William Collins, Sons

William Collins, Sons was the British publisher that began issuing Agatha Christie’s books in 1926. Its collaboration with Christie lasted half a century and produced more than seventy books, making the publisher a defining institutional partner in her long career.

Partnership with Agatha Christie

The relationship began when William Collins, Sons published The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in 1926. Christie was then averaging a book a year; the novel was described as her masterpiece and marked her first publication with the firm. The partnership continued for fifty years, encompassing more than seventy books.

The association also accompanied Christie’s move across forms and audiences. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was the first of her works to be adapted for the stage: as Alibi, it had a successful run in London’s West End. The publisher’s significance therefore rests not only on the number of books produced during the relationship, but on its place at the start of a collaboration that coincided with major developments in Christie’s writing and theatrical reception.

Publications and Legacy

The ABC Murders, first published in Great Britain by Collins in 1936, is a later example of the firm’s connection to Christie’s work. Together, that publication and the partnership’s long duration place William Collins, Sons within the publishing history of one of the most widely published authors in the world.