Books

First edition, first impression, of this collaborative novel by 12 mystery authors, including Christie (who contributes Chapter 5), John Rhode, and Dorothy L. Sayers, with a prologue by G. K. Chesterton. A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone, copies are rare in the dust jacket. The contributors were all members of the Detection Club, founded in 1928 by Dorothy L. Sayers and Anthony Berkeley, whose first president was Chesterton. Agatha Christie was a co-president from 1958 until her death in 1976. Each chapter was written by a different author. A resolution ("Clearing Up the Mess") was by Anthony Berkeley, and a prologue was written by Chesterton after the novel had been completed. In an appendix, several authors, including Christie and Sayers, provide their solutions. Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine and front cover lettered in black. With dust jacket. Frontispiece diagram. Foot of spine a little bumped, occasional browning, some foxing to edges; slightly soiled unclipped dust jacket with some minor chips at extremities, some marks to reverse: a near-fine copy in a very good jacket. .