Bantam Books Agatha Christie Collection

AlexBarryAlexBarry Wisconsin, United States
Hello!  Greetings from a new member here, looking forward to future interaction with a world-wide group of fellow aficionados.  To begin, I'd like to ask a question.  Some time ago I came across a large collection of the well-known Bantam imprint (black leatherette hard covers, issued to member subscriptions).  Over the years I have been fortunate to acquire additional volumes here and there and have added to the original trove until I now have a total of 74 volumes.  I have them proudly displayed on the top two shelves of my best bookcase, in their order of publication.  Now and then I select the next unread volume in chronological order and begin a new adventure.  What I seek to find out is if anyone knows the absolute, definitive, comprehensive and indisputable number of volumes published by Bantam for their collection, and what titles are represented.  I have researched this matter myself, and have referred to one such list, purported to be accurate, but found that I have on my shelves no fewer than 5 titles not even included on said list (Star Over Bethlehem, Akhnaton, Three Blind Mice, Cards on the Table, and The Harlequin Teaset).  On the other hand, I find many other titles named in Miss Christie's publication history (such as The Hound of Death, The Listerdale Mystery, et al) that do not seem to appear in the catalog of Bantam publications.
Thus I find myself rather confused.  Of course, I wish to add to my collection until I have every volume published in the Bantam series, but I seem to need the help of an expert.  If anyone in the forum here can provide me with a really, really, REALLY exhaustive and complete listing of the Bantam editions, please do let me know.  Thanks SO much!
«134

Comments

  • I don't know the answer to the question, but I wish to welcome you to the site! 
  • Hi Alex,

    I have been looking to complete the entire collection myself, and after some extensive research and help from some friends, I have come across a list of books from this collection. There are some missing (that I have discovered), but the entire works are there, including the alternate titles. I can send you the file if you'd like. I believe there are 125 books in total, a set of bookends and a medallion. The 125 includes alternate titles and all publications, which includes same titles, but different years and the engagement diaries/calendars.

    Best of luck on your search,

    Ricky
  • AlexBarryAlexBarry Wisconsin, United States
    Hello Rickster and thanks for the offer of help.  I finally did come up with some information on my own, which amounted to a list of 113 titles and 12 alternate titles, so it would seem your list and mine match numerically.  As it happens, I need to find and purchase something like 16 volumes to complete my collection, exclusive of the alternate titles which I'll not go after.  There are some sellers on eBay and elsewhere who seem to have ready supplies of most of the titles I need, at usually modest prices.  I propose to gradually add to my collection as opportunity presents.  I wish you well with your similar quest!
  • MelGard79MelGard79 New Jersey, United States
    @the_rickster_33 would you please send me the file with the list of all 125 books? I believe I only need 5 more to complete the set, but would like to be sure. Thank you Melissa
  • I would be very appreciative if someone could send me a complete list of all of the 125 books.  I have most of them, but there may be some I still need.  Since I do not what all the titles are, I may be missing some.

    Thanks for any help you can give me.
    Mary
  • Hello 

    I am also new to this website and also would really appreciate a list of the 125 books in this collection.  Like others before me, I am not sure which I am missing!

    Thank you,
    Julie
  • I don't have a list. However, my aunt passed away recently and I now have about 65 of these. If anyone is interested in purchasing a particular title, please let me know. She NEVER read them. They were for display only and are like brand new.
  • AlexBarryAlexBarry Wisconsin, United States
    Mary, Julie and Katrina, I have what I believe to be a definitive list of titles in the series.  113 originals and 12 re-titled versions of some of the same stories.  I have them in an Excel spreadsheet, which can be sorted into alphabetical or chronological order.  If any of you would still like a copy, please message me privately with an email address and I'll be delighted to send it to you.

    Katrina, there are half a dozen or so titles I still need.  I'll send you a message with my list, in case any are among your Auntie's collection and you'd like to negotiate a sale.  Thank you!
  • Hello Fellow Christie Fans!

