Agatha Christie - Page 1
First British Edition harpercollins (2004) |
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Seven Deadly Sins
Seven Deadly Sins
- Seven Motives For Murder
the abc murders
Pride is the excessive belief in one’s own abilities. A murderer has the arrogance to challenge Hercule Poirot’s detective prowess...
a murder is announced
Envy is the desire for another’s status and abilities. A mysterious joker is eager for Miss Blacklock’s money - and her death...
sparkling cyanide
Sloth is the idle avoidance of work. Money doesn’t need to be earned: it can be married, won or inherited - so long as someone dies...
evil under the sun
Lust is the craving for the pleasures of the body. Actress Arlena Stuart has the reputation of a ,man-eater’- until her murder...
at bertram’s hotel
Gluttony is the appetite to consume more than you need. Miss Marple wonders if a series of robberies are for money - or just the thrill...
endless night
Avarice is the greed for material gain. Buy the perfect piece of land for your dream house - but be wary of curses and psychopaths...
five little pigs
Wrath is the fury when love is spurned. A woman is convicted of poisoning her adulterous husband - but there are five other suspects...
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First British Edition harpercollins (2000) |
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Spider's Web
See Review by
Martin Edwards
- creator of the highly acclaimed, Liverpool based Harry Devlin Mysteries
A new 'Christie for Christmas'- a full-length novel adapted from her acclaimed
play by Charles Osborne.
Clarissa, the wife of a Foreign Office diplomat, is given to daydreaming. 'Supposing I
were to come down one morning and find a dead body in the library, what should I
do?' she muses.
Clarissa has her chance to find out when she discovers a body in the drawing-room
of her house in Kent. It becomes necessary to dispose of the body before her husband
comes home with an important foreign politician, so Clarissa persuades her three
houseguests to become accessories and accomplices. It seems that the murdered man
was not unknown to certain members of the house party (but which ones?), and the
search begins for the murderer and the motive, while at the same time trying to
persuade a police inspector that there has been no murder at all...
Spider's Web was written in 1954 specifically for Margaret Lockwood. Following
Black Coffee and The Unexpected Guest, Charles Osborne's third Agatha Christie
play novelisation brings her superb storytelling to a new legion of fans.
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First British Edition harpercollins (1999) |
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The Unexpected Guest
The Unpublished Mystery
Adapted as a novel by Charles Osborne
When a stranger runs his car into a ditch in dense fog near the South Wales coast, he discovers a woman standing over the dead body of her wheelchair-bound husband, gun in her hand. She admits to murder, and the unexpected guest offers to help her concoct a cover story.
But is it possible that Laura Warwick did not commit the murder after all? If so, who is she shielding? The victim's retarded young half-brother or his dying matriarchal mother? Laura's lover? Perhaps the father of the little boy killed in an accident for which Warwick was responsible? The house seems full of possible suspects…
The Unexpected Guest was hailed as 'another Mousetrap' when it opened in the West End in 1958. Charles Osborne's novelisation finally brings this superb story to a new legion of fans.
'Like a martini – crisp, dry, sophisticated, habit-forming – will satisfy all devotees of Christie's neat plotting' Booklist
| Paperback - harpercollins (1999) |
 |
Black Coffee
Sir Claud Amory has discovered the formula for a new powerful explosive, which is stolen by one of the large household of relatives and friends. Locking everyone in the library, Sir Claud switches off the lights to allow the thief to replace the formula on the table, no questions asked. When the lights come on, he is dead, and Hercule Poirot with assistance from Hastings and Inspector Japp has to unravel a tangle of family feuds, old flames and suspicious foreigners to find the killer and prevent a global catastrophe.
Black Coffee was Agatha Christie's first playscript originally performed in 1930 and made into a now rarely-seen film the following year. Now Charles Osborne, author of The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie, has adapted the play into a full-length novel. Combining her typically beguiling plot and sparkling dialogue with his own faithful narrative, he has produced a novel that will endure for as long as any of Agatha Christie's books.
'A lively and light-hearted read which will give pleasure to all those who have long wished that there was just one more Christie to devour' Antonia Fraser, Sunday Telegraph
'A worthy addition to the Christie canon' The Spectator
'Reads like authentic, vintage Christie. I feel sure Agatha would be proud to have written it' Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie's grandson
| Paperback - harpercollins (1998) |
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First British Edition harpercollins (1997) |
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While the Light Lasts
A Brand New Collection Of Previously Unpublished Short Stories By The Queen Of Crime
The House of Dreams is the first story Agatha Christie ever wrote and recounts the effects of a macabre recurring dream on a man's life.
