 True first edition (1941) of the novel, first printed in the US | |
| Author | Agatha Christie |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
Publication date | 1941 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 289 (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-425-09845-1 |
| Preceded by | Evil Under the Sun |
| Followed by | The Body in the Library |
N or M? is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1941[1][2] and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in November of the same year.[3] The US edition retailed $2.00[2] and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).[3]
The title is taken from a catechism in the Book of Common Prayer which asks, "What is your Christian name? Answer N. or M."[4] The "N. or M." here stands for the Latin, "nomen vel nomina", meaning "name or names". It is an accident of typography that "nomina" came to be represented by "m".
The novel is the first to feature the mature versions of her detectives Tommy and Tuppence, whose previous appearances had been in the adventure The Secret Adversary (1922) and the short story collection Partners in Crime (1929).
- ^ John Cooper and B.A. Pyke. Detective Fiction – the collector's guide: Second Edition (pp. 82, 87) Scholar Press. 1994; ISBN 0-85967-991-8
- ^ a b "American Tribute to Agatha Christie"
- ^ a b Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions. Dragonby Press (Second Edition), March 1999 (p. 15)
- ^ A CATECHISM FROM THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, 1549, ENLARGED, 1637, REVISED IN THE BISHOP WHITE BOOK, 1785, NOW AGAIN REVISED AND ENLARGED Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine