Agatha Christie: The Art of Her Crimes - The Paintings of Tom Adams is a 1981 non-fiction book by Julian Symons and Tom Adams which discusses the cover art of Tom Adams for the Fontana and Pocket Books paperback editions of Agatha Christie's works which have since become iconic and highly recognisable. Over 90 cover illustrations have been compiled and presented in the book, along with commentary by noted crime-writer and critic Julian Symons, as well as by Tom Adams himself. The book was published by Everest House (New York) in 1981 and is available in hard cover only. In the same year, the book was released for UK markets by Paper Tiger under the title Tom Adams' Agatha Christie Cover Story (ISBN 9780905895628).
Blurb from inside dust-jacket[]
"Have you ever been intrigued by a Tom Adams' cover on one of Agatha Christie's novels and wondered what lay behind it? Very often the clues to the mystery of the cover only become clearer as the mystery between the covers begins to unfold at the hands of the master of crime-writing, Dame Agatha Christie. And sometimes even then all the symbolism of the cover isn't clear. This book will provide the extra clues. Tom Adams painted the first Christie cover in 1962 for A Murder is Announced and since then his paintings have become one of the best known series of paperback covers all over the world. The Adams and Christie styles were deemed a perfect match.
Over 90 of Adams' highly individual cover paintings are reproduced here accompanied by perceptive and incisive comments from the well-known crime-writer biographer and critic, Julian Symons, and with introductions and commentaries by Tom Adams himself. It makes fascinating reading and provides an insight into theartist's mind and also into the symbolism of the covers themselves.
Tom Adams has now painted his last Christie cover and this collection is a virtually complete record of a unique relationship between author and artist that lasted 18 years. This book is not only a tribute to the artist but a tribute also to the author of the books, without which this great series of paintings would never have been done."