The Actress tells of a woman who turns the tables on her blackmailer.
The Edge is a gripping tale of jealousy and infidelity.
In Christmas Adventure Poirot is caught up in some unseasonal mayhem.
The Lonely God is an unlikely love story about two lost souls who meet in the British Museum.
In Manx Gold two young heroes race against time to discover buried treasure.
Within a Wall tells of a tragic love triangle between a portrait painter, his wife and his daughter's godmother.
The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, is another early Poirot story which Agatha Christie would later rework.
The book concludes with While the Light Lasts, where a Rhodesian tobacco plantation is the setting for an unexpected visitor from beyond the grave…
Like many of her contemporaries, Agatha Christie wrote stories for a variety of magazines in the 1920s and '30s, and most of these eventually found their way into her books of short stories.
Now, 21 years after her death, detective work worthy of Agatha Christie herself has unearthed seven 'new' stories, most of which have never been published anywhere in the world since their original appearances.
In this new collection the author observes the tragic flaws in human nature, providing a glimpse of the Queen of Crime in the making. Anyone who has ever read Agatha Christie will enjoy every story for her skill at characterisation and her ability to deliver an unexpected twist in the tail…
Audiobook also available.
About The Author
Agatha
Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. She wrote 80 crime mysteries and collections, and saw her work translated into more languages than Shakespeare. Her enduring success, enhanced by many film and TV adaptations, is a tribute to the timeless appeal of her characters and the unequalled ingenuity of her plots.
Agatha Christie says: 'I was born in Devonshire, and had a very happy childhood with practically no lessons and lots of time to roam about the garden and imagine things. It was my mother who told me to write. She was a woman of great charm and great character, and was always convinced that her children could do anything! I was in bed with a bad cold and she said, "You'd better write a short
story. Nonsense, don't say you can't! Of course you can!"
'For some years I enjoyed myself very much writing stories of unrelieved gloom where most of the characters died. Also a good deal of poetry and a novel with an impossible number of characters in it. Then I thought it would be fun to try and write a detective story. It was an exciting day when The Mysterious Affair at Styles was accepted and published. I was working as a dispenser at a Red Cross Hospital during
the First World War when I wrote it.
'As for my tastes, I enjoy my food, hate the taste of any kind of alcohol, have tried and tried to like smoking, but can't manage it. I adore flowers, am crazy about the sea, love the theatre, but am bored to death by the talkies (and am very stupid at following them), loathe wireless and all loud noises, dislike living in cities. I do a lot of travelling, mostly in the Near East, and have a
great love of the desert.'
In 1950 Agatha Christie celebrated the publication of her fiftieth detective novel. Messages of congratulation came to her from many eminent people, including Mr C. R. Attlee, then Prime Minister, who wrote: "I admire and delight in the ingenuity of Agatha Christie's mind and in her capacity to keep a secret until she is ready to divulge it. And I admire, also, another of her qualities, one that is not always possessed by those who produce detective stories, her ability clearly and simply to write the English language."
