Agatha Christie's full length novel Why Didn't They Ask Evans? was first published in the US under the title The Boomerang Clue. Prior to that, it appeared in Redbook magazine (USA) in November 1933. The story was lightly abridged, though it still exceeded 50,000 words.
Redbook aggregated this novel and five other novels from different authors into an anthology titled Six Redbook Novels. This anthology was most likely printed in February 1934 as it contained Parade Ground by Charles Clifford with the statement that is was soon 'to be published by Little, Brown & Co'. That book was first published in the February Redbook magazine, and later that same month by Little, Brown & Co under the alternate title Too Many Boats. Thus, it is fair to infer this anthology was published mid-February.
Collins' The Crime Club (UK) didn't publish Christie's novel until September 1934 and Dodd, Mead & Co (US) published it the following year, still titled The Boomerang Clue.
Thus, while the novel in the Six Redbook Novels anthology is slightly abridged it is the true first book edition of this story. In my prior articles on 'true firsts' that appear in anthologies, they are inevitably short stories. It is particularly unusual for a Christie novel to first appear in an anthology of full length stories. However, what makes this publication particularly appealing is the artwork that accompanies it.
The Book: Six Redbook Novels.
Contained in this large format book (measuring approximately 11 inches by 8 inches) were six novels, including Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man - though not its first book printing.
That novel, and three others were already in book form when this was published. Only Christie's story and the aforementioned Clifford novel were yet to be published as stand-alone books.
The Artist: Joseph Franke.
The artist hired by Redbook to illustrate Christie's story in the magazine was Joseph Franke. He created both large and small illustrations that were inserted throughout the text in the magazine - all of which are shown below. Franke was born October 16, 1893 in Manhattan, New York. He studied art at the National Academy of Design in Manhattan and by 1915 he was working as a free-lance commercial artist, illustrating books and advertisements for newspapers and magazines. He also illustrated several elementary school text books. In 1917 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where his artistic skills led to him illustrating patriotic recruitment posters.
After the war and during the 1920s his illustrations appeared in nationwide magazines, such as Redbook, Blue Book, Woman's World, Boy's Life and The American Boy. His artwork for Agatha Christie's The Boomerang Clue was some of the last art he ever created as he died of pneumonia at the young age of forty on December 20, 1933 - only a couple of months after the magazine publication and prior to the book edition.
The Artwork: The Boomerang Clue.
No spoilers: The title page of Christie's novel features an illustration showing Alex Pritchard falling off the cliff to his death.
On the following page is a full sheet illustration of five of the main characters in the novel with the tag line 'Which one of these is a desperate murderer?'
After this, there are a further seventeen smaller illustrations scattered throughout the novel - all in a simple three colour (white, red, black) format. Collectively, I believe they provide a wonderful addition to Redbook's publication. See if you can connect each with a scene from the book as they are shown in the correct sequence!
Value.
This book is fairly easy to locate, though the condition of many copies in the marketplace is 'good' to 'poor'. Be selective and look for a 'Very Good' copy with little soiling to the covers and firm hinges. Expect to pay no more than $50 US for one in this condition, making this a very affordable golden era collectible.
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