"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. "
— Oscar Wilde
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
Spider's Web.
London: Harper Collins, 2000. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp. [6]; 241; [9], publisher's advertisements. Publisher's black cloth lettered in white to spine, illustrative dust-jacket. Small spider illustration at the start of chapters. Toning to edges of textblock, small markings from a green gel pen throughout the..... More
The Unexpected Guest.
London: Harper Collins, 1999. [Crime fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp. [4] 177 [11]. Publisher's black cloth lettered in silver to spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by Andrew Davidson, priced at £14.99. Toning to edges of textblock, with a little light handling. Near Fine. When a stranger runs..... More
The ABC Murders.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1936. [Murder mystery] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm) pp.[x]; 306; [4], blank. Publisher's lemon yellow blue cloth blocked in dark green, top edge yellow, fore-edge untrimmed, illustrated dust-wrapper. Fine in a price-clipped dust-jacket, which has wear at spine tips, hinges, and..... More
After the Funeral.
London & Sydney: For the Crime Club by Collins, 1953. [Crime Fiction] FIRST AUSTRALIAN EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.207; [1], blank. Publisher's red cloth with black titles to spine, dust-jacket designed by Beytagh. No inscriptions. A lovely fine copy of the book, in similar price-clipped wrapper which is slightly..... More
After the Funeral.
London: Collins for the Crime Club, 1953. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.192. Publisher's orange cloth with black titles to spine, dust-jacket designed by Beytagh, priced at 10/6. No inscriptions. A lightly used copy, jacket with a few short tears, minor discolour and spotting to spine. Near..... More
After the Funeral.
London: Collins for the Crime Club, [1953]. [Crime Fiction] LEATHER-BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.192. Recently re-bound in tan half calf, with raised bands, gilt titles to twin red labels on spine, and marbled paper over boards. All edges lightly trimmed. Light spotting throughout, otherwise crisp and clean..... More
The Agatha Christie Crime Collection: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express, Murder at The Vicarage, A Murder is Announced, Murder is Easy, The ABC Murders, Murder in The Mews, Murder in Mesopotamia, Murder on the Links, Lord Edgeware Dies, Mrs McGinty's Dead, Dead Man's Folly, The Hound of Death, Appointment with Death, Death on The Nile, Death in The Clouds, Death Comes as the End, Peril at End House, Crooked House, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, Poirot's Christmas, Poirot Investigates, Parker Pyne Investigates, They Do it with Mirrors, The Mirror Crack'd, The Clocks, The Seven Dials Mystery, The Listerdale Mystery, The Sittaford Mystery, A Caribbean Mystery, The Mystery of The Blue Train, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, And Then There Were None, Five Little Pigs, Third Girl, The Big Four, The Thirteen Problems, Towards Zero, Three Act Tragedy, The Hollow, The Moving Finger, 4.50 From Paddington, Passenger to Frankfurt, Evil Under the Sun, At Bertram's Hotel, Why Didn't They Ask Evans, Dumb Witness, Taken at The Flood, They Came to Baghdad, Sparkling Cyanide, The Secret of Chimneys, After the Funeral, The Body in The Library, Halloween Party, The Pale Horse, The Secret Adversary, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, The Mysterious Mr Quin, Endless Night, The Man in The Brown Suit, Ordeal by Innocence, One, Two Buckle my Shoe, Cards On the Table, N or M?, Cat Among the Pigeons, The Labours of Hercules, Hickory Dickory Dock, Partners in Crime, Sad Cypress, Nemesis, A Pocketful of Rye and Destination Unknown.
London: Paul Hamlyn, 1969-1972. [Mystery / Crime] LEATHER BOUND SET. Complete in 24 volumes. Octavo (20 x 14 x 82cm). Handsomely bound in black half oasis morocco, with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spines, and navy cloth over boards. A few minor spots to volume containing 'Lord Edgware..... More
The Agatha Christie Crime Collection: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express, Murder at The Vicarage, A Murder is Announced, Murder is Easy, The ABC Murders, Murder in The Mews, Murder in Mesopotamia, Murder on the Links, Lord Edgeware Dies, Mrs McGinty's Dead, Dead Man's Folly, The Hound of Death, Appointment with Death, Death on The Nile, Death in The Clouds, Death Comes as the End, Peril at End House, Crooked House, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, Poirot's Christmas, Poirot Investigates, Parker Pyne Investigates, They Do it with Mirrors, The Mirror Crack'd, The Clocks, The Seven Dials Mystery, The Listerdale Mystery, The Sittaford Mystery, A Caribbean Mystery, The Mystery of The Blue Train, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, And Then There Were None, Five Little Pigs, Third Girl, The Big Four, The Thirteen Problems, Towards Zero, Three Act Tragedy, The Hollow, The Moving Finger, 4.50 From Paddington, Passenger to Frankfurt, Evil Under the Sun, At Bertram's Hotel, Why Didn't They Ask Evans, Dumb Witness, Taken at The Flood, They Came to Baghdad, Sparkling Cyanide, The Secret of Chimneys, After the Funeral, The Body in The Library, Halloween Party, The Pale Horse, The Secret Adversary, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, The Mysterious Mr Quin, Endless Night, The Man in The Brown Suit, Ordeal by Innocence, One, Two Buckle my Shoe, Cards On the Table, N or M?, Cat Among the Pigeons, The Labours of Hercules, Hickory Dickory Dock, Partners in Crime, Sad Cypress, Nemesis, A Pocketful of Rye and Destination Unknown.
London: Paul Hamlyn, 1969-1972. [Mystery / Crime] COMPLETE SET AS PUBLISHED. In 24 volumes. Octavo (20 x 14 x 82cm). Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to red backing on spines, and further gilt and red decoration to uppers. Top edges and endpapers orange. All volumes with the original photographic..... More
Akhnaton.
London: Collins, 1973. [Play] PROOF COPY. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.157; [1]. Publisher's mottled red paper wraps, pictorial dust-jacket designed by Andrew Vargo priced at £1.80 net. A scarce proof copy sent out in advance of the first edition. Dust-jacket very slightly creased and rubbed to top and bottom edges..... More
Appointment with Death.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1938. [Murder mystery] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm), pp.[6] 301 [5]. Publisher's bright orange with black titles to spine and upper. Fore-edge untrimmed, top edge red. With the illustrated dust-jacket. Minuscule sunning to the very tip of the spine, else an..... More
The Big Four.
London: W. Collins and Sons. 1927. [Crime] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.v, 281; [1]. Publisher's blue cloth, titles in red to spine and upper. Some spotting to contents and edges (thick, fluffy paper is susceptible), covers fresh and bright, spine gently toned, lightly worn at tips. A very..... More
The Big Four.
London: W. Collins and Sons. 1927. [Crime] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.v, 281; [1]. Publisher's blue cloth, titles in red to spine and upper. Contents clean, edges a little toned, light wear to extremities, scraped at base of spine affecting the logo, otherwise a very good copy with..... More
By The Pricking Of My Thumbs.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1968. [Crime fiction] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.255; [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
By The Pricking Of My Thumbs.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1968. [Crime fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.255 [1]. Publisher's mid green cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the yellow dust-jackt designed by Kenneth Farnhill. A fine copy of the book in a very good, price-clipped jacket with two short tears..... More
By The Pricking Of My Thumbs.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1968. [Crime fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.255 [1]. Publisher's mid green cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the yellow dust-jacket designed by Kenneth Farnhill. A fine copy of the book in a very good, price-clipped jacket with some tears to..... More
Cards on the Table.
London: Published for the Crime Club by Collins, 1936. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.286; [2], blank. Publisher's orange cloth lettered in black to spine. Toning and light spotting to edges of textblock though internally clean. Sunning and rolling to spine, water marks to upper board, two..... More
Cat Among the Pigeons.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1959. [Detective novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.255; [1] blank. Publisher's red cloth with black titles to spine, in typographic dust-jacket priced at 12/6. No inscriptions, jacket with minor toning to edges, a few tiny nick and one neat (stabilised) tear to..... More
Crooked House.
London: Published for the Crime Club by Collins, 1949. [Detective Mystery] LEATHER-BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.[2] 192 [4]. Recently re-bound in black half calf, with raised bands, gilt titles to spine, and matching cloth over boards. All edges lightly trimmed. Archival paper repair to final leaf. Some..... More
Dead Man's Folly.
London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1956. [Crime fiction] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), 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..... More
Death Comes as The End.
London: For The Crime Club by Collins, 1945. [Mystery] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.160. Publisher's orange cloth, black titles to spine, pictorial dust-jacket priced at 7/6. Bookplate of noted collector and bibliographer Adrian Homer Goldstone. Contents clean. A very nearly fine, bright copy in similar dust jacket. A...... More
Destination Unknown.
London: The Crime Club, by Collins, 1954. [Spy novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.192. Publisher's cloth binding in dust-wrapper priced at 10/6. No inscriptions. Some toning, spine panel a little browned. Very good indeed. Secret Service thriller from the Queen of Crime; When a number of leading scientists..... More
Destination Unknown.
London: The Crime Club, by Collins, 1954. [Spy novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.192. Elegantly hand-bound in half navy blue calf, spine gilt-lettered in six compartments with raised bands, cloth sides, publisher's original cloth spine bound in at rear. A few very light marks to fore-edge, exterior unmarked..... More
Destination Unknown.
London: The Crime Club, by Collins, 1954. [Spy novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.192. Publisher's cloth binding in dust-wrapper. No inscriptions. Uniform toning to edges, jacket with a few chips and tears, age-toned to spine, price clipped. Very good. Secret Service thriller from the Queen of Crime; When..... More
Double Sin and other stories.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1961. [Crime fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.[viii]; 247; [1]. Publisher's pale grey cloth with titles and imprint in green to upper board and spine, in white pictorial dust-jacket with green and red titles, originally priced $3.50. Contents fresh. A clean..... More
Easy to Kill.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1939. [Detective Fiction] FIRST U.S. EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm) pp.[vi]; 248; [2], blank. Publisher's light blue cloth blocked in navy, fore-edge untrimmed, 'red badge detective' design endpapers. Contents clean, no inscriptions. Some light spots to spine panel else a clean, fine copy..... More