Christie Paperback Collecting: The BestSeller Mystery Series

Over the decades that Agatha Christie stories were first printed there were numerous publishers who first released her books in a paperback format.  One of these publishers was Lawrence Spivak’s The American Mercury in New York.  This publisher had several imprints that released Christie stories as paperbacks.  These include Bestseller Mystery (originally Bestseller Library), Jonathan Press Mystery and Mercury Mystery. All three imprints were digest-sized paperbacks published from the late 1930s to the late 1950s. Another imprint of Spivak’s was the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, which began in 1941.  Spivak sold The American Mercury in 1950 and under its new ownership, it did not publish any further Christie stories.

This article focuses on the 15 Agatha Christie paperbacks issued by the Bestseller Mystery imprint. A future article will look at the other Christie books published by The American Mercury under the two other imprints that published her stories. While many of Christie’s full length novels were abridged by The American Mercury to fit a standardized size, the abridging was in many cases minor - and not all were.  Part of this length management also appears to be connected to wartime paper restrictions as references to this can be seen in some of the books. The end result is a thin paperback - about half the width of a traditional paperback. For collectors with limited shelf space this is actually quite appealing!

For the short story collections, none of the stories was abridged though the number of short stories included may vary from the hardback. Thus, while a number of these books are effectively first global paperback printings, collectors should be aware of differences in the contents between publishers – though this was often true for Collins and Dodd, Mead & Co hardbacks as well.

Bestseller Mystery.

All the paperbacks issued by the Bestseller Mystery imprint were undated. However, records of their publication year are known and are provided below. Collectors should be aware that many sellers of these books either do not reference any year or incorrectly list the story’s copyright date, which does not align with the paperback’s printing. All books in the Bestseller Mystery series were numbered preceded by a ‘B’.

On the cover of each book, the standard logo for the series was a gun and a mask while on the rear cover it was a book and a gun (except for B9).  Most of the covers also had small and simple line art related to the story that was positioned near or within the text of the title. Beginning with The Seven Dials Mystery, the rear cover also featured a graphic encouraging the purchase of US War Bonds. It is likely that George Salter, the Art Director for The American Mercury, designed all the logos and the covers though credit is only occasionally provided.

Agatha Christie's Bestseller Mystery Printings.

[1940] B9: The Mysterious Mr. Quin. This is the first US paperback for the stories within it, yet it was preceded by the Collins (UK) 6d paperback published in mid-1934. The stories in this book are complete and have not been abridged. However, while the hardback novel was a collection of 12 short stories, this paperback printing omitted three of the short stories to reduce the content to fit their size format. These omitted stories do appear in B18 (1941).

[1941] B18: Dead Man’s Mirror. The four short stories contained in this paperback were not abridged. This is the first global paperback (thus) with this novella as the title story. However, the novella did appear in a paperback published by The Albatross Crime Club (Europe, 1938) where Murder in the Mews was the titular story. The other three stories in this Bestseller Mystery publication are The Worlds End, The Bird with the Broken Wing, and The Man from the Sea – these were the stories omitted from B9 (1940).

[1941] B21: Murder in Three Acts (UK: Three Act Tragedy). This novel is abridged. While it is the first US paperback, it was preceded by The Albatross Crime Club paperback (Europe, 1935).

[1942] B25: Partners in Crime. This paperback contains the following short stories from the novel: A Fairy in the Flat & A Pot of Tea, The Affair of the Pink Pearl, The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger, Finessing the King & The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper, Blindman's Buff, The House of Lurking Death, The Unbreakable Alibi, The Clergyman's Daughter & The Red House, and The Man Who Was No. 16. While seven stories from the novel are omitted, this is the first US paperback of the stories it does contain. The decision to heavily reduce the stories is consistent with Collins decision, who split the stories between two paperbacks in 1932.  They were titled Partners in Crime and The Sunningdale Mystery – both priced 6d and published in 1932. Bestseller Mystery followed this same approach but never published an equivalent to Collins’ second collection.

[1942] B32: The Seven Dials Mystery. The novel is abridged. It is the first US paperback but was preceded by the Collins 6d publication (UK, 1934).

[1943] B36: The Regatta Mystery. This paperback contains nine short stories, all are complete and none is abridged. They are The Regatta Mystery, The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, How Does your Garden Grow?, Problem at Pollensa Bay, Yellow Iris, Miss Marple Tells a Story, The Dream, In a Glass Darkly, and Problem at Sea.  This is the first global paperback of both the titular story and the other stories within. However, Todd Publishing (UK) did publish The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, The Problem at Pollensa Bay and Problem at Sea in various small format paperbacks in 1943, though whether these preceded B36 is unknown.

[1943] B39: The Boomerang Clue (UK: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?). The novel is abridged. This is the first US paperback. It is only preceded by The Albatross Crime Club printing (Europe, 1935). Images from collector Jenna Scholnick.

[1943] B43: Poirot Investigates. The 12 short stories contained in this collection are all complete and none is abridged. It is the first global paperback preceding both the Pan (UK, 1955) and Avon (US, 1956) paperbacks. Of note, the UK hardback contained 11 short stories, while the US hardback contained 14 (adding The Chocolate Box, The Veiled Lady and The Lost Mine). This paperback excludes 2 of the short stories found in both the UK and US hardbacks – The Kidnapped Prime Minister and The Case of the Missing Will - but retains the extra US hardback stories.

[1944] B48: The Secret Adversary. The novel is abridged. This is the first global paperback, preceding both the Avon (US, 1946) and Pan (UK, 1955) paperbacks.

[1944] B52: The Man in the Brown Suit. The novel is abridged. This is the first global paperback, preceding both the Dell (US, 1949) and Pan (UK, 1953) paperbacks.

[1944] B54: Sad Cypress. The novel is abridged. This is the first US paperback of this title as it is only preceded by the Scherz Phoenix paperback (Europe, 1943).

[1944] B58: Appointment with Death. The novel is complete and has not been abridged. This is the first US paperback as it is only preceded by The Albatross Crime Club (Europe, 1939).

[1945] B61: The Murder at Hazelmoor (UK: The Sittaford Mystery). The novel is abridged. This is the first US paperback, though it is preceded by Collins (UK) 6d paperback published in 1937.

[1946] B79: Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective (UK: Parker Pyne Investigates). This book is complete and has not been abridged. It also contains all 12 stories originally contained in the hardback publication. This is the first US paperback though it is preceded by The Albatross Crime Club printing (Europe, 1935).

[1947] B86: Murder in the Calais Coach (UK: Murder on the Orient Express). The novel is abridged. This is the first US paperback though it is preceded by The Albatross Crime Club printing (Europe, 1934).

Values.

Most of these books are still affordable, costing $20 or less. Therefore, seek to find printings in ‘Very Good’ or better condition. As noted above, B39 – The Boomerang Clue – has eluded me so far. I know it’s out there and like London buses I have no doubt a box full will appear for sale soon.  Whether it was a smaller print run or not is unclear. Of the other titles, B18 – Dead Man’s Mirror, B36 – The Regatta Mystery, and B43 – Poirot Investigates – are all highly appealing to add to any collection given they are the first global paperbacks as issued and are not abridged. Acquire them now while they are still easy to locate. As awareness grows, expect supply to dwindle.