Odhams Press has a unique publishing history with regard to Agatha Christie novels and short stories. While many readers and collectors may be familiar with a couple of their printings, especially The Hound of Death and Other Stories in 1933, their catalogue of Christie titles is actually much larger than many people realise. This article aims to share insights into all of these books - from novels, to collections and anthologies.
Christie's UK publishers such as The Bodley Head, who published Agatha Christie’s first six books, and William Collins Sons & Co., who published most of the rest, are certainly well-known. My hope is that this article brings more awareness of Odhams Press and all of their Christie titles.
Odhams Press Ltd: A Brief History.
Founded in 1898 as Odhams Limited, this publisher was based in central London, a short walk from Covent Garden. During the First World War its printing press buildings at 93 Long Acre were heavily damaged which led to their ultimate demolition and relocation. All that remains of this printing legacy at this initial location is ‘Odhams Walk’ - the name given to a low-rise housing development later built in its place.
But the company kept growing after the Great War and 1920 saw significant change for their business. During that year it merged with John Bull magazine and launched Ideal Home as well as Horse & Hound. This new, larger enterprise was accompanied by its name change to Odhams Press Ltd. Over the years Odhams launched many magazines and comic books. Then in the 1960s the company was acquired by International Publishing Company (later IPC). This company had hundreds of magazines, major newspapers (The Mirror Group), and a book publisher. The latter was headed by Paul Hamlyn (whose company had also been acquired by IPC) which is why post-1960s book publishing rights once owned by Odhams generally appeared as published by Hamlyn.
Odhams & Agatha Christie.
The two Agatha Christie collections listed below are likely the most well-known Odhams printings by readers and collectors. However, around this same period there were Odhams anthology printings (1934 and 1938) that included Christie short stories that are discussed later in this article. These are less well-known.
The two broadly known titles by Odhams are:
1933: The Hound of Death and Other Stories. Published in October 1933 by Odhams Press, London, UK. This book was not sold in stores as it was only available to the public by collecting coupons from the weekly magazine The Passing Show and sending them with a payment of seven shillings (7/-) to the publisher. The maroon cloth covered book came with a dust jacket that is unpriced. Of note, there is no identical US edition. Many of the stories appeared in magazines prior to 1933, but not all of them. Collins then took over the rights of publication and issued their first edition (thus) in February 1935. Atypically, these reprints are more valuable than the true first since Collins published far fewer volumes. What is surprising is that other Christie’s were 7/6 at the time – only sixpence more than the Odhams books. So the fact that the Odhams printing is not rare shows the success of the marketing campaign done by Odhams and The Passing Show.
Values: An Odhams first in very good dust jacket is fairly valued at £400 while the first Collins printing in a very good jacket is worth £5,000. Note: A very good jacket is one that is complete and only suffers from edge wear, scuffing and/or minor flaws. Jackets with significant damage, chipping or tears are far less valuable. Book condition has a similar impact on pricing.
1937: Murder in the Mews. While initially published by Collins, Odhams did issue a reprint which is much more commonly found and often mistaken as the first edition. Collins was generally not as enamoured with publishing short stories, though they referred to those in Murder in the Mews as “long-short stories”, so the print runs were often much smaller. After its initial run, Collins did not run a second printing. Instead Collins assigned all reprinting rights to Odhams for this book in exchange for regaining the publishing rights to The Hound of Death and Other Stories, which was controlled by Odhams. Just prior to Christmas 1937, Odhams published three books together and shipped them in a cardboard box to their subscribers. These books were Spies in Spain by J.M. Walsh, Keep on Dancing by F.E. Bailey and Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie. Each could also be bought individually. These first printings by Odhams have “C1137” (copyright November 1937) on the flyleaf. They also did a second printing in March 1938 (“C338”). The dust wrappers for both Odhams printings are identical - resulting in them often being married to the C1137 printing.
Values: While the Collins true first in a very good jacket is exceptionally scarce and worth up to £40,000, the Odhams reprint from 1937 in a very good jacket is fairly priced at £150. The 1938 reprint in a very good jacket would be worth closer to £100.
Now to the lesser known Odhams printings of Christie stories!
Odhams Press: Book Club Printings.
Odhams' initial book club was known as the Companion Book Club. Over three decades, the club published only six Agatha Christie titles though dozens of other authors were published. Initially, the book club editions were issued to club members who paid a monthly subscription and were not available for sale in shops. In 1954 the monthly subscription was 4/6 (four shillings and six pence, or 22.5 new pence). Members who signed up were obliged to buy one book a month for at least six months for 4/6 each. For comparison, Collins’ Christie books published in 1959 generally retailed for 12/6.
