Agatha Christie novel with rare dust jacket showing Poirot for first time in 1924 sells for £40,000... and doesn't he look like Suchet?

• Poirot Investigates is also first story to feature his name in the title
• Sale beats previous record sum paid for Agatha Christie book of £10,000
• Auctioneer knows of only two other such covers in existence

Agatha Christie's debonaire detective leans on his cane with his top hat tucked under his arm, looking like a man who knows his own worth.

Now auction bidders have been driven to distraction by the image of the legendary Belgian detective on the front of a rare edition, paying a world record price for the novel that originally cost 37p.

The copy of Poirot Investigates sold for over £40,000 - smashing the world record price for a book by the author.

Bidding frenzy: the dust jacket showing a picture of the Belgian detective sold for over £40,000 - smashing the world record price for a book by the author

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Pulling power: The 1924 dust jacket of Poirot Investigates that drove auction bidders to distraction

The 1924 edition was worth so much because it came with its dust jacket showing a picture of the Belgian detective.

Collectors and dealers were frantically bidding for the collection of short stories that had a pre-sale estimate of £3,000 to £5,000.