AUCTION PREVIEW: Forum - Sept 3, 2026

Forum Auctions is hosting  an online timed auction of Modern Literature on September 3, 2026. Within the auction are 46 Agatha Christie books across 21 lots. There are some lovely books from the 1940s and 1950s here that are still relatively affordable. If you are a collector seeking to build out your firsts from this period, do it now before prices escalate further as quality stock from this time frame is drying up.

Many of the headline lot descriptions have modified slightly to correctly reflect what the lot actually contains. The detailed lot descriptions, with their stated editions and condition reports are all as provided by Forum Auctions. For the preview the price shown is the estimate. After the auction I will convert this to a ‘Review’ with the actual prices. Each lot will also have a Buyer’s Premium of 27% on the first £5,000 per lot. Each lot was only accompanied by one photograph of the book(s). Buyers needing more detail or images needed to reach out to Forum directly.

Sept 3: Modern Literature.

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Lot 80: The Man in the Brown Suit, First Edition, The Bodley Head, London, 1924; and The Murder on the Links, First Cheap Edition, The Bodley Head, London, 1925.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: The Man in the Brown Suit: light spotting and corner creases, one or two marginal tears and tape repairs, light staining to front pastedown, tape reinforcement to lower hinge, library binding, joints weak, spine slightly faded, light spots and stains; The Murder on the Links: no information.

CC Comments: A few more pictures would have been helpful here. I’ll assume the ‘cheap edition’ doesn’t have a jacket otherwise it would be shown and the estimate would be significantly higher. As to The Man in the Brown Suit, any book that has been rebound for a personal library has a very limited collector base and thus much more affordable.

Lot 81: The Hound of Death and Other Stories, First Edition, Odhams Press, London [1933]; and The Murder in the Mews, First Odhams Press edition, London, 1937.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: The Hound of Death and other stories: light edge spotting, slight sunning to spine, spine a little bumped at foot, neat and expert repairs and restoration to spine tips and corners, strip of light toning to lower panel; Murder in the Mews and other stories: slight wear to spine tips and corners, jacket spine darkened, light surface soiling to lower panel, short closed tear to head and foot of upper joint, closed tear with creasing to foot of upper panel.

CC Comments: The value here is for The Hound of Death which is a true first edition of this collection. While the rights were later to given to Collins, surprisingly perhaps the Collins edition is far more valuable as its print run appears to be very small.  As to Murder in the Mews, Collins published that first, and swapped the rights for this to Odhams for The Hound of Death.  Since the Odhams version is very affordable, many people collect this reprint. However, there were two editions. On the copyright page one states c1137 and the other states c338. The c1137 means November 1937 and c338 is thus March 1938. I assume this is the 1937 version but it would be worth confirming if this is an edition you seek.

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Lot 82: N or M?, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1941.

Price Estimate: £400-600.

Condition: Original orange cloth, slight sunning to upper and lower edges, dust-jacket priced at 7s.6d., spine a little faded, spine ends and corners a little chipped, a few nicks and short tears to head and foot with creasing, neat tape repairs to verso, extremities rubbed, a very good copy.

CC Comments: The colour on this jacket is notorious for fading, especially on the spine. This is better than the average example and now quite scarce to locate.

Lot 83: Five Little Pigs, First British Edition, 1943

Price Estimate: £400-600.

Condition: Neat contemporary ink ownership inscription to front free endpaper, original orange cloth, light sunning to lower edge, slight bumping to spine tips and corners, dust-jacket priced at 8s., spine ends and corners chipped, splash mark to lower panel, soiling to upper panel, short closed tear to foot of upper panel and head of lower panel, a very good example overall.

CC Comments: Incorrectly described as a 1942 book in the listing online. It was first published in 1942 in the States under the title Murder in Retrospect but didn’t appear in the UK until January 1943. An odd cover design that has nothing to do with the book other than the rhyme, but a fun bold yellow design. It doesn’t seem that long ago that this book was easy to secure in a very good copy for little money. Those days are gone!

Lot 84: The Body in the Library, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, 1942.

Price Estimate: £400-600.

Condition: Original orange cloth, slight sunning to spine, second state dust-jacket without artist's credit to upper panel priced at 7s.6d., light browning to spine and lower pane, spine ends and corners chipped, affecting a few letters of imprint at foot, neat tape repairs to verso, some creasing to head and foot, a very good copy overall, 8vo, The Crime Club, 1942.

CC Comments: The jacket appears slightly trimmed down on this book. This is a fairly common item which makes me think there was a library edition that needed a little shaved off the bottom to fit its binding. Also, the cover artist’s name – Stead – does not appear on this jacket. It’s about 50/50 for jackets that have the name and those that don’t. I assume different print runs but there is no known edition sequence.

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Lot 85: The Moving Finger, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1943.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: Original orange cloth, fading to lower edge and head of spine, dust-jacket priced at 7s.6d., spine a little rubbed, lacking 1.5" portion at head, chipping to corners and foot of spine, chip to foot of lower panel, a few short tears to head and foot with light creased.

CC Comments: For some reason Collins dropped the price of this first edition back down to 7/6 having raised it to 8s for Five Little Pigs issued earlier in the year. Many of these books from the early 1940s were reissued with a cheaper price on the jacket (often 4s) so whenever possible acquire an unclipped jacket so you know it is the first state.

Lot 86: Towards Zero, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1944.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: Original orange cloth, spine slightly spotted and faded, dust-jacket priced at 7s. 6d., very light surface soiling to spine, spine ends a little chipped, slight creasing to head, an unusually bright and excellent copy. Towards Zero marks the fifth and final appearance of Hercule Poirot's ally Superintendent Battle. A difficult book to find with the jacket still bright and unsoiled.

CC Comments: Agreed! This is a great unsoiled jacket. Usually the white has become grubby and stained, especially on the spine.

Lot 87: Death Comes as the End, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1945.

Price Estimate: £150-200.

Condition: Some cracking to gutter, original orange cloth, slight fading to spine, slight bumping to spine tips, dust-jacket priced at 7s. 6d., slight fading to spine, spine ends and corners a little chipped, lower panel with small dark, short closed tear with creasing to foot of upper joint, a few small nicks to head and foot of panel, light surface soiling.

CC Comments: Is it fair to call this the least-loved book from the 1940s? Because of its unique story that doesn’t contain Poirot or Marple, it’s valuation tends to be lower than other firsts from this period. However, no collection is complete without it.

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Lot 88: Sparkling Cyanide, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1945.

Price Estimate: £300-400.

Condition: Original orange cloth, fading and slight bumping to spine tips, dust-jacket priced at 8s.6d., slight fading to spine, small patch of discolouration to spine towards foot, spine tips and corners chipped, short closed tears to head and foot of upper joint, slight creasing to head and foot, extremities rubbed, a very good example.

CC Comments: The American edition was published then under the title Remembered Death. When published in the UK later in the year, the decision was made to change the title given the sensitivity to all the war dead at home. One of the last great jackets before they all became a little bland.

Lot 89: The Hollow, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1946.

Price Estimate: £150-200.

Condition: Original orange-red cloth, some edge-spotting, very slight fading to spine, sunning to spine tips and lower edge, dust-jacket priced at 8s.6d., spine slightly sunned and a little marked, spine tips and corners a little chipped, spotting to lower panel, surface soiling.

CC Comments: Another book whose spine is often so faded that you can’t even make out the title or The Crime Club on it. On this one you still just can making it better than many.

Lot 90: The Labours of Hercules, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1947.

Price Estimate: £150-200.

Condition: Original orange cloth, dust-jacket priced at 7s.6d., spine ends and corners chipped, large chip to head of upper joint touching title lettering at head of spine, a few nick and short tears to head and foot with light creasing, neat tape repairs to verso.

CC Comments: Famously the jacket Christie really disliked as she felt the image on the spine looked like ‘Poirot going naked to the bath’.

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Lot 91: Taken at the Flood, First British Edition, The Crime Club, Collins, London, 1948.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: original orange cloth, dust-jacket priced at 8s.6d., spine tips and corners a little chipped, nick to head of upper panel and foot of lower panel with light creasing, an excellent copy.

CC Comments: These firsts from near the end of the 1940s are still affordable collectibles for now.

Lot 92: A Murder is Announced, First British Edition, 1950 and Crooked House, First British Edition (later jacket), 1949. Both: The Crime Club, Collins, London.

Price Estimate: £150-200.

