# Is "Cat Among the Pigeons" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1959) is identified by: UK Collins Crime Club first, published 2 November 1959, a Hercule Poirot novel of 256 pages. The UK Collins Crime Club edition of 2 November 1959 is the true first, preceding the US Dodd, Mead edition of March 1960.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Collins Crime Club first, published 2 November 1959, a Hercule Poirot novel of 256 pages
- Bound in orange-red boards with black lettering to the spine
- The dust jacket is a distinctive typographic design and should carry its printed price at the front flap corner; unusually, the rear panel bears a studio photograph of Agatha Christie in place of the customary promotional blurbs
- The US Dodd, Mead edition followed in March 1960
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Collins Crime Club first, published 2 November 1959, a Hercule Poirot novel of 256… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK Collins Crime Club first, published 2 November 1959, a Hercule Poirot novel of 256 pages. Bound in orange-red boards with black lettering to the spine. The dust jacket is a distinctive typographic design and should carry its printed price at the front flap corner; unusually, the rear panel bears a studio photograph of Agatha Christie in place of the customary promotional blurbs. The US Dodd, Mead edition followed in March 1960.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Collins Crime Club edition of 2 November 1959 is the true first, preceding the US Dodd, Mead edition of March 1960.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club issues and later Collins printings follow the true first; a book-club jacket typically shows no printed price at the flap and may carry a 'Book Club Edition' notice, unlike the priced first-issue jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Cat Among the Pigeons* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/cat-among-the-pigeons
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.