In his brilliant Introduction, John Fowles praises Tom Adams’ artwork that graced the covers of Agatha Christie mysteries. Most impressive were the wrap-around covers Adams did from 1971 to 1974. Many of them have become collectable.
One of the attractions of Agatha Christie, The Art of Her Crimes is Julian Symons and his insightful commentaries on both Tom Adams’ artwork and Christie’s mysteries.
Tom Adams painted approximately 150 covers for Agatha Christie mysteries, including around 71 different titles for Fontana in the UK and 26 unique covers for Pocket Books in the US. For many books, he created multiple designs, with some novels having as many as two or three different cover versions.
If you’re an Agatha Christie fan, you’ll remember (or possibly own) many of the volumes with Tom Adams covers. This wonderful collection of artwork can be found online at reasonable prices. GRADE: A
I remember seeing these…they do lean toward striking, at least. I’m not sure I own any of these editions, but the covers are definitely good work.
Todd, at the BOUCHERCON in Philadelphia, a dealer had some Tom Adams paintings. I could have bought one…but didn’t want to lug it on the plane ride home. Now I kick myself for not buying it and having it shipped…
I remember buying a lot of those editions at the time, and really liking those wraparound covers.
Jeff, I’m a sucker for wrap-around covers. Robert McGinnis did some and so did some of the SF illustrators.
I always liked these covers, so I bought this book as well. Good stuff.
Jeff, I really like Tom Adams’ work. I’m also a big fan of William Teason’s Christie covers from the Sixties and Seventies on the DELL editions.
I can’t remember ever seeing one. Lovely though.
Patti, I enjoy Tom Adams covers–there are 91 covers from Christie mysteries in this book–and also William Teason covers which are a completely different style. Teason used clues from the book to illustrate his covers. Check out some of his Christie covers here: http://williamteason.com/Mystery.html
I know him more for his Raymond Chandler covers!
Bob, I had a chance to buy one of Tom Adams’ Raymond Chandler cover paintings at the Philly BOUCHERCON…and didn’t. Big Regret!