Sleeping Murder

London: The Crime Club, 1976. First edition. Cloth. Fine/Near Fine. 8.5" by 5.5". None. A fine, first edition copy of this Miss Marple novel by the Queen of Crime Fiction, Agatha Christie. From the library of Julians park, Hertfordshire. Published posthumously, but written in the 1940's. This was the final 'new' Agatha Christie novel to be published.With the original dustwrapper which is price clipped. A price sticker from the publisher has been adhered to the flyleaf reading '£3.50 Collins'. This novel is set in the 1930's where Miss Marple aids a young couple who choose to uncover events in the wife's past life, and not let sleeping murder life. Christie's well known elderly detective, Miss Marple, was based on her own step-Grandmother and her cronies. Agatha Christie is one of the most prolific crime writers of the twentieth century. Her work consists of 66 detective novels, 150 short stories and 19 plays; she is the writer of the world's longest running play, The Mousetrap which has been on stage since 1952. Christie is also one of the best-selling novelists of all time and her works rank highly in the most-widely published books.From the library at Julians Park, the former home of Audrey Pleydell-Bouverie (Audrey Evelyn James Coats, and Audrey Evelyn James Field). Pleydell-Bouverie was the youngest daughter of an Anglo-American lumber and steel millionaire. Audrey was also alleged to be the illegitimate granddaughter of King Edward VII, although she was also rumoured to be his daugher, or the lover of King Edward VIII.  She bought Julians Park in 1940 following her third marriage to the Hon Peter Pleydell-Bouverie. Audrey was a patron of the arts and it is believed that she bound several books herself, as many books from her library were stamped with her name and she owned a group of bookbinding tools. Her circle of friends included Winston Churchill, Coco Chanel and Nancy Mitford. She was featured in Cecil Beaton's 'Book of Beauty' and was regarded as one of the Bright Young Things. In the original cloth binding and held in original dustwrapper which is price-clipped. Sticker to the flyleaf '£3.50 Collins'. Externally, excellent with minor shelf-wear. Dustwrapper is unusually bright, as it is common for the spine of this work to fade. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Fine