Poirot Investigates (1924) by Agatha Christie.

This in-depth look at Agatha Christie's fourth book is part of my overall series on title specific articles. To see the complete list of these articles published to date, go to this link which can also be found at the top menu on CollectingChristie's home page.

Introduction.

Agatha Christie’s first six books were published by John Lane’s The Bodley Head. This was the fourth book, and the third Poirot, though this time it was a short story collection. After The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot had returned in The Murder on the Links, which first appeared in the UK in December 1922 in The Grand Magazine.  The interest in Poirot led to Bruce Ingram, the editor of The Sketch, suggesting Christie write a series of Poirot short stories. This series was published by The Sketch from March 1923 until October 1923 under the collective title of Tales With A Sting - The Grey Cells of M. Poirot.

It is known that Christie was an admirer of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. According to Christie, her three favourite Holmes stories are The Blue Carbuncle, The Red‑Headed League and The Five Orange Pips. All three were collected in the 1894 book The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which had a total of twelve stories. Whether Christie’s agreement with John Lane to collect her Poirot short stories into the book Poirot Investigates was specifically influenced by her enjoyment of Doyle’s collection is unknown, but I expect that it was.  The fact that only eleven, not twelve, stories were included in her British edition may have a been her decision to leave Doyle’s collection atop the podium. Almost forty years later, Christie’s appreciation of Doyle’s collection resurfaces when she has Poirot discuss The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in her 1963 novel The Clocks.

First Appearances.

In Britain, Poirot Investigates was published with eleven stories. When the collection was published in the States three additional stories were included. Thus, there are a total of fourteen stories to consider when looking at the true first appearances of each.

First British Appearances.

All of the eleven stories published in the British first edition initially appeared in The Sketch. None was illustrated. However, all were under the collective title of The Grey Cells of M. Poirot. Despite the apparent structure of a series, there were many more Poirot stories published by The Sketch that were not selected for inclusion in the collection, including the first Poirot short story under this series – The Affair at the Victory Ball. None of the stories were illustrated, though starting with The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim and onwards, a small cameo of Poirot's portrait was shown. This image was taken from the full-length portrait by W. Smithson Broadhead (discussed later).

The stories that did appear in the British first edition all appeared in The Sketch as follows.

The Curious Disappearance of the Opalsen Pearls, 14 March 1923, Issue 1572

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim, 28 March 1923, Issue 1574

The Adventure of “The Western Star”, 11 April 1923, Issue 1576

The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor, 18 April 1923, Issue 1577

The Million Dollar Bond Robbery, 2 May 1923, Issue 1579

The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, 9 May 1923, Issue 1580

The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge, 16 May 1923, Issue 1581

The Kidnapped Prime Minister, 25 April 1923, Issue 1578

The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, 26 September 1923, Issue 1600

The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman, 24 October 1923, Issue 1604

The Case of the Missing Will, 31 October 1923, Issue 1605

The American First Appearances.

In the States, when published in book form, Poirot Investigates had three additional stories: The Chocolate Box, The Veiled Lady and The Lost Mine.  All the stories first appeared in the States in Blue Book, a monthly magazine, and typically had a single illustration.

The stories were published as follows:

Mrs. Opalsen’s Pearls, Vol. 37 No. 6, Oct 1923.

Mr. Davenby Dissappears, Vol. 38 No. 2, Dec 1923

The Western Star, Vol. 38, No. 4, February 1924.

The Marsdon Manor Tragedy, Vol. 38 No. 5, Mar 1924,

The Great Bond Robbery Vol. 38 No. 6, Apr 1924

The Adventure of the Cheap Flat Vol. 39 No. 1, May 1924

The Hunter’s Lodge Case, Vol. 39 No. 2, Jun 1924,

The Kidnapped Premier, Vol. 39 No. 3, Jul 1924,

The Egyptian Adventure, Vol. 39 No. 4, Aug 1924.

The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman, Vol. 40 No. 2, Dec 1924

The Missing Will, Vol. 40 No. 3, Jan 1925

The Chocolate Box, Vol. 40 No. 4, Feb 1925

The Veiled Lady, Vol. 40 No. 5, Mar 1925

The Lost Mine, Vol. 40 No. 6, Apr 1925

First Edition.

1924: The first British edition was published by John Lane's The Bodley Head, London, on March 21, 1924. It was priced 7/6 on the spine of the jacket. The book’s format was Crown 8vo. and measured 7 ½” x 5” and contained 298 pages. The cloth was a bright orange with black lettering and design elements. Rather than staying with the collective title The Sketch used, the collection had the new title of Poirot Investigates. Within the book, one story was retitled.  The Curious Disappearance of the Opalsen Pearls became Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan.

The cover art depicted Hercule Poirot and was illustrated by W. Smithson Broadhead. While Christie’s first story published by The Sketch was The Affair at the Victory Ball, it is arguably The Adventure of the King of Clubs, published two weeks later, that is more noteworthy as this story was accompanied by W. Smithson Broadhead portrait of Poirot that graces this first edition. It is considered by many to be the best representation of Poirot.  For more insights into the artist and the portrait of Poirot, go to this link.

The three stories that were not originally in The Bodley Head’s edition did not appear in a traditional all-Christie collection until their inclusion in Collins’ 1974 book Poirot’s Early Cases.

First American Edition.

1925: The first American edition was published by Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, on April 18, 1925. This was a year later than the British edition. In addition to having the three extra stories, a several were titled slightly differently, most notable the change to Mrs. Opalsen’s Pearls consistent with the British edition, and the name change of Davenby to Davenheim.

As with Dodd Mead's The Murder on the Links, the original dust wrapper for this book is also unusual in that it has the same artwork on both the front and rear panels. Collectors should also know that this book was not reprinted by Dodd, Mead & Co. so only first edition printings exist from this period.

The Bodley Head Reprints.

1925: Second Edition. The Bodley Head reprinted the collection in 1925 using the same sheets and size format as the first edition but used a green cloth with a fresh design on it. Priced 3/6 on the jacket spine and initially referred to as a ‘Cheap Edition’, this book had the same cover art as the first edition. It was later reclassified as a ‘Popular Crown 8vo Edition’.

1928: Third Edition. In March 1928, the Bodley Head issued another ‘Cheap Edition’, which was slightly smaller than the first edition. Now measuring 7 ¼” x 4 ½”. The price was lowered further to ‘2s net’ on the spine (image below left). The new cover art was illustrated by Wyndham Payne. This remained known as a ‘Cheap Edition’. This edition is known to exist in two variants. The first state is a blue cloth with design elements consistent with all other reprints from 1928 (including The Bodley Head in italic script at the foot of the spine) but without updated end papers or copyright page, potentially even using up old stock. The second state is red cloth with John Lane’s initials on the cover and spine, and now with updated end papers and copyright page.

1935: Fourth Edition. In 1935, a new edition by The Bodley Head was published, priced 2/6. The new cover art was by Saloman Van Abbe (image above centre). Uniquely, this illustration of Poirot was also used by Collins in their book club reprint of Dumb Witness years later. This book was reprinted in 1938 (fifth edition) and 1941 (sixth edition).

1958: Seventh Edition. The last noteworthy edition by The Bodley Head was their 1958 printing, uniform in style to their other Christie books, with a photographic cover (image above right).

American Reprints.

In the States, Grosset & Dunlap usually handled the reprinting of Dodd, Mead & Co.’s Christie titles. However, this book was not reprinted making its inclusion in the 1943 omnibus (discussed below) the collection’s second American printing.

First Omnibus Editions.

1931: An Agatha Christie Omnibus, The Bodley Head, London, UK. This is the first British omnibus appearance of the collection which comprised three Christie Poirot books: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1921), The Murder on the Links (1923) and Poirot Investigates (1924).  Each novel is paginated separately. This omnibus is a very scarce book to find. For more details on this, and the title below, go to this link.

1943: Triple Threat, Dodd Mead & Co, New York, US. This is the first American omnibus appearance of the collection which contained one Poirot, one Quin and one Tommy & Tuppence book as follows: Poirot Investigates (1924), The Mysterious Mr. Quin (1930) and Partners in Crime (1929). The book is subtitled "Exploits of Three Famous Detectives: Hercule Poirot, Harley Quin and Tuppence".  The book was available in hardcover only and was dated 1943 on the title page. The three books included have separate pagination. Published in July 1943 and priced $2.50.  I am seeking a better copy image of the cover as I don't own this book (image source: J.S. Marcum's website 'A Tribute to Agatha Christie').