Odhams Companion Book Club Printings.
1954: Mrs McGinty's Dead and They Do it with Mirrors. This omnibus edition contained two Christie stories. As you can see from the advertisement above they were marketed as 'this month's amazing double - two full length books by Agatha Christie in one volume!'. The book was published in creamy boards with an orange patterned jacket.
The book is broadly available and fairly valued as any other old books. After this initial Christie offering, it was a long span of 7 years until Odhams Book Club made a second Christie offering.
1961: Cat Among the Pigeons. The per book price was now 5/3 (five shillings and thrupence, or about 28 new pence). For this title only a single title was provided - and just two years after its initial publication by Collins. The book was published in green cloth with a green patterned jacket that was uniform in style.
This book is fairly easy to obtain for normal used book pricing.
Hamlyn / Odhams Companion Book Club Printings.
It was further eleven years before Odhams had other Companion Book Club Christie offerings. From 1972 to 1975 there would be three Christies in total. Now, given the mergers and corporate changes discussed earlier, the publisher was Hamlyn though all these books clearly reference the Odhams Companion Book Club. Promotional offers allowed for four books at only 25p each. Today all these books can be acquired fairly easily for typical used book prices.
1972: Nemesis. This book is known to exist in two versions as it was also sold in Australia. The printing sold in the UK has teal marbled boards, no jacket, and on the copyright page has no reference to Australia.
The version sold in Australian has brown boards and states on the copyright page that it is "Registered in Australia for transmission by post as a book" (cheaper postage!). It also states that it was printed in Adelaide - hence the different binding. You also notice that Odhams listed many other Christie novels facing the title page (in both versions) despite them not being available as part of the book club.
1973: Elephants Can Remember. This book was also sold in the UK and Australia, but in only one version with blue boards and no jacket. Hamlyn/Odhams printed all of these in the UK and shipped some of them to Australia. The book now states ‘London and Sydney’ on title page and has contact details in both countries on the copyright page.
1975: Postern of Fate. This book was also sold in both the UK and Australia, but printed solely in the UK. Issed in a uniform style with brown boards and no jacket, the title page still states 'The Companion Book Club, London and Sydney’.
Odhams Woman's Book Club Printing.
Another book club Odhams marketed was its 'Woman's Book Club'. This particular book club published one Christie story - though why is highly questionable not only because they already had the established Companion Book Club but also because the choice they made hardly seemed to align with the brand and demographic.
This is the novel they published:
1972: Hallowe’en Party. This two-novel anthology also includes Green Grass by Michael Kenyon. This Christie novel is an odd choice for the Woman’s Book Club and it was only sold in the UK. It does not appear to have been issued with a dust jacket but did have the standard floral design on the front cover used for all this book club's titles - hardly the imagery associated with Hallowe'en Party.
This oddity is appealing for its uniqueness but it is rather uncommon and challenging to find, but should still be available for used book prices.
Other Odhams Christies.
Odhams’ magazine titles have published numerous Christie stories over the years, such as in John Bull magazines. However, these are not being covered in this article. Beyond magazines, there were several other book printings by Odhams of Christie novels and short stories not yet discussed. While none is a first edition, they are unique in their own right. My list may well be incomplete, but I am aware of the following:
1934: The Holiday Book. This Odhams anthology of short stories contains Agatha Christie’s The Sign in the Sky which was initially published in The Mysterious Mr. Quin (1930). It appears to have only been sold in the UK. It is unclear if it was issued with a dust jacket though most books from this period were.
1938: Fifty Famous Detectives of Fiction. During the 1930s and 1940s, Odhams published numerous anthologies containing fifty stories. Examples of these collections are 50 Love Stories, 50 Heroic Deeds and 50 Wild West Stories. First published in 1938 in black cloth, the ‘Fifty Famous Detectives’ anthology of short stories contains three Christies. Since each has a different detective, Christie’s characters account for three of the fifty chosen. They are Poirot in The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan, Harley Quin in The Coming of Mr. Quin and Miss Marple in The Idol House of Astarte. While none is a first printing of the short story, this is a desirable book for the overall content. This anthology was reprinted in 1948 (images below). While the initial printing appears to have only been sold in the UK, the reprint was also sold overseas in India and Ceylon as part of that regions Home Library Club.
The book will sell for used book prices but if one were to surface with a jacket (as I expect it had one) the value would likely be around £50. If any readers have images of the first printing please share them as I only have images of the 1948 reprint.
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