Hercule Poirot’s Christmas.

CHRISTIE, Agatha.

Item Number: 129633

London: The Crime Club by Collins, 1939.

First edition of this classic Christie novel. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “From Agatha Christie.” With “were” corrected on page 162 to “was” in Christie’s hand. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket with light shelfwear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Exceptionally rare, especially signed.

Christie's Hercule Poirot's Christmas was first published in the United Kingdom by Collins Crime Club on December 19, 1938 (although the first edition is copyright dated 1939) and subsequently in the U.S. by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1939 under the title of Murder for Christmas. The book was well-received upon publication, Isaac Anderson of The New York Times Book Review concluded, "Poirot has solved some puzzling mysteries in his time, but never has his mighty brain functioned more brilliantly than in Murder for Christmas".