Endless Night

London: The Crime Club by Collins , 1967. First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8" by 5". None. A vanishingly scarce signed example of the first edition of one of Agatha Christie's favourites of her own works. The first edition, first impression with no further impressions stated.With a dedication from Christie to the front free endpaper reading: 'Carlo with love from Agatha Christie'. From the library of Charlotte 'Carlo' Fisher with her bookplate to front paste down. Hired as a governess for her daughter Rosalind, Fisher would later work as Christie's secretary, transcribing a number of her novels, notably The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, considered the turning point in her literary career. The pair soon became close friends, with Fisher acting as one of very few true confidantes for the often reclusive and shy Agatha. The association of this work is not simply that of an employee of Christie, but of her closest and longest standing friend. An exceptional copy of this work with a personal association from the greatest detective writer of all time. An exceptional provenance having passed from the possession of Carlo Fisher to Rolling Stone Charlie Watts.With a title taken from William Blake's 'Auguries of Innocence', the stand-alone novel follows a twisted character who chooses evil over good, and received highly favourable critical notices. In the original cloth binding in the original unclipped dust wrapper. Externally in excellent condition with just some slight bumping to head and tail of the spine. Slight fading to spine and extremities. Dust wrapper is very smart with closed tear, approximately one inch, to rear of wrap. Slight creasing to extremities. Spine remains bright. Internally firmly bound. Pages bright and clean with just marginal age toning. Slight spotting to top edge. Near Fine