Condition: A Murder is Announced: first edition, ink gift inscription to front free endpaper, original orange-red cloth, slight bumping and fading to spine tips, dust-jacket, neatly price-clipped, internal tear to spine with neat tape repair to verso, spine ends and corners chipped, a few nicks to head with creasing, extremities rubbed; and a first edition of Crooked House in a later issue dust-jacket.

CC Comments: Both are actually first British editions have been published by Dodd, Mead & Co. in the US prior to the British release. A Murder is Announced is considered by many to be the finest Miss Marple novel and is now surprisingly difficult to find in a very good, unclipped jacket (sadly this one is clipped).

Lot 93: They Came to Baghdad, First Edition, 1951; Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, First British Edition, 1952; They Do It With Mirrors, First British Edition, 1952. All: The Crime Club, Collins, London.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: They Came to Baghdad: very light fading to spine, slight sunning to upper and lower edges, jacket lettering slightly faded, spine ends and corners chipped, chip to head of lower panel, some soiling, a few small nicks or short tears to head and foot with light creasing; Mrs. McGinty's Dead: jacket with slight sunning to spine, spine tips and corners a little chipped, short closed tear to foot of lower panel with creasing; They Do It With Mirrors: ink bookseller stamp to front free endpaper, spine tips and corners slightly bumped and sunned, jacket spine ends and corners a little chipped, tear with creasing to upper panel, tape repairs to verso, spotting to lower panel. All: first editions, original cloth, dust-jackets.

CC Comments: During the 1940s and 1950s many Christie books were first published in the US, including two of these. However, all British editions tend to command greater values because of their origin association and smaller print runs. These early 1950s books are now becoming very difficult to find in very good condition. This is a lovely set of three.

Lot 94: A Pocket Full of Rye, First Edition,1953; Destination Unknown, First Edition, 1953; Hickory, Dickory Dock, First Edition, 1954. All: The Crime Club, Collins, London.

Price Estimate: £300-400.

Condition: A Pocket Full of Rye: slight sunning to upper and lower edges, jacket with very slight fading to spine, spine ends and corners a little chipped, a few small nicks or short closed tears to head and foot, neat tape repairs to verso; Destination Unknown: jacket with very light toning to spine, slight creasing to head; Hickory Dickory Dock: jacket spine toned, minor chipping to spine tips and corners, short closed tear to foot of upper panel; All: original boards, slight bumping to spine tips, dust-jackets, light foxing or toning to lower panels.

CC Comments: Another lovely set of early 1950s firsts in complete jackets.

Lot 95: A Pocket Full of Rye, First Edition, Collins, The Crime Club, London, 1953; The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Grosset & Dunlap, New York, [c. 1928-1930].

Price Estimate: £300-400.

Condition: A Pocket Full of Rye: slight cracking to gutter at one or two pp., spine ends slightly bumped and faded, dust-jacket priced at 10s. 6d. on upper flap, splitting at foot, slightly affecting text, a little toned at lower panel and spine, [Cooper & Pike pp.82-9], The Crime Club, 1953; The Mysterious Affair at Styles, some toning, upper cover and spine lightly toned, extremities rubbed and nicked, New York, Grosset & Dunlap, 1920, first or first American editions, original boards.

CC Comments: An incorrect description for The Mysterious Affair at Styles. As a Grosset & Dunlap reprint, it certainly came after Dodd, Mead & Co. first secured reprint rights which was in 1926 and who continued to print the title into 1927 under their own imprint. I expect it will be corrected online before the auction ends. The price estimate is thus far too high.

Lot 96: Dead Man’s Folly, First British Edition, 1956; After the Funeral, First British Edition, 1953; The Clocks, First Edition, 1963. All: The Crime Club, Collins, London.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: Dead Man's Folly: light browning to endpapers, jacket spine tips and corners a little chipped, short closed tear with creasing to head of lower panel, neat tape repairs to verso; After the Funeral: some sunning to upper and lower edges, jacket foxed and a little soiled, spine ends and corners a little chipped, a few nicks and closed tears to head and foot with creasing, neat tape repairs to verso; The Clocks: scattered spotting, jacket spine ends and corners a little chipped, vertical crease to upper panel, extremities rubbed.

CC Comments: A complete jacket on a first of The Clocks is quite uncommon. For some reason the paper used for this jacket tore easily and so many copies have large chips missing from the spine or panels.

