They Came to Baghdad. by Christie, Agatha - 1951

London: Collins Crime Club, 1951. First edition of one of Christie's few spy thrillers. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Dorothy (belatedly) from Agatha." The recipient, Dorothy North, was a close friend and integral member of Christie's London social circle in the 1930s. She was the dedicatee of Christie's 1940 novel One Two, Buckle My Shoe. North's daughter, Susan, and Christie's daughter, Rosalind, were also close friends and the joint dedicatees of Christie's 1939 novel Murder is Easy. Very good in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition. Inspired by Christie's own trips to Baghdad with her second husband, archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, They Came To Baghdad opens with enthusiastic young adventurer Victoria Jones discovering a dying secret British agent in her hotel room. His last words - "Lucifer...Basrah...Lefarge" - propel her into investigation. The novel was adapted into an episode of American radio anthology drama series Westinghouse Studio One in 1952.