Agatha Christie Collectable Facsimile Editions
Collectable Christie Hardback Facsimiles
On this page:
Introduction
There have been multiple different facsimile Christie publication programmes over the years.
The HarperCollins Facsimile First Editions ‘Crime Club' Collection. This is the set I have catalogued below. Between 2003 and 2017, HarperCollins released almost 90 Agatha Christie facsimile editions of her most popular novels, reproducing the original typesetting and formats from the first edition copies kept in the Christie family's own archives. The books feature the original covers which have been painstakingly restored from the best available copies, reflecting five decades of iconic cover design. Size is 7 ½” x 5″.
The collection includes all of her mystery novels, and all of the UK short story collections published during her lifetime. (One of her Mary Westmacott romances is apparently due for facsimile release, but I haven't been able to source a copy yet. It may be a pandemic victim…)
Under the dust jacket, the books are red clothbound hardbacks and they were also released with a wrap-around belly-band (an additional paper dust jacket about half the size of the original) which shows Harper Collins as the publisher and includes the ISBN and other books in the series. The belly-band can be removed to display only the original dust jacket. I've included the dust jacket artist where I know it, but if you can add details for one of the missing ones, please do let me know in the comments!
Other similarly named sets:
The Agatha Christie Book Collection. This is an 85 volume set described as a “limited-run partwork” produced for HarperCollins between 2012 and 2015 – they can be identified by an internal statement on the copyright page that they are part of a set and are not to be sold separately. They were also accompanied by a set of magazines to match each title. Size is 7 ½” x 5 ¼”.
Book Club Associates (BCA) Facsimiles Set. A set of 27 titles was released by BCA in 2006 with a statement on the copyright page that they were published ‘by arrangement with HarperCollins'. These are a slightly larger size than the other facsimile editions. Size is 8.5″ by 5.5″.
FAQ
Are they valuable?
Well, they shouldn't be really. They are not true first editions, so they are only as valuable as much as people desire them to complete a collection. But for me that's part of the charm, you can actually afford to add them to your bookcase and not be frightened to read them because you're worried you'll devalue them!
However, as they have slowly gone out of print, some of the titles are definitely more sought after (=expensive) than others on the second-hand market. This is often linked to the attractiveness of the jacket design more than anything else, but as ‘completist' collectors come late on the scene and try to find less popular titles to fill out their shelves prices are slowly rising.
Shelf Appeal
The books in this series look pretty cool on the shelf, because they have delightful pictorial dust jackets, and they look vintage but being new are in much better condition than true vintage books are likely to be.
Complete list of titles
Oddities and Special Releases
Agatha Christie Complete Facsimile Collection – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780008281588, 20 Oct 2017
Featuring the set of 25 collectable hardbacks released in India to mark the company's 25th birthday (*so, please note this is the “complete” collection released by HarperCollins India at the time, not the complete collection of all the facsimile titles in the collection).
► Uncommon. Find boxed set at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007546398, 17 Feb 2015
Cover art by Tom Adams.
Not a true part of this collection, this is actually a never-before-published novella that was released for the first time in an illustrated collector's edition to match the rest of the titles in this series. The dust jacket painting, illustrations and introduction are by Tom Adams, Christie's most famous cover artist.
► Find hardback edition at Amazon | Blackwells | Abes | eBay
Star Over Bethlehem – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007284214, 3 Oct 2009. 50th Anniversary Edition.
A commemorative omnibus reproduction of three of Agatha Christie's rarest and most sought-after books – the Christmas story Star Over Bethlehem, and her poetry collections The Road of Dreams and Poems. This 50th Anniversary edition also includes ‘In a Dispensary', not in print since 1924.
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
➤ Find first edition at Abes | eBay
While the Light Lasts – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780002326438, 22 Jan 1998
First published by HarperCollins, Aug 1997.
For a complete collection, you'll also need this title, the very last Agatha Christie book. It's a posthumous short story collection featuring some of her earliest stories – including her very first – which show the Queen of Crime in the making.
➤ Find hardback edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Mary Westmacott Romances
Giant's Bread – Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott
HarperCollins, 9780008356811, [advertised but not released]
Cover art by Margaret Macadam. First published by Collins, Apr 1930.
Vernon Deyre is a sensitive and brilliant musician, even a genius. But there is a high price to be paid for his talent, especially by his family and the two women in his life.
Agatha Christie Mysteries
And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007525300, 27 Jun 2013
The problematically titled first edition was published as Ten Little Ni**ers in Nov 1939. This facsimile edition instead goes with the alternative title and cover art of the first US edition from 1940.
The world's best-selling crime novel, in which eight people arrrive on a small, isolated island off the Devon coast before they start getting knocked off one by one. Both titles come from a children's counting rhyme (first and last lines).
► Find it at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Also re-released as a “Classic Edition”
William Morrow, 9780062484390, 18 Oct 2016
➤ Find facsimile at Amazon | Abes | eBay
By the Pricking of My Thumbs – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007395736, 18 Aug 2011.
Cover artist Kenneth Farnhill, first published Nov 1968.
An elderly Tommy and Tuppence investigate four mysteries. The title of the book comes from a line from William Shakespeare's Macbeth, in which the witch says “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.” (Act 4, Scene 1).
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Problem at Pollensa Bay – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780002239226, 1 Aug 2011.
First facsimile by HarperCollins, Nov 1991.
A collection of short stories featuring some of Agatha Christie's best-loved detectives – Hercule Poirot, Parker Pyne, Mr Satterthwaite and Harley Quin.
➤ Find facsimile edition edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Postern of Fate – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780002311908, 1 Aug 2011
First published by Collins Crime Club, Sep 1975.
Cover art by Margaret Murray. First published by Collins Crime Club, Oct 1973.
The final Tommy & Tuppence novel, in which a poisoning many years ago may not have been accidental after all…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Endless Night – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007395705, 14 Apr 2011
Cover art by Kenneth Farnhill. First published by Collins Crime Club, Oct 1967.
Gipsy’s Acre was a truly beautiful upland site with views out to sea – and in Michael Rogers it stirred a child-like fantasy. Yet a menace hung over the land…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Ordeal by Innocence – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007395712, 14 Apr 2011
First published by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1958.
The Argyle family is far from pleased to discover one of its number has been posthumously pardoned for murder – if Jacko Argyle didn't kill his mother, who did?
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Death Comes as the End – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007354696, 18 Jan 2011
First published in the US. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, Mar 1945.
The quiet lives of an Egyptian family are disturbed when the father, Imhotep, returns from the north with his new concubine, Nofret, who begins to sow discontent amongst them. And ancient Egyptian thriller set in Thebes, 2000 BC.
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Towards Zero – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007354689, 18 Jan 2011
First published in the US. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, Jul 1944.
Superintendent Battle is called to investigate the murder of an elderly widow at a clifftop seaside house in Devon…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Partners in Crime – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007354634, 5 Aug 2010
First published in the US. Published in the UK by William Collins & Sons, Sep 1929.
Short story collection. Tommy and Tuppence are hired by a detective agency which promises to solve crimes in 24 hours. Sixteen different cases await their attention, which they decide to solve in the manner of different famous detectives…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Parker Pyne Investigates – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007354672, 5 Aug 2010
First published by William Collins & Sons, Nov 1934.
Short story collection. Twelve tantalising cases for the retired private investigator Parker Pyne, who solves the personal cases that Scotland Yard won't handle…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Listerdale Mystery – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007354665, 5 Aug 2010
First published by William Collins & Sons, Jun 1934.
Short story collection, a selection of twelve classic mystery stories by the peerless Queen of Crime, including the acclaimed ‘Philomel Cottage'…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Mysterious Mr Quin – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007354641, 5 Aug 2010
Cover art by Thomas Derrick. First published by William Collins & Sons, Apr 1930.
Short story collection. The enigmatic Mr Quin is a harbinger of love – and death. His friend Mr Satterthwaite must help him solve 12 mysterious cases…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
N or M? – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007354627, 1 Apr 2010
First published in the US. UK publication by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1941.
A group of wartime spies and saboteurs are operating out of an English seaside resort. Tommy and Tuppence are sent to investigate…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Murder Is Easy – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007354610, 1 Jun 2010
First published by Collins Crime Club, Jun 1939. Published in the US as Easy to Kill.
On her way to Scotland Yard to report a series of murders, an old woman is knocked down by a hit-and-run driver…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Clocks – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007314638, 20 Aug 2009
Cover art by Michael Harvey. First published by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1963.
A typist uncovers a man's body from behind the sofa, and Poirot decides to solve the crime by the exercise of his intellect alone…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
After the Funeral – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007280605, 2 Apr 2009
First published in the US as Funerals are Fatal. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, May 1953.
The master of a Victorian mansion dies suddenly – and his sister is convinced it was murder….
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Taken at the Flood – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007280520, 18 Dec 2008
First published in the US as There is a Tide. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1948. Both titles are taken from a line in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune…” (Act IV).
A man returns from the dead, and the body of a mysterious stranger is found in his room…
➤ Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Labours of Hercules – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007280513, 1 Oct 2008
First published in the US. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, Sep 1947.
Short story collection. Poirot undertakes to solve twelve final cases, providing they correspond with the labours of his namesake the Greek hero Hercules.
► Find hardback edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Five Little Pigs – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007274567, 1 Apr 2008
First published in the US as Murder in Retrospect. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, Jan 1943.
A womanising painter was poisoned 16 years ago by his wife, but now his daughter believes she was innocent all along…
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007274574, 2008
First published by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1940. Released in the US as The Patriotic Murders and An Overdose of Death.
Shortly after Hercule Poirot's visit, a dentist lies murdered in his Harley Street practice…
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Murder on the Links – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007265169, 5 Nov 2007
Cover art by H. T. Warren. First published in the UK by The Bodley Head, May 1923.
