# Is "And Be a Villain (UK: More Deaths Than One)" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of And Be a Villain (UK: More Deaths Than One) by Rex Stout (Viking Press, 1948) is identified by: The Viking Press, New York, first edition, published September 27, 1948. US Viking 1948 is the true first; the UK Collins edition (variant title More Deaths Than One) followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Viking Press, New York, first edition, published September 27, 1948
- A Nero Wolfe novel bound in gray cloth lettered in red with green rule lines to the front board and spine, the rear board blank, issued in a black, white, red and green pictorial dust wrapper (printed price present on a first-issue jacket)
- A reliable identification point is the leaf listing other Books by Rex Stout preceding the title page, which is present in the Viking first and absent from the book-club edition; the trade first also has a heavily textured cloth
- The UK Collins edition appeared under the variant title More Deaths Than One
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1948 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The Viking Press, New York, first edition, published September 27, 1948 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The Viking Press, New York, first edition, published September 27, 1948. A Nero Wolfe novel bound in gray cloth lettered in red with green rule lines to the front board and spine, the rear board blank, issued in a black, white, red and green pictorial dust wrapper (printed price present on a first-issue jacket). A reliable identification point is the leaf listing other Books by Rex Stout preceding the title page, which is present in the Viking first and absent from the book-club edition; the trade first also has a heavily textured cloth. The UK Collins edition appeared under the variant title More Deaths Than One.

## Is this the true first?
US Viking 1948 is the true first; the UK Collins edition (variant title More Deaths Than One) followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The book-club edition omits the 'Books by Rex Stout' leaf, uses smooth rather than textured cloth, and in a known text variant names the soft drink 'Starlite' where the Viking first reads 'Hi-Spot'.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *And Be a Villain (UK: More Deaths Than One)* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/and-be-a-villain-uk-more-deaths-than-one
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.