    I, too, have a collection of these Bantam Books. I remember seeing an ad for the series in a magazine when they were new, but they weren't in my budget at the time and I sadly had to pass. Luckily, I was able to pick up a set on Craigslist quite cheaply a few years ago. (Slightly musty unfortunately, but you can't have everything.) I'm really surprised to learn that there are so many titles in this series!  I own 83 of these books and had been under the impression that I was missing four (The Harlequin Tea St, The Unexpected Guest, Star Over Bethlehem, and Black Coffee), but it sounds like there are still others. How many Mary Westmacott books are there? (I own Absent in the Spring) How many are short story collections that contain repeats? (By the way, The Listerdale Mystery and The Hound of Death are both short stories included in "The Golden Ball and Other Stories.") Personally, I only need one copy of a book with multiple titles. Also, I'm not going to bother with Black Coffee because I thought it was dreadful, clearly not written by Christie.

    My one complaint with the Bantam editions is that they often exclude the Cast of Characters in the front. I always found those to be helpful. But it's so nice to have a matched set, and whenever I am in the mood to read any particular book of Dame Agatha's, it is right there at my fingertips.
  • AlexBarryAlexBarry Wisconsin, United States
    Hi Laura Ann, and welcome to the discussion!  If you have 83 volumes, I believe you have the majority of the titles. Many of the volumes, as pointed out, are retitled editions of the same books, and 12 others are actually reissues by the Literary Express imprint.  It's a bit of a muddle trying to figure out exactly what one needs to assure a complete collection, but I daresay you're well on the way.

    As I mentioned above, I managed to put together a spreadsheet of the volumes, and it also references the alternate titles and the reissued editions.  You're welcome to it if you care to message me with contact information.

    I can't say right offhand how many are short story collections, but as you know, many are.  I've had some success in sorting through everything by searching titles on Wikipedia, where a pretty authoritative body of information is available.  I believe with Absent in the Spring you have the only Mary Westmacott title in the collection.  

    Funny what you say about Black Coffee.  It must be an exceptionally scarce title in the collection, because I have seen it rarely available for purchase, and always at exceedingly high prices.  

    I agree that inclusion of the cast of characters would be a benefit.  I do not know if Dame Agatha's other publishers did that consistently, or indeed if she wrote such a list for each book, but every now and then one gets a cast roster at the beginning of a story, but most times not.  Also I find it odd that I have found one volume so far that included footnoted translations of Messr Poirot's French words and phrases, but that one book was certainly the exception to the rule.


  • Hi Alex,

    I would love a copy of the spreadsheet--I will send you a message.

    Perhaps I am remembering Cast of Characters as being more common than they actually were. I just looked at a couple of my old paperback editions and none of them have one.

    You just jogged my memory about the footnoted translations. I do remember seeing that before, but as you say, that was not the norm. When I first started reading Christie, I hadn't taken French yet and I remember always being frustrated by the French phrases, but later I did take French in college, partly so that I could understand those passages! It turned out that they really aren't integral to the story, but they do add some color and character.

    I have been methodically rereading all of Christie's books, even the ones that aren't my favorites (such as Passenger to Frankfort) and am enjoying reacquainting myself with stories long forgotten.
  • edited April 2014
    I too would like the spreadsheet of the complete list but I'm new to this and don't know how to access your email. I recently purchased a set of 73 of these books and would like to know what I need to finish the collection. Thanks for any help you can give me.

    I just figured out how to send you a message which I just did. Thanks
  • AlexBarryAlexBarry Wisconsin, United States
    Hello again everyone.  Some members here have requested a copy of my spreadsheet, which I'm delighted to share.  So far Laura Ann, Cindy.Kennedy and a third member have all privately contacted my inbox here and left an email address.  If anyone else is interested in the list, please do the same, and as soon as I find your message I'll dispatch the list to you.
  • Hi.  Does anyone know if the Bantam collection included these four titles:

    Poirot's Early Cases

    Spider's Web

    The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

    The Floating Admiral

    I started with a list of her complete anthology because I didn't know what all Bantam had printed.  My list has 118 titles of which 26 are alternate titles, so 92 books - excluding the duplicate UK vs US titles.  Of that 92, I have 88 and I'm trying to figure out if the other 4 (above) were released by Bantam or not.   (My list of 118 excludes the Engagement books, it's just Christie's works, including her Autobiography.) 

    Thank you.

  • @Laura_Ann, that is brilliant that your book had footnoted translations of the French expressions. I've never taken French and only figured out a few of those... what publisher did that?
  • AlexBarryAlexBarry Wisconsin, United States
    AmyW, by my reckoning, the Bantam collection does include The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, but I do not believe the other three titles you mention are in the anthology collection, at least by those titles. 
  • Thank you! 
  • I tried to
    AlexBarry said:
    If any of you would still like an Excel spreadsheet copy [Bantam Books Agatha Christie Collection], please message me . . .

