# Is "A Murder Is Announced" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie (William Collins Sons, 1950) is identified by: Miss Marple novel, heavily promoted as Christie's fiftieth book (the UK jacket proclaims the milestone). UK Collins and US Dodd, Mead both appeared in June 1950 and precedence is uncertain; collectors conventionally defer to the UK Collins edition as the first, but this is a convention rather than an established fact.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Miss Marple novel, heavily promoted as Christie's fiftieth book (the UK jacket proclaims the milestone)
- UK Collins Crime Club published 5 June 1950 in orange cloth at the printed price
- US Dodd, Mead published the same month
- Precedence between the two June 1950 editions is genuinely unclear
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins Sons |
| Year | 1950 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Miss Marple novel, heavily promoted as Christie's fiftieth book (the UK jacket proclaims… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Miss Marple novel, heavily promoted as Christie's fiftieth book (the UK jacket proclaims the milestone). UK Collins Crime Club published 5 June 1950 in orange cloth at the printed price; US Dodd, Mead published the same month. Precedence between the two June 1950 editions is genuinely unclear.

## Is this the true first?
UK Collins and US Dodd, Mead both appeared in June 1950 and precedence is uncertain; collectors conventionally defer to the UK Collins edition as the first, but this is a convention rather than an established fact.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings, book-club editions, and reprints follow the June 1950 first editions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Murder Is Announced* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-murder-is-announced
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.