Lot 97: 4:50 From Paddington, First Edition, 1957; Ordeal by Innocence, First Edition, 1958; The Pale Horse, First Edition, 1961. All – The Crime Club, Collins, London.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: 4.50 From Paddington: the odd spot or patch of foxing, jacket spine a little dulled, spine ends and corners a little chipped, lower panel foxed and stained; Ordeal by Innocence: jacket with slight rubbing to spine tips and corners; The Pale Horse: jacket spine ends and corners a little chipped, closed tear with creasing to foot of lower fore-edge, a few nicks or small chips to head and foot with light creasing, spotting and marking to lower panel, extremities rubbed.

CC Comments: A great lot for new collectors.

Lot 98: Cat Among the Pigeons, First Edition, 1959; Third Girl, First Edition, 1966; Elephants Can Remember, First Edition, 1972; Hallowe’en Party, First Edition, 1969; Curtain, First Edition, 1975.  All – The Crime Club, Collins, London.

Price Estimate: £150-200.

Condition: Cat Among the Pigeons: jacket with short closed tear and creasing to head of lower joint, very light surface soiling to lower panel; Third Girl, some light spotting, jacket a little toned with a few light marks; Elephants Can Remember, light vertical crease to spine, jacket with slight fading to spine, rubbing to spine tips, slight creasing to head and foot; Others – no report.

CC Comments: Another good starter lot for new collectors.

Lot 99: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, First Edition, 1960; Endless Night, First Edition, 1967; 13 for Luck!, First British Edition, 1966; By The Pricking of My Thumbs, First Edition, 1968; Passenger to Frankfurt, First Edition, 1970; Postern of Fate, First Edition, 1973. All – The Crime Club, Collins, London.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: The Adventures of the Christmas Pudding: foxing and some tape-staining to endpapers and pastedowns, patch of light staining to fore-margin of early leaves, jacket with sunning to spine, pen mark to lower panel; Endless Night: some scattered spotting, jacket with light fading to spine, short closed tear with creasing to head of upper joint; 13 for Luck!: light spotting to endpapers, light sunning and surface soiling to jacket, nick to hear of lower panel; Others – no description.

CC Comments: 13 for Luck! is a unique short story collection conceived to attract younger readers. It was originally created for the American market and was published five years earlier there in 1961.

Lot 100: The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side, First Edition, 1962; A Caribbean Mystery, First Edition, 1964; At Bertram’s Hotel, First Edition, 1965; Nemesis, First Edition, 1971; Sleeping Murder, First British Edition, 1976; Miss Marple’s 6 Final Cases & 2 Other Stories, First Edition, 1979.

Price Estimate: £200-300.

Condition: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side: jacket with slight browning to spine, some minor chipping to spine tips and corners, short closed tear with creasing to head of upper panel; A Caribbean Mystery: jacket with very short closed tear to head of lower joints, slight creasing to head and foot, light surface soiling and the odd spot; At the Bertram's Hotel: jacket with very light browning to spine, slight creasing to spine tips; Others – no description.

CC Comments: There was no US equivalent of the Miss Marple collection as all the stories had already appeared in various collections published by Dodd Mead & Co. ranging from 1939 to 1961.

Collecting Christie Comments.

First of all, don't be intimidated to bid at an auction. These online timed auctions are very similar to eBay. First you need to register with the auction house which is done directly and easily at their website. Then you log in, find the lots you want and enter your maximum bid. Remember to consider the buyer's premium as it will be added to your bid amount if you are successful. If you like to look for steals or deals, then monitor the auction as lots are closing. You can always put a bid in at the last moment if that's your preference. Auction houses are very efficient post-sale. You'll get an invoice mailed to you and then will handle shipping if wanted or arrange pickup.

As always, my comments and opinions are based entirely on the limited information provided by the auction house and my own experience. Any reader, or buyer, who has more information or corrections is welcome to write to me at: collectchristie@gmail.com

Forum Auction Specifics: Buyer’s Premium: 27% on the first £5,000 per lot. There is no VAT on bound books. Forum Auctions are also listed on third party online aggregator platforms: the-saleroom.com, invaluable.com, liveauctioneers.com and others. If you use these sites, note there is a 5% surcharge for bidding via these platforms. Shipping costs will be additional and if shipped overseas be aware of potential duties or import fees your home country may apply.