# Is "A Pocket Full of Rye" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie (William Collins, Sons, 1953) is identified by: UK first: Collins Crime Club, 9 November 1953. The UK Collins Crime Club edition of 9 November 1953 is the true first, preceding the US Dodd, Mead edition of 1954.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK first: Collins Crime Club, 9 November 1953
- Bound in orange cloth with black spine lettering
- The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed net price on the front flap (an unclipped flap with the original price present is the wanted state)
- A Miss Marple novel
- The US first followed from Dodd, Mead in 1954
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins, Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins, Sons |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK first: Collins Crime Club, 9 November 1953 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK first: Collins Crime Club, 9 November 1953. Bound in orange cloth with black spine lettering. The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed net price on the front flap (an unclipped flap with the original price present is the wanted state). A Miss Marple novel. The US first followed from Dodd, Mead in 1954.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Collins Crime Club edition of 9 November 1953 is the true first, preceding the US Dodd, Mead edition of 1954.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and book-club editions follow the 1953 Collins first. Book-club tells for this title include the absence of the printed price on the jacket front flap (or a flap clipped at both top and bottom) and, on later book-club issues, plain boards rather than the first edition's cloth.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Pocket Full of Rye* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-pocket-full-of-rye
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.