    I'd like to get the list, but whenever I try to send a message to anyone here . . . the email ends up in my INBOX . . . not in the SENT (if something like that exist here) . . .

  • All I can say about the Bantam Collection is that I bought them--one at a time--back in the 1980s and I believe into the 1990s on the installment plan.  I have a total of 85 books in my collection, and at one time I had the daily diary, too.  I was under the impression that I purchased the entire collection.  I have no repeats published under different titles.  
  • Dear Alex,
    I would love to get the excel sheet that you have but I am not sure how to send messages on here. I need to get that list somehow please.
  • RickAzzizRickAzziz Georgia, United States

    Alex and AmyW

    Hi. I am new to this site, but an old fan. Like AmyW, I have 88 books in my Bantam leatherette collection, which includes the 66 mystery books, the 14 short collections published in the US, and 8 other books (3 plays: 'Black Coffee', 'Akhnaton: a Play in Three Acts', and 'The Unexpected Guest'; a book of 'Poems'; two books  under her full name as Agatha Christie Mallowan:  'Star Over Bethlehem and other stories', and 'Come, Tell Me How You Live'; one as Mary Westmacott: 'Absent in the Spring', and her 'Autobiography'). Have the bookends, but none of the daily planners (and not sure need/want them). Don’t have any repeats (but as I am missing 'Murder in the Mews' which was published in the UK, am missing the story “The Great Theft”).

    Like Matt I would like to get copies of your spreadsheets listing all the books published in the Bantam Mystery Collection that you know of. Presumably the larger list will include books published in the UK and territories under different names, and story collections that overlap with those published in the US.  Tried contacting you both directly thru the site but doesn't look like I was successful.

    Thanks!

    Rick


  • is it possible to get a copy of the excel spreadsheet of the 125 titles of the bantam blue/leatherette agatha christie collection?  
  • I am looking to obtain about 17 titles to complete my daughter's collection of the Mystery Collection.  Would be glad to email someone with the titles I am seeking or tips as to where to look.  I know that some occasionally pop up on Amazon but would like to get the others for her as a holiday gift this year.
  • Musicman1974 - There are tons on ebay and Half.com but also check your local Craigslist.
  • edited October 2014
    Rick Azziz, if it will let me I will post it here in pieces:

    NO.        YEAR      MY BANTAM TITLE                                    ALTERNATE PUBLISHED TITLE(S)


    1                 1920       The Mysterious Affair at Styles                     X

    2              1922       The Secret Adversary                                 X

    3              1923       Murder on the Links                                   X

    4              1924      Poirot Investigates                                      X

    5              1924       The Man in the Brown Suit                         Mystery of the Mill House

    6              1925       Poems                                                     X

    7              1925       The Secret of Chimneys                            X

    8              1926       The Murder of Roger Ackroyd                    X

    9              1927       The Big Four                                            X

    10            1928       The Mystery of the Blue Train                    X

    11            1929       Partners in Crime                                     X

    12            1929       The Seven Dials Mystery                           X

    13            1930       Black Coffee                                             X

    14            1930       The Murder in the Vicarage                        X

    15            1930       The Mysterious Mr. Quin                            X

    16*           1931       The Floating Admiral                                   X

    17           1931       The Sittaford Mystery                                  The Murder At Hazelmoor

    18           1932       Peril at End House                                      X

    19           1932       The Tuesday Club Murders                          The Thirteen Problems

    20           1933       Thirteen At Dinner                                      Lord Edgware Dies


    * #16 - I don't have this one, she wrote it but it doesn't seem to be included in the Bantam collection

  • NO.        YEAR      MY BANTAM TITLE                               ALTERNATE PUBLISHED TITLES

    21           1934       Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective                 Parker Pyne Investigates

    22           1934       Murder on the Orient Express                 Murder on the Calais Coach

    23           1934       Why Didn't They Ask Evans                   The Boomerang Clue

    24           1935       Death In The Air                                    Death in the Clouds

    25           1935       Murder In Three Acts                             Three-Act Tragedy

