Agatha Christie

CHRISTIE, Agatha (1890-1976). After the Funeral. London: for The Crime Club by Collins, 1953.

First UK edition in an excellent dust-jacket. Presentation copy inscribed by the author shortly before Elizabeth II’s Coronation: 'For merry Coronation reading (?) Stephen from Agatha'. This book was first published in the U.S. in March 1953 with the title Funerals are Fatal and then in the UK on 18 May with the present title. The recipient of this Hercule Poirot mystery was probably Stephen Glanville (d. 1956), an Egyptologist who had been friends with Max Mallowan since 1925. Glanville, who was ten years Agatha Christie’s junior, 'was unable to resist a close friendship with somebody like Agatha, whom he found intelligent, humorous, splendid and above all sympathique'. During the war, 'Agatha and Stephen became friendly because both were alone' and in 1941 Agatha dedicated Five Little Pigs to Stephen (L. Thompson, Agatha Christie, 2007). A little later Stephen persuaded Agatha to write a murder mystery set in ancient Egypt which was published as Death Comes as the End [1944 (US) and 1945 (UK)] which was also dedicated to Stephen. Stephen helped Agatha with many of the details of life in ancient Egypt and he also persuaded Agatha to change the ending. 'Max Mallowan noted that Glanville was, to his knowledge, the only person ever to have persuaded Agatha to alter the end of a book' (C. Osborne, The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie, 1999). Hubin p. 79.

Octavo. Original orange cloth, spine lettered in black (light browning to free endpapers, small nick at foot of first leaf of text); original dust-jacket (spine slightly toned, a little scattered spotting mostly along folds, very slightly rubbed at spine and fold ends [these neatly strengthened on the reverse with tape]).