THE MOVING FINGER

First UK edition, first printing. Publisher's original orange cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square and firm, lightly bumped and faded at spine, the cloth otherwise bright and fresh. The contents, toned to the wartime paper stock and with just the very occasional foxing spot, are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has small chips to the spine tips, some foxing to the rear panel and flap edges, and fading to the spine. The underside has several pieces of clear tape (at the spine tips and corners). Issued without a publisher's price to the lower front flap, for export.

The author considered 'The Moving Finger', in which Miss Marple makes an appearance, one of her best novels. The book takes its name from verse 51 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, a poem which Agatha Christie greatly admired. The first UK edition was published by Collins in June 1943, preceded by the American (Dodd, Mead and Co.) edition of July 1942. (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).