    26           1936       Cards on the Table                                X

    27           1936       Murder in Mesopotamia                         X

    28           1936       The ABC Murders                                 X

    29           1937       Akhnaton                                             X

    30           1937       Dead Man's Mirror                                Murder in the Mews

    31           1937       Death on the Nile                                 X

    32           1937       Poirot Loses a Client                           Dumb Witness

    33           1938       A Holiday for Murder                            Hercules Poirot's Christmas

    34           1938       Appointment with Death                      X

    35           1939       And Then There Were None               Ten Little Indians  / Ten Little Niggers

    36           1939       Easy to Kill                                      Murder is Easy

    37           1939       The Regatta Mystery                        X

    38           1940       Sad Cypress                                   X

    39           1940       The Patriotic Murders                      One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

    40           1941       Evil Under the Sun                          X

  • NO.     YEAR      MY BANTAM TITLE                              ALTERNATE PUBLISHED TITLES

    41        1941       N or M?                                                      X

    42        1942       The Body in the Library                                  X

    43        1943       Murder In Retrospect                                     X

    44        1943       The Moving Finger                                          X

    45        1944       Absent in the Spring                                       X

    46        1944       Towards Zero                                                 X

    47        1945       Death Comes At The End                              X

    48        1945       Remembered Death                                     Sparkling Cyanide

    49        1946       Come, Tell Me How You Live                        X

    50        1946       The Hollow                                                 Murder After Hours

    51        1947       The Labours of Hercules                              X

    52        1948       There Is a Tide...                                        Taken at the Flood

    53        1948       Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories    X

    54        1949       Crooked House                                           X

    55        1950       A Murder is Announced                               X            

    56        1950       Three Blind Mice                                        The Mousetrap and Other Stories

    57        1951       The Underdog and Other Stories                  X

    58        1951       They Came to Baghdad                              X

    59       1952       Mrs. McGinty's Dead                                  X

    60       1952       Murder with Mirrors                                     They Do It With Mirrors

  • edited October 2014

    NO.        YEAR      MY BANTAM TITLE                         ALTERNATE PUBLISHED TITLES

    61           1953       A Pocket Full of Rye                        X

    62           1953       Funerals are Fatal                            After the Funeral

    63           1954       So Many Steps to Death                  Destination Unknown

    64*         1954       Spider’s Web                                   X

    65           1955       Hickory Dickory Death                     X

    66           1956       Dead Man's Folly                             X

    67           1957       What Mrs. McGillicuty Saw             4:50 from Paddington

    68           1958       Ordeal by Innocence                       X

    69           1958       The Unexpected Guest                   X

    70           1959       Cat Among the Pigeons                  X

    71*         1960       The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding     X

    72           1961       Double Sin and Other Stories          X

    73           1961       The Pale Horse                              X

    74           1962       The Mirror Crack'd                          The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

    75           1963       The Clocks                                    X

    76           1964       A Caribbean Mystery                     X

    77           1965       At Bertram's Hotel                         X

    78           1965       Star Over Bethlehem & Other Stories     X

    79           1966       Third Girl                                       X

    80           1967       Endless Night                                X

    *# 64 & 71 - I don't have these, she wrote them but they don't seem to be included in the Bantam collection

  • edited October 2014

    NO.        YEAR      MY BANTAM TITLE                         ALTERNATE PUBLISHED TITLES

    81           1968       By the Pricking of my Thumbs          X

    82           1969       Halloween Party                               X

    83           1970       Passenger to Frankfurt                     X

    84           1971       Nemesis                                         X

    85           1971       The Golden Ball and Other Stories    X

    86           1972       Elephants Can Remember               X

    87           1973       Postern of Fate                               X

    88*         1974       Poirot's Early Cases                        X

    89           1975       Curtain: Poirot's Last Case              X

    90           1976       Sleeping Murder                             Miss Marple's Final Cases

    91           1977       An Autobiography                           X

    92           1977       The Harlequin Tea Set                     X

     * #88 - I don't have this one, she wrote it but it doesn't seem to be included in the Bantam collection

    Sorry for taking up all the page space but this should help clear things up!   The dates listed should be the original published dates and the alternate titles are most often the original British title.

  • DenhdoDenhdo California, United States
    I would like a copy of the complete Bantam Book collection.  If someone has that spreadsheet, please email it to [email protected].  Thanks!
Sign In or Register to comment.