# Is "False Scent" by Ngaio Marsh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of False Scent by Ngaio Marsh (Little, Brown, 1959) is identified by: US Little, Brown (Boston, 1959), stated first edition, in cloth with contrasting spine lettering, roughly 273 pages; the twenty-first Roderick Alleyn novel. True first is the US Little, Brown edition (1959), preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition of 1960 (the official Ngaio Marsh bibliography dates the London issue to 1960).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Little, Brown (Boston, 1959), stated first edition, in cloth with contrasting spine lettering, roughly 273 pages; the twenty-first Roderick Alleyn novel
- This American issue precedes the UK Collins Crime Club edition
- the true-first jacket should retain its printed UK/US price and is found unclipped or clipped without affecting first status
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ngaio Marsh |
| Publisher | Little, Brown |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Little, Brown (Boston, 1959), stated first edition, in cloth with contrasting spine… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Little, Brown (Boston, 1959), stated first edition, in cloth with contrasting spine lettering, roughly 273 pages; the twenty-first Roderick Alleyn novel. This American issue precedes the UK Collins Crime Club edition (1960); the true-first jacket should retain its printed UK/US price and is found unclipped or clipped without affecting first status.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the US Little, Brown edition (1959), preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition of 1960 (the official Ngaio Marsh bibliography dates the London issue to 1960).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and book-club issues follow the 1959 US first; the UK Collins edition is a separate, later first-British printing, not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *False Scent* by Ngaio Marsh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/false-scent
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.