The Passing of Mr Quinn | 1929, first edition, from Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts' personal collection. One of only a handful of copies known to exist.

The Passing of Mr Quinn, a first edition published in 1929, is an exceptionally rare book to find in the original dust-jacket. G. Roy McRae, likely a pseudonym, wrote this novel based on the screenplay of the 1928 film adaptation of Agatha Christie's short story The Coming of Mr Quin. It was the first film ever made from Agatha Christie source material. The preface reads: "Readers should be aware that the Mr Quinny of this book is the same person as the Mr Quinn of the film."

This copy is from the late, great The Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts' personal collection. Watts, a hero of mine, was a prolific book collector and only sought out the finest copies of the greatest books. Only a handful of copies of this book are known to exist. Rare in itself, rarer still with such fascinating provenance.

The film this book was based on no longer exists; it's been pronounced "a lost film." All that is left is that it was co-directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and Julius Hagen. Only the dust jacket serves to mark that there was a film made with an interesting contemporary ad for the film on the front flap, and cast info (Stuart Rome and Trilby Clark) to the front cover. The jacket is a remarkable survivor and easily the nicest out there.

The Coming of Mr Quinn (Christie's original story) introduced the world to Mr Harley Quin. Enigmatic and insightful, Agatha Christie considered him her favourite creation,. In her original story, he meets Mr Satterthwaite for the first time on New Year's Eve when talk has turned to the suicide of an old friend just after he received his post.

"I must recommend the Harlequinade to your attention. It is dying out nowadays - but it repays attention, I assure you." Mr Satterthwaite says to his companions before midnight, little knowing that one of its leading characters is about to step through the front door and change his life and the lives of those around him.

Based on the character of Harlequin from the Italian Commedia dell'arte, Agatha Christie indulged in her fascination with the supernatural as well as her love of theatre and performance with the Quinn Stories, a character always associated with love and death.

The story was first published in The Grand Magazine as The Passing of Mr Quin, it was included in the collection The Mysterious Mr Quin, published by Collins in 1930. The collection was dedicated to its eponymous hero and is the only book of Agatha Christie's to be dedicated to a fictional character.

Description and Condition:

First edition, first impression, small octavo. 8 pages of publisher’s advertisements at end. Original dark red cloth, upper cover and spine decorated and lettered in gilt (neat repair to upper hinge, lower hinge starting, a few stains to binding, extremities a trifle rubbed); original pictorial dust-jacket (slightly chipped and frayed at edges [mostly to spine ends and ends of folds], upper flap and panel with clean tear neatly repaired with tape on the reverse). The text block is lovely - crisp white pages. A near fine example.

Published by The London Book Co., Ltd. by Wm. Collins Sons & Co., Ltd., [1929].

Provenance: From the library of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts.