CHRISTIE, Agatha. Death on the Nile. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1938.
8vo. Publisher’s orange cloth, stamped in black to front cover and spine, top edge stained blue, in original dust-jacket with the printed price $2 to front flap; pp. [5], 326, [4, blank]; spine folds and tear to front panel neatly reinforced with archival tape, jacket chipped to crown (10 x15mm and 10 x 5mm) and large portion (c. 30 x 35mm) missing to foot of spine, crease to spine, pushing to head and foot of spine, bottom corners a little bumped, blue staining to top edge faded; spotting and offsetting to endpapers, light and infrequent spotting within, stain to pp. 265–268, a couple of pages creased to top right corner; very good.
First US edition, first impression of Agatha Christie’s most popular detective novel.
When the tranquility of an Egyptian cruise is shattered by the discovery of a young woman shot in the head, Hercule Poirot’s initial observations point to an obvious culprit, but nothing is quite as it seems.
Death on the Nile stands as one of the most celebrated travel mysteries. After marrying Max Mallowan, Christie frequently accompanied her husband on his archeological excavations, contributing herself by cataloguing, photographing, and even helping to restore artefacts. Death on the Nile was partly inspired by these trips and a visit to southern Egypt, where she stayed at the grand Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan and sailed the Nile on the steamship SS Sudan.
The novel was first published in London by Collin’s Crime Club on 1 November 1937, in time for the Christmas sales. This US edition appeared in February 1938.
Hubin, p. 79, see also, Wagstaff and Poole, Agatha Christie: A Reader’s Companion, 2004.
SKU: 2121866