Bargain @ £0.99 in the UK only from HarperCollins (should be the same price at other UK retailers):
Agatha Christie's Complete Secret Notebooks by Christie scholar John Curran, an omnibus edition of two books examining her influences, methods, and works, the Anthony Award-winning
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making (
Wikipedia) and
Agatha Christie’s Murder in the Making: Stories and Secrets from Her Archive.
This includes two previously unpublished Poirot stories, one unpublished Miss Marple short, and a look at some of her original manuscript endings. For comparison purposes, the individual volumes are priced at £2.99 & £3.99 and the omnibus edition is $29.99 CAD on this side of the pond, so this is very good value for money if you're at all interested in the behind-the-scenes of Christie's work or even just the three “new” stories.
Agatha Christie’s Complete Secret Notebooks brings together for the first time Secret Notebooks and Murder in the Making, two volumes that explore the fascinating contents of her 73 notebooks. This includes illustrations, deleted extracts, unused ideas, two unpublished Poirot stories and a lost Miss Marple. (many more details of contents in full blurb)
ETA: also @ £1.99 in the UK from HarperCollins, another Christie-related work:
The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie: A biographical companion to the works of Agatha Christie (Text Only) by Charles Osborne (
Wikipedia) who was authorized to write the novel adaptations based on her plays.
As the title indicates, this version omits the rare photographs and other illustrations mentioned in the full blurb, and there doesn't seem to be any illustrated ebook version available. In any case, the text will probably be the main draw. $11.99 CAD, for comparison purposes.
A biographical companion to the works of Agatha Christie – revised and updated edition Agatha Christie was the author of over 100 plays, short story collections and novels which have been translated into 103 languages; she is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Many have tried to copy her but none has succeeded. Attempts to capture her personality on paper, to discover her motivations or the reasons for her popularity, have usually failed. Charles Osborne, a lifelong student of Agatha Christie, has approached this most private of persons above all through her books, and the result is a fascinating companion to her life and work. This ‘professional life’ of Agatha Christie provides authoritative information on each book’s provenance, on the work itself and on its contemporary critical reception set against the background of the major events in the author’s life.
ETA 2: and also, @ £1.49 in the UK from HarperCollins:
Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Life and Times of Hercule Poirot by Order of Canada-recipient Anne Hart (
Wikipedia), a comprehensive companion to the famous Belgian detective in all his incarnations.
The definitive companion to the POIROT novels, films and TV appearances. ‘My name is Hercule Poirot and I am probably the greatest detective in the world.' The dapper, moustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head, curious mannerisms and inordinate respect for his own 'little grey cells' has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century. Yet despite being familiar to millions, Poirot himself has remained an enigma – until now. From his first appearance in 1920 to his last in 1975, from country-house drawing-rooms to opium dens in Limehouse, from Mayfair to the Mediterranean, Anne Hart stalks the legendary sleuth, unveiling the mysteries that surround him. Sifting through 33 novels and 56 short stories, she examines his origins, tastes, relationships and peculiarities, revealing a character as fascinating as the books themselves.