Born in Torquay, she was encouraged to write by Eden Phillpotts, the famous Devonshire playwright; her first book was rejected by several publishers before it was published in 1920. The wife of a distinguished archaeologist (Professor Max Mallowan of Lodon University), she assisted him in his excavations in Iraq, where he made remarkable discoveries. They lived in a Georgian house overlooking the River Dart.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
Seven Deadly Sins
(harpercollins,
2004)
Sep 04
The ABC Murders
(Macmillan Audio,
2002)
Spider's Web
(harpercollins,
2000)
The Unexpected Guest
(harpercollins,
1999)
harpercollins Pbk Jun 00
Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories
Short Stories
(harpercollins Pbk,
1999)
Black Coffee
(harpercollins,
1998)
harpercollins Pbk Jul 99
While the Light Lasts
Short Stories
(harpercollins,
1997)
harpercollins Pbk 1998
The Mousetrap & Selected Plays
(harpercollins,
1993)
harpercollins Pbk Nov 01
The Scoop and Behind the Screen
(Gollancz,
1983)
The Agatha Christie Hour
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1982)
Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1979)
(Jane Marple)
Sleeping Murder
(Collins Crime Club,
1976)
(Jane Marple)
Curtain: Hercule Poirot's Last Case
(Collins Crime Club,
1975)
( Poirot)
Poirot's Early Cases
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1974)
Postern of Fate
(Collins Crime Club,
1973)
( Beresfords)
Elephants Can Remember
(Collins Crime Club,
1972)
harpercollins Pbk Jan 02
( Poirot)
Nemesis
(Collins Crime Club,
1971)
(Jane Marple)
Passenger to Frankfurt
(Collins Crime Club,
1970)
Hallowe'en Party
(Collins Crime Club,
1969)
harpercollins Pbk Sep 01
( Poirot)
By the Pricking of My Thumbs
(Collins Crime Club,
1968)
( Beresfords)
Endless Night
(Collins Crime Club,
1967)
13 for Luck! A Selection of Mystery Stories for Young Readers
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1966)
Third Girl
(Collins Crime Club,
1966)
( Poirot)
Star over Bethlehem and Other Stories
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1965)
As Agatha Christie Mallowan
At Bertram's Hotel
(Collins Crime Club,
1965)
(Jane Marple)
A Caribbean Mystery
(Collins Crime Club,
1964)
(Jane Marple)
The Clocks
(Collins Crime Club,
1963)
( Poirot)
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
(Collins Crime Club,
1962)
Fontana Pbk 1969
(Jane Marple)
The Pale Horse
(Collins Crime Club,
1961)
harpercollins May 02
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and Other Stories
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1960)
(Jane Marple)
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and Selection of Entrees
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1960)
(Jane Marple)
Cat among the Pigeons
(Collins Crime Club,
1959)
harpercollins Mar 02
harpercollins Pbk Jan 02
( Poirot)
Ordeal by Innocence
(Collins Crime Club,
1958)
4:50 from Paddington
(Collins Crime Club,
1957)
Pbk 1960
(Jane Marple)
Dead Man's Folly
(Collins Crime Club,
1956)
( Poirot)
Hickory, Dickory, Dock
(Collins Crime Club,
1955)
harpercollins Nov 01
harpercollins Pbk 1996
( Poirot)
Destination Unknown
(Collins Crime Club,
1954)
harpercollins Oct 01
harpercollins Pbk 1996
A Pocket Full of Rye
(Collins Crime Club,
1953)
harpercollins Sep 01
harpercollins Pbk 1996
(Jane Marple)
After the Funeral
(Collins Crime Club,
1953)
harpercollins Jul 01
harpercollins Pbk Jun 01
( Poirot)
Mrs McGinty's Dead
(Collins Crime Club,
1952)
harpercollins Apr 01
harpercollins Pbk 1996
( Poirot)
They Do It with Mirrors
(Collins Crime Club,
1952)
harpercollins May 01
harpercollins Pbk Mar 02
(Jane Marple)
They Came to Baghdad
(Collins Crime Club,
1951)
harpercollins Feb 01
harpercollins Pbk 1996
A Murder Is Announced
(Collins Crime Club,
1950)
(Jane Marple)
Crooked House
(Collins Crime Club,
1949)
Pbk 1960
Taken at the Flood
(Collins Crime Club,
1948)
harpercollins Nov 00
harpercollins Pbk 1996
( Poirot)
The Labours of Hercules
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1947)
harpercollins Nov 01
Pbk 1960
Poirot Lends a Hand
Short Stories
(Todd,
1946)
Poirot Knows the Murderer
Short Stories
(Todd,
1946)
The Hollow
(Collins Crime Club,
1946)
( Poirot)
Sparkling Cyanide
(Collins Crime Club,
1945)
Death Comes as the End
(Collins Crime Club,
1945)
The Veiled Lady and The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest
Short Stories
(Todd,
1944)
Towards Zero
(Collins Crime Club,
1944)
harpercollins Pbk May 02
( Battle)
Problem at Pollensa Bay and Christmas Adventure
Short Stories
(Todd,
1943)
Poirot on Holiday
Short Stories
(Todd,
1943)
The Moving Finger
(Collins Crime Club,
1943)
Penguin Pbk 1960
(Jane Marple)
Five Little Pigs
(Collins Crime Club,
1942)
Collins Crime Club (n.d.) ( Poirot)
The Body in the Library
(Collins Crime Club,
1942)
(Jane Marple)
N or M?
(Collins Crime Club,
1941)
Collins Crime Club (n.d.) ( Beresfords)
Evil under the Sun
(Collins Crime Club,
1941)
harpercollins Pbk Nov 01
( Poirot)
Sad Cypress
(Collins Crime Club,
1940)
harpercollins Pbk Sep 01
( Poirot)
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
(Collins Crime Club,
1940)
harpercollins Oct 99
harpercollins Pbk Apr 02
( Poirot)
Ten Little Niggers
(Collins Crime Club,
1939)
Murder Is Easy
(Collins Crime Club,
1939)
harpercollins May 99
harpercollins Pbk May 02
( Battle)
And Then There Were None
(Collins Crime Club,
1939)
harpercollins Jun 99
Murder to Hounds
(
1939)
(Sam Spade)
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
(Collins Crime Club,
1938)
harpercollins Pbk Sep 01
( Poirot)
Appointment with Death
(Collins Crime Club,
1938)
harpercollins Apr 99
harpercollins Pbk Jun 01
( Poirot)
Murder in the Mews and Three Other Poirot Cases
Short Stories
(?,
1937)
harpercollins Pbk Apr 02
Dumb Witness
(Collins Crime Club,
1937)
harpercollins Pbk Jan 02
( Poirot & Hastings)
Death on the Nile
(Collins Crime Club,
1937)
( Poirot)
Murder in Mesopotamia
(Collins Crime Club,
1936)
harpercollins Pbk Nov 01
( Poirot)
Cards on the Table
(Collins Crime Club,
1936)
( Poirot, Battle & Race)
The A.B.C. Murders
(Collins Crime Club,
1936)
harpercollins Aug 98
( Poirot)
Death in the Clouds
(Collins Crime Club,
1935)
harpercollins Apr 98
Fontana Pbk 1972
( Poirot)
Three Act Tragedy
(Collins Crime Club,
1935)
harpercollins Apr 98
harpercollins Pbk Apr 02
( Poirot)
The Listerdale Mystery and Other Stories
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1934)
harpercollins Feb 98
Parker Pyne Investigates
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1934)
harpercollins Apr 98
Murder on the Orient Express
(Collins Crime Club,
1934)
harpercollins Feb 98
( Poirot)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
(Collins Crime Club,
1934)
harpercollins Apr 98
The Hound of Death and Other Stories
Short Stories
(Odhams,
1933)
harpercollins Feb 98
Lord Edgware Dies
(Collins Crime Club,
1933)
harpercollins Feb 98
harpercollins Pbk Dec 99
( Poirot)
The Thirteen Problems
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1932)
(Jane Marple)
Peril at End House
(Collins Crime Club,
1932)
( Poirot)
The Sittaford Mystery
(Collins Crime Club,
1931)
The Floating Admiral
(Hodder & Stoughton,
1931)
The Mysterious Mr. Quin
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1930)
harpercollins Jul 97
The Murder at the Vicarage
(Collins Crime Club,
1930)
(Jane Marple)
The Under Dog
Short Stories
(Reader's Library,
1929)
Partners in Crime
Short Stories
(Collins Crime Club,
1929)
harpercollins Jul 97
( Beresfords)
The Seven Dials Mystery
(Collins Crime Club,
1929)
harpercollins Jul 97
( Battle)
The Mystery of the Blue Train
(Collins Crime Club,
1928)
harpercollins Jul 97
Penguin Pbk 1949
( Poirot)
The Big Four
(Collins Crime Club,
1927)
harpercollins Jul 97
harpercollins Pbk Jan 02
( Poirot)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
(Collins Crime Club,
1926)
harpercollins Jul 97
harpercollins Pbk Dec 99
( Poirot)
The Secret of Chimneys
(Lane,
1925)
harpercollins Apr 98
Pan Pbk 1959
( Battle)
Poirot Investigates
Short Stories
(Lane,
1924)
harpercollins Apr 97
harpercollins Pbk Sep 01
( Poirot)
The Man in the Brown Suit
(Lane,
1924)
harpercollins Apr 98
Pan Pbk 1957
( Race)
The Murder on the Links
(Lane,
1923)
harpercollins Apr 98
( Poirot)
The Secret Adversary
(Lane,
1922)
harpercollins Apr 98
( Beresfords)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
(Lane,
1920)
harpercollins Apr 98
Pan Pbk 1954
( Poirot)
A Murder Is Announced
Seven Deadly Sins
by Agatha Christie