It may only be Hercule Poirot’s second outing but the great detective is already fully formed in this marvellously labyrinthine whodunnit set in a French golfing resort.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Secret of Chimneys – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007265213, 1 Mar 2008
Cover art by Percy Graves. First published by Bodley Head, Jun 1925.
At the request of George Lomax, Lord Caterham reluctantly agrees to host a weekend party at his home, Chimneys. A murder occurs in the house, beginning a week of fast-paced events with police among the guests.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Secret Adversary – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007265152, 2007
Cover art by Ernest Akers, first published by The Bodley Head, Jan 1922.
Childhood friends Tommy Beresford and Prudence “Tuppence” Cowley meet and agree to start their own business as The Young Adventurers.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Peril at End House – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234394, 2007
First published in the US. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, Mar 1932.
Poirot and Hastings vacation in Cornwall, meeting young Nick Buckley and her friends. He is persuaded someone is out to kill her…
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Lord Edgware Dies – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007240227, 2008
Cover art by Lambart, first published by Collins Crime Club, Sep 1933.
An American actress married to Lord Edgware asks Poirot to aid her in getting a divorce from her husband the day before he is murdered. Filmed as Thirteen at Dinner.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Appointment With Death – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234493, 2008
Cover art by Robin Macartney. First published by Collins Crime Club, May 1938.
Poirot overhears Raymond Boynton telling his sister “You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?”. Based on Agatha Christie's own travels in the Middle-east with her archaeologist husband.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Dumb Witness – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234462, 2008
Cover art by Malcolm Nicholson. First published by Collins Crime Club, Jul 1937. The cover famously features Agatha Christie's own dog.
Poirot receives a letter from wealthy spinster Emily Arundell asking for help with her attempted murder, only to discover she has already died.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Nemesis – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007208593, 2008
First published by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1971.
Miss Marple receives a letter from the solicitors of the recently deceased millionaire Jason Rafiel, which asks her to look into an unspecified crime.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Murder in the Mews – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234486, 2008
Cover art by Robin Macartney. First published by Collins Crime Club, Mar 1937. Published in the US as Dead Man's Mirror, with earlier editions missingThe Incredible Theft.
A pre-war Poirot book of four novellas – Murder in the Mews, The Incredible Theft, Dead Man's Mirror and Triangle at Rhodes.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Three Act Tragedy – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234417, 2008
First published in the US as Murder in Three Acts. Published by Collins Crime Club, Jan 1935.
Poirot and his friend Mr Satterthwaite are invited to a dinner party at which Reverend Babbington suddenly dies..
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Big Four – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234516, 2007
Cover art by Thomas Derrick, first published William Collins & Sons, 27 Jan 1927.
A novel that began from 12 short stories of international intrigue and espionage that had been separately published.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234370, 2006
Cover art by Ellen Edwards, first published William Collins & Sons, Jun 1926.
Poirot's friend Roger Ackroyd is murdered and he must come out of retirement to solve the case. Published to mark the 80th anniversary of its publication, this was the first Agatha Christie published by Collins.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234479, 2008
Cover art by Robin Macartney. First published by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1937.
One of Poirot's most famous cases, where he investigates a murder while on holiday touring along the Nile River.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007234400, 2009
First published by Collins Crime Club, Jan 1934.
The elegant train of the 1930s, the Orient Express, is stopped by heavy snowfall. A murder is discovered, and Poirot's trip home to London from the Middle East is interrupted to solve the case…
Re-released “Classic Edition”
HarperCollins, 9780062424754, 6 Oct 2015
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007208609, 2006
First published by Collins Crime Club, Oct 1976. Published posthumously.
Miss Marple aids a young couple who choose to uncover events in the wife's past life, and not let sleeping murder lie.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007208555, 2006
First published by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1962. Published in the US as The Mirror Crack'd.
A fan dies at a film star's fete, and Miss Marple uncovers the tragedy hidden behind celebrity glamour.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
A Pocket Full of Rye – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007208524, 2006
First published by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1953.
When London businessman Rex Fortescue dies after drinking his morning tea, Miss Marple works with Inspector Neele to solve the murder.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
4.50 From Paddington – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007208548, 2006
First published by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1957. Published in the US as What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! Filmed as Murder, She Said.
Mrs Elspeth McGillicuddy is on her way from a shopping expedition to visit her old friend Jane Marple for Christmas when she sees a man strangling a woman on a passing train.
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
They Do It With Mirrors – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007208470, 2006
First published in the US. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, Nov 1952.
Miss Marple investigates murder and misdirection at a reform-school estate where appearances deceive..
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
The Moving Finger – Agatha Christie
HarperCollins, 9780007208456, 2006
First published in the US. UK publication by Collins Crime Club, Jun 1943. The book takes its name from a line in the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, ‘The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on”.
The Burtons, brother and sister, arrive in a Devon village, and receive a letter accusing them of being lovers, not siblings. They are not the only ones to receive a poisonous letter…
► Find facsimile edition at Amazon | Abes | eBay
