A comprehensive accounting of the published short story collections of Agatha Christie's short stories is complex for several reasons:
- She used different publishers in the UK and the US.
- Some titles were published in one market but never in another. Or will be published much later.
- Some were published in both markets but with different titles. These will be considered the same publication.
- Even when the same title is published in both markets, the contents could be different. Again these will be considered the same publication.
- Even when the short stories have been collected and published, occasionally the publishers (usually Collins and Dodd Mead) might issue a new collection comprising reprints targetted at special markets. Occasionally, these reprints could contain a short story not yet collected.
- Other publishers not from the main pool she used might be given permission to publish reprints. Again these editions might contain the first time publication of a story not yet collected and published.
- Twelve of the stories which were published in The Sketch magazine in 1924 under the sub-heading of The Man who was No. 4 were joined in one continuous narrative and published in the novel The Big Four in 1927. These therefore fall outside the scope of this list.
- Four other stories, "The Submarine Plans" (1923), "Christmas Adventure" (1923), "The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest" (1932) and "The Second Gong" (1932), were expanded into longer narratives by Christie (respectively The Incredible Theft, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest and Dead Man's Mirror. The shorter versions of all four have also been published in the UK, but much later. For accounting purposes, these are considered different stories from the expanded ones.
- In more recent years, hitherto uncollected short stories have been discovered and published.
- Only one short story remains unpublished in the UK in book form: "Three Blind Mice" (1948), on which Christie placed a moratorium whilst the stage play based on the story, The Mousetrap, was still running in the West End. Prior to this the story was published in four instalments in the weekly magazine Woman's Own in the issues dated 31 December 1948 to 21 January 1949 with illustrations by K. J. Petts.
- In the US, "Christmas Adventure" is the only story unpublished until 2020 in Midwinter Murder. The longer version "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding", which is based on "Christmas Adventure", can be found in Double Sin and Other Stories under the name "The Theft of the Royal Ruby".
This list does include instances when the short stories were published outside of magazines as standalone booklets. These can be considered a collection of one short story.
Omnibus editions which are purely compilations of novel length works are not included unless the omnibus also includes a short story or novella.
This list only deals with short story collections published in the English language. An accounting of short story collections in other languages is a monumental but worthwhile task that is yet to be undertaken.
Compared to more recent years, collections published during Christie's lifetime are fewer in number. Publishers tended not to remix already published stories into new collections. The explosion really takes place after her death, and more particularly after 2000 with the advent of many thematic collections, presumably to attract new readers and those interested in specific themes only.
| Year | Title | Publisher | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Poirot Investigates | UK: Bodley Head US: Dodd Mead |
US edition had 14 stories, UK only 11 |
| 1929 | Partners in Crime | UK: Collins US: Dodd Mead |
Short stories featuring Tommy and Tuppence. In the UK, 12 stories split over 17 chapters. In the US, 12 stories split over23 chapters. |
| 1930 | The Mysterious Mr. Quin | Twelve short stories; introducing Mr. Harley Quin | |
| 1932 | The Thirteen Problems | UK: Collins US: Dodd Mean, as The Tuesday Club Murders, 1933 |
Thirteen short stories; introducing Miss Marple |
| 1933 | The Hound of Death | UK only: Odhams Press | Twelve short stories mostly on a supernatural theme |
| 1934 | The Listerdale Mystery | UK only: Collins | Twelve short stories. US version published in 2010 in eBook format only. |
| 1934 | Parker Pyne Investigates | UK: Collins US: Dodd Mead, as Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective |
Twelve short stories; introducing Parker Pyne and Ariadne Oliver. |
| 1937 | Murder in the Mews | UK: Collins US: Dodd Mead as Dead Man's Mirror. |
Four novella length stories; featuring Hercule Poirot. US 1937 edition has three stories only. |
| 1939 | The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories | US only: Dodd Mead | |
| 1940 | Mystery of the Blue Geranium and other Tuesday Club Murders | US only: Bantam (Los Angeles)[1] | |
| 1943 | Crime in Cabin 66 | UK: Vallencey Press[2] | |
| 1943 | The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest | UK: Todd Publishing[3] | |
| 1943 | The Mystery of the Crime in Cabin 66 | UK: Todd Publishing | |
| 1943 | Poirot and the Regatta Mystery | UK: Todd Publishing | |
| 1943 | Problem at Pollensa Bay and Christmas Adventure | UK: Todd Publishing | |
| 1943 | Poirot on Holiday | UK: Todd Publishing | |
| 1943 | Triple Threat | US: Dodd Mead | |
| 1944 | Agatha Christie's Crime Reader | US: World Publishing Co. | |
| 1944 | The Veiled Lady and the Mystery of the Baghdad Chest | UK: Polybooks US: Polybooks |
|
