# Is "A Man Lay Dead" by Ngaio Marsh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (Geoffrey Bles, 1934) is identified by: UK Geoffrey Bles, London, 1934, Marsh's debut novel and the first to feature Inspector Roderick Alleyn. The UK Geoffrey Bles edition is the true first; the first US edition (Sheridan House, New York) did not appear until 1942.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Geoffrey Bles, London, 1934, Marsh's debut novel and the first to feature Inspector Roderick Alleyn
- An octavo of 287, [1] pages in publisher's red cloth, the spine and front board stamped in black, issued in a pictorial dust jacket
- The jacket should retain its original printed price (any specific figure is not stated here); a second-state jacket is known bearing a price label affixed to the spine
- Scarce, especially in the dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Geoffrey Bles
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ngaio Marsh |
| Publisher | Geoffrey Bles |
| Year | 1934 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Geoffrey Bles, London, 1934, Marsh's debut novel and the first to feature Inspector… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK Geoffrey Bles, London, 1934, Marsh's debut novel and the first to feature Inspector Roderick Alleyn. An octavo of 287, [1] pages in publisher's red cloth, the spine and front board stamped in black, issued in a pictorial dust jacket. The jacket should retain its original printed price (any specific figure is not stated here); a second-state jacket is known bearing a price label affixed to the spine. Scarce, especially in the dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Geoffrey Bles edition is the true first; the first US edition (Sheridan House, New York) did not appear until 1942.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and book-club editions follow the 1934 first; the true first carries the Geoffrey Bles imprint with no later-printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Man Lay Dead* by Ngaio Marsh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-man-lay-dead
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.