Notable Early Paperbacks.

[1943]: The first global paperback of Poirot Investigates was published by The American Mercury’s Bestseller Mystery imprint in 1943, numbered B43 in their series of mysteries (image above left). Continuing the precedent of having slightly different contents, this first paperback contained twelve stories (not eleven or fourteen!). The 12 short stories contained in this collection are all complete and none is abridged. This paperback excludes 2 of the short stories found in both the UK and US hardbacks – The Kidnapped Prime Minister and The Case of the Missing Will - but retains the extra US hardback stories.

1955: The first British paperback was published by Pan Books in March 1955, numbered 326 (later G139). It was reprinted every year except 1960, but twice in 1959 and 1961, for the next decade. It contained the same eleven short stories as the first British edition (image above centre).

1956: The second American paperback was published by Avon Books, series number T716. It contained thirteen stories and is quite uncommon in its first state cover (image above right).

Magazine Reprints of Note.

Two of these stories were reprinted by The Blue Book magazine in the States. The Kidnapped Premier was reprinted in May 1942 and Mrs. Opalsen’s Pearls was reprinted in August 1942. Unfortunately neither was illustrated.

Values.

All values are based on recent known sales and auction results. However, with early books that are scarce, when no recent market comp is available I am using my experience to estimate valuations. I also use a grade assumption of ‘Very Good’ when estimating values. This means only light wear attributable to reading and age, and that the jacket is complete. Minor blemishes and edge wear are acceptable, but price-clipping, chipping, ink inscriptions and staining all start to reduce value significantly, frequently in half.

The Sketch magazines that contain stories of note will command significantly more than other copies. Editions with a Christie story are some of the most appealing and will often sell for £60 - £100 per issue. Blue Book magazines with Christie's are a little easier to source and are fairly valued at $70 - $80 per issue.

The British first edition is fairly valued at £60,000 in a very good jacket or £3,000 if lacking the wrapper. The American first is valued at £1,500 ($2,000) for the book alone in Very Good condition, and up to £15,000 ($20,000) for a jacketed copy in like condition. For both books, first edition jacketed copies rarely ever appear for sale and only a handful of them likely exist.

The 1925 British reprint is also exceptionally scarce in its correct 3/6 jacket. Be cautious of this book being sold with a later married jacket, which is common. A correct jacketed second printing with the 3/6 priced jacket would likely command £5,000 - £10,000 today. Unjacketed, the book is worth significantly less, perhaps £500.

The 1928 British reprint is worth £2,000 - £2,500 in a Very Good jacket, or only £150-200 without the jacket.

The 1935, 1938 and 1941 Bodley Head reprints in the 2/6 jackets are worth £750 - £1,000 in a Very Good jacket, or only £100 without the jacket.

There is no reprint by Grosset & Dunlap (USA).

The British 1931 omnibus is known to exist in three variant bindings. The first edition had a jacket priced 7/6.  There was a second state jacket priced 5/-. It is unclear if the cover art was the same as I haven’t seen the first state jacket. For a very good book, expect to pay £300-400. For a jacket, pay what you will. I have no market comps. The American 1943 omnibus is fairly valued at $150 without the jacket, and likely $500-600 in a jacket – though none has appeared for same in a jacket in many years.

All other paperbacks and any hardback reprints onwards are affordable collectibles, ranging from used book prices up to £50.

Other News.

I will be presenting at the 2026 International Agatha Christie Festival on 'Roger Ackroyd Day' - September 17th 2026 - in Torquay, Devon, England. My talk celebrates the centenary of this ground-breaking mystery novel voted the best crime novel of all time by the Crime Writers' Assocation. My illustrated talk will bring fresh insights into the story's life - from print to stage to screen. Individual tickets are still available. Full details & tickets at this link.

Corrections, Edits, Recommendations.

I always value reader input to make my articles more accurate. So if there are any additions or corrections you'd like to provide, please email me at collectchristie@gmail.com 

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Other Recent Articles.

If you haven't read my recent articles about Collier's Magazine (USA) who published many of Agatha Christie's stories before they appeared in book form, then here are the two links. They include all the illustrations that accompanied these stories which are great fun to view.

Part One - link.

Part Two - link.

Happy Reading & Collecting!