| 1946 | Poirot and the Regatta Mystery | UK: Vallencey Press | |
| 1946 | Poirot Knows the Murderer | UK: Polybooks US: Polybooks |
|
| 1946 | Poirot Lends a Hand | UK: Polybooks US: Polybooks |
|
| 1947 | The Labours of Hercules | UK: Collins US: Dodd Mead |
|
| 1948 | The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories | US only: Dodd Mead | |
| 1950 | Three Blind Mice and Other Stories | US only: Dodd Mead | |
| 1951 | The Under Dog and Other Stories | US only: Dodd Mead | |
| 1960 | The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées | UK only: Collins | |
| 1961 | Double Sin and Other Stories | US only: Dodd Mead | |
| 1961 | Thirteen for Luck! | US: Dodd Mead UK: Collins, 1966 |
In the US, all stories were reprints from other published collections. In the UK, a number were stories published in a collection for the first time. |
| 1966 | Surprise! Surprise! | US only: Dodd Mead | |
| 1966 | 13 Clues for Miss Marple | US only: Dodd Mead | 13 Miss Marple stories, some from The Thirteen Problems, others from elsewhere. Later reissued by Dell. |
| 1971 | The Golden Ball and Other Stories | US only: Dodd Mead | |
| 1974 | Poirot's Early Cases | UK: Collins US: Dodd Mead as Hercule Poirot's Early Cases |
|
| 1979 | Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple And... 3 Whodunnits | Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co | |
| 1979 | Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories | UK only: Collins | |
| 1982 | The Agatha Christie Hour | UK only: Collins | Book to complement the TV series The Agatha Christie Hour |
| 1984 | Hercule Poirot's Casebook (1984) | US only: Dodd Mead | Fifty short stories, reprints from previous collections. |
| 1985 | Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories | Putnam | |
| 1986 | Best Detective Stories of Agatha Christie | UK only: Longman | |
| 1989 | Hercule Poirot's Casebook (1989) | Fontana | |
| 1989-93 | Agatha Christie's Poirot (books 1-4) | Fontana, later HarperCollins | TV tie-in, featuring short stories dramatized in the series 1 - 4 of Agatha Christie's Poirot |
| 1991 | Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories | UK only: HarperCollins | |
| 1994 | Poirot Short Stories | UK: HarperCollins for BBC Holidays Magazine | |
| 1995 | 1920s Agatha Christie | HarperCollins | 4 volumes |
| 1996 | Poirot Short Stories | UK: HarperCollins for Addis Housewares | |
| 1997 | The Harlequin Tea Set | US only: Putnam | |
| 1997 | While the Light Lasts and Other Stories | UK only: HarperCollins | |
| 1999 | Miss Marple Omnibus | HarperCollins | In three volumes |
| 1999 | Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories | HarperCollins | |
| 2001 | Poirot in the Orient | HarperCollins | |
| 2002 | Agatha Christie: The Collected Short Stories | HarperCollins | |
| 2003 | Murder at the Manor | HarperCollins | |
| 2003 | Poirot: The French Collection | HarperCollins | |
| 2003 | Poirot: The War Years | HarperCollins | |
| 2003 | The Complete Hercule Poirot Short Stories | Folio Society | |
| 2003 | The Complete Miss Marple Short Stories | Folio Society | |
| 2004 | Poirot: The Perfect Murders | HarperCollins | |
| 2004 | Poirot: The Complete Battles of Hastings | HarperCollins | In 2 volumes |
| 2004 | Poirot: Four Classic Cases | HarperCollins | |
| 2004 | The Complete Parker Pyne: Private Eye | HarperCollins | |
| 2004 | Seven Deadly Sins | HarperCollins | |
| 2004 | Love Detectives: The Complete Quin and Satterthwaite | HarperCollins | |
| 2005 | Murders to Die For | HarperCollins | |
| 2005 | Poirot: The Complete Ariadne Oliver | HarperCollins | In 2 volumes |
| 2005 | Masterpieces in Miniature: the Detectives | US only: St Martin's Minotaur | |
| 2006 | Masterpieces of Mystery and the Unknown | US only: St Martin's Minotaur | |
| 2007 | Murder in Three Stages | HarperCollins | |
| 2008 | Detectives and Young Adventurers: The Complete Short Stories | HarperCollins | |
| 2008 | Miss Marple and Mystery: The Complete Short Stories | HarperCollins | |
| 2014 | Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly | UK only: HarperCollins | |
| 2016 | The Double Clue: And Other Hercule Poirot Stories | UK only: HarperCollins | |
| 2016 | The Big Four (Detective Club Edition) | UK only: HarperCollins | |
| 2019 | A Treasury of Hercule Poirot Mysteries | Fall River Press | |
| 2019 | The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot | Dreamscape | |
| 2019 | The Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural | UK: HarperCollins | Thematic collection of reprints on the theme of the Supernatural |
| 2020 | Midwinter Murder | UK: HarperCollins US: William Morrow |
Thematic collection of reprints |
| 2021 | Midsummer Mysteries | UK: HarperCollins US: William Morrow |
Thematic collection of reprints |
| 2022 | A Deadly Affair | UK: HarperCollins US: William Morrow |
Thematic collection of reprints on the theme of love |
| 2023 | Sinister Spring | UK: HarperCollins | Thematic collection of reprints on the theme of springtime |
| 2023 | Autumn Chills | UK: HarperCollins | Thematic collection of reprints on the theme of autumn |
References[]
- ↑ David Morris, “"LA Bantam": Miss Marple & The Blue Geranium,” CollectingChristie.com, last modified 11 Jan 2022, URL
- ↑ David Morris, “Collecting: The Vallancey Press Christie duo,” CollectingChristie.com, last modified 23 Nov 2019, URL - see here for details on the Vallencey Press editions.
- ↑ David Morris, “Insights: Rare Agatha Christie 1940s "Cheap" Paperbacks,” CollectingChristie.com, last modified 14 Feb 2020, URL - see here for details on the Todd and Polybooks editions.