# Is "Absent in the Spring" by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) (William Collins, 1944) is identified by: UK Collins edition published August 1944; US Farrar and Rinehart edition followed later the same year, also under the Mary Westmacott pen name. The UK Collins edition (August 1944) precedes the US Farrar and Rinehart edition of the same year, so the UK printing is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Collins edition published August 1944
- US Farrar and Rinehart edition followed later the same year, also under the Mary Westmacott pen name
- This was the third of six Westmacott novels and reportedly Christie's own favorite among them
- The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet 98
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1944 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Collins edition published August 1944 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Collins edition published August 1944; US Farrar and Rinehart edition followed later the same year, also under the Mary Westmacott pen name. This was the third of six Westmacott novels and reportedly Christie's own favorite among them. The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet 98.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Collins edition (August 1944) precedes the US Farrar and Rinehart edition of the same year, so the UK printing is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and reprints follow the 1944 first editions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Absent in the Spring* by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/absent-in-the-spring
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.