Publication History
- 1923, John Lane (The Bodley Head), May 1923, Hardcover, 326 pp
- 1923, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), 1923, Hardcover, 298 pp
- 1928, John Lane (The Bodley Head), March 1928, Hardcover (Cheap edition – two shillings)
- 1931, John Lane (The Bodley Head, February 1931 (As part of the An Agatha Christie Omnibus along with The Mysterious Affair at Styles and Poirot Investigates, Hardcover (Priced at seven shillings and sixpence, a cheaper edition at five shillings was published in October 1932).
- 1932, John Lane (The Bodley Head), March 1932, Paperback (Ninepence)
- 1936, Penguin Books, March 1936, Paperback (sixpence) 254 pp
- 1949, Dell Books, 1949, Dell number 454, Paperback, 224 pp
- 1954, Corgi Books, 1954, Paperback, 222 pp
- 1960, Pan Books, 1960, Paperback (Great Pan G323), 224 pp
- 1977, Ulverscroft Large-print, 1977, Hardcover, 349 pp ISBN 0-85456-516-7
- 1978, Panther Books, 1978, Paperback, 224 pp
- 1988, Fontana Books (Imprint of HarperCollins), Paperback, 208 pp, ISBN 0-00-617477-9
- 2007, Facsimile of 1923 UK first edition (HarperCollins), 5 November 2007, Hardcover, 326 pp ISBN 0-00-726516-6
The novel received its first true publication as a four-part serialisation in the Grand Magazine from December 1922 to March 1923 (Issues 214 – 217) under the title of The Girl with the Anxious Eyes before it was issued in book form by The Bodley Head in May 1923. This was Christie's first published work for the Grand Magazine which went on to publish many of her short stories throughout the 1920s.
Christie's Autobiography recounts how she objected to the illustration of the dustjacket of the UK first edition stating that it was both badly drawn and unrepresentative of the plot. It was the first of many such objections she raised with her publishers over the dustjacket. It would appear that Christie won her argument over the dustjacket as the one she describes and objected to ("a man in his pyjamas, dying of an epileptic fit on a golf course") does not resemble the actual jacket (illustrated above) which shows Monsieur Renauld digging the open grave on the golf course at night.
Read more about this topic: The Murder On The Links
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