pp.[x]; 270. Publisher's tan cloth blocked in red, fore-edge untrimmed, cream endpapers. Illustrated dust-wrapper by Beth Krebb Morris, priced at $2.00. Contents clean. An exceptionally fine, fresh copy in a lovely dust jacket..... More
![Item #60804 A Pocket Full of Rye. [A Miss Marple story]. Agatha CHRISTIE, Dame](https://harringtonbooks-co-uk.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/60804.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1635002404)
A Pocket Full of Rye. [A Miss Marple story].
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1953. [Crime fiction] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.191; [1]. Finely bound by the Baker Bindery, Anniston, Alabama in green full morocco, with gilt titles and decoration to spine, green patterned paste-paper endpapers, generous turn-ins ruled in gilt, with gilt motifs..... More
![Item #62295 A Pocket Full of Rye. [A Miss Marple story]. Agatha CHRISTIE, Dame](https://harringtonbooks-co-uk.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/62295.jpg?width=320&height=427&fit=bounds&auto=webp&v=1699031780)
A Pocket Full of Rye. [A Miss Marple story].
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1953. [Detective Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.191; [1]. Publisher's orange cloth with black titles to spine. With the red and black illustrated dust-jacket, priced at 10s 6d. No inscriptions, contents clean, crease to rear cover, bookseller's discreet ticket to pastedown. Jacket..... More
Poems.
London: Collins, 1973. [Poetry] FIRST THUS. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.124 [4]. Publisher's maroon cloth with white titles to spine and upper. Light spotting and toning to edges. Some sunning and a few marks to spine. Lacking the original clear plastic jacket. Very good. Containing two separate volumes, the first..... More
Poirot and the Regatta Mystery.
London: Vallancey Press Limited, no date [1945]. [Detective Mystery] FIRST SEPARATE EDITION. Slim octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.16. Illustrated stiff card covers designed by 'Jeffrey', original price 6d. A little dustiness and handling, lightly rubbed; near fine. The first stand-alone printing of this famous short story which had only previously..... More
Poirot and the Regatta Mystery.
London: Vallancey Press Limited, no date [1945]. [Detective Mystery] FIRST SEPARATE EDITION. Slim octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.16. Illustrated stiff card covers designed by 'Jeffrey', original price 6d. A little dustiness and handling, lightly rubbed, toned at spine with a few marks to covers; very good indeed. The first stand-alone..... More
Poirot Loses a Client.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1937. [Murder Mystery] FIRST U.S. EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm), pp.[viii]; 302; [2], sample pages reprinted from 'Dead Man's Mirror'. Publisher's orange cloth pictorially blocked in black, top edge orange, others untrimmed, patterned endpapers, illustrated dust-wrapper priced at $2.00. Small legal 'price guarantee'..... More
Poirot Loses a Client. A Tower Mystery.
Cleveland and New York, NY: The World Publishing Company, 1944. [Crime Mystery] VINTAGE US EDITION, second impression thus. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.[12] 302 [6]. Publisher's green leatherette with silver titles to spine. With the illustrated dust-jacket, not priced. Black ink ownership to flyleaf. Extremely heavily browned to low-quality wartime..... More
Poirot's Early Cases.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1974. [Crime fiction] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.254. Finely bound by the Baker Bindery, Anniston, Alabama in green full morocco, with gilt titles and decoration to spine, green patterned paste-paper endpapers, generous turn-ins ruled in gilt, with gilt motifs of..... More
Postern of Fate.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1973. [Crime fiction] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.254. Finely bound by the Baker Bindery, Anniston, Alabama in green full morocco, with gilt titles and decoration to spine, green patterned paste-paper endpapers, generous turn-ins ruled in gilt, with gilt motifs of..... More
Postern of Fate.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1973. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.254 [2]. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the green dust-jacket priced at £2.00. A crisp, clean copy internally, with a little toning and a few marks to edges. Jacket shows wear..... More
Postern of Fate.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1973. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.254 [2]. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the green photographic dust-jacket. A very good, used copy with no inscriptions, edges a little dusty/toned, jacket shows some handling and wear to extremities..... More
The Problem at Pollensa Bay
London: Harper Collins, 1991. [Crime fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[viii]; 227; [1], blank. Elegantly bound in half burgundy oasis morocco over cloth sides, spine ruled in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in gilt, original cloth spine and illustrated dust-wrapper bound in at rear. Minor toning to..... More
Problem at Pollensa Bay, and Other Stories.
London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. [Crime Mystery Short Stories] FIRST EDITION THUS. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[8] 227 [5]. Publisher's maroon cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the illustrated dust-jacket priced at £13.99. Gently toned throughout, with a little light handling. Jacket worn and chipped to tail of spine..... More
Problem at Pollensa Bay, and Other Stories.
London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. [Crime Mystery Short Stories] FIRST THUS. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[8] 227 [5]. Publisher's maroon cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the illustrated dust-jacket priced at £13.99. Some spotting to edges (mostly to top edge), dated ink name to flyleaf. Near fine. A collection..... More
The Secret Adversary.
London: The Bodley Head / Harper Collins, 2012. [Crime Mystery] FACSIMILE EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.257; [13], blank. Publisher's red cloth with black titles and trim. With the illustrated facsimile dust-jacket, priced at 7/6. Some minor spotting; near fine. A facsimile of the original 1922 edition of the classic..... More
The Secret of Chimneys.
London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1925. [Mystery novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp.[xii]; 306; [2], advertisements. Finely bound by the Baker Bindery, Anniston, Alabama in green full morocco, with gilt titles and decoration to spine, green patterned paste-paper endpapers, generous turn-ins ruled in gilt, with gilt motifs of dagger, pistol..... More
The Secret of Chimneys.
New York: Dodd, Mead, 1925. [Mystery novel] FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.viii; [2]; 310. Publisher's navy cloth, red titles to upper and spine. Top edge red, fore untrimmed. A short tear at the top of the spine, one corner bumped, else very good indeed. Rather scarce. A...... More
The Seven Dials Mystery.
London: W. Collins, 1929. [Detective Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp.[vi]; 276; [6], advertisements. Elegantly bound in full green crushed morocco by the Baker Bindery, with raised bands to gilt-panelled spine, green patterned paste-paper endleaves, generous turn-ins with gilt 'moustache' and 'knitting' corner-piece decorations, and all edges gilt. Original cloth spine..... More
The Seven Dials Mystery.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1929. [Murder Mystery] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm) pp.[viii]; 310; [2], blank. Publisher's orange cloth blocked in black, top edge orange, fore-edge untrimmed, decorative red endpapers. With the illustrated dust-wrapper. Fine in a bright, fresh, price-clipped dust jacket. As with all..... More
Sleeping Murder. Miss Marple's Last Case.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1976. [Crime Mystery] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[10] 242 [4]. Publisher's brown quarter cloth, with gilt titles to spine and orange paper over boards. Top edge brown, fore-edge untrimmed, and orange endpapers. With the plain typographic dust-jacket, priced at $7.95..... More
Sleeping Murder. Miss Marple's Last Case.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1976. [Detective fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.224. Black cloth, gilt titles to spine. With the purple typographic dust-jacket priced at £3.50. A near fine copy in similar jacket with some of the usual (light) sunning to the spine. The fifteenth and..... More
Sleeping Murder. Miss Marple's Last Case.
London: Collins Crime Club, 1976. [Crime fiction] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.224. Finely bound by the Baker Bindery, Anniston, Alabama in green full morocco, with gilt titles and decoration to spine, green patterned paste-paper endpapers, generous turn-ins ruled in gilt, with gilt motifs of dagger, pistol..... More