# Is "Cards on the Table" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1936) is identified by: UK Collins Crime Club, London, published 2 November 1936; US Dodd, Mead, New York, February 1937. UK Collins Crime Club (2 November 1936) is the true first, preceding the US Dodd, Mead edition (February 1937).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Collins Crime Club, London, published 2 November 1936
- US Dodd, Mead, New York, February 1937
- Features Hercule Poirot, Colonel Race, Superintendent Battle, and the first appearance of Ariadne Oliver in a Poirot novel
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1936 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Collins Crime Club, London, published 2 November 1936 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Collins Crime Club, London, published 2 November 1936; US Dodd, Mead, New York, February 1937. Features Hercule Poirot, Colonel Race, Superintendent Battle, and the first appearance of Ariadne Oliver in a Poirot novel.

## Is this the true first?
UK Collins Crime Club (2 November 1936) is the true first, preceding the US Dodd, Mead edition (February 1937).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints follow the 1936 first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Cards on the Table* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/cards-on-the-table
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.