# Is "Light Thickens" by Ngaio Marsh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh (Collins, 1982) is identified by: First published in 1982 both in the UK by Collins Crime Club and in the US by Little, Brown. Marsh died in February 1982 and both the Collins UK and Little, Brown US editions are dated 1982; because Little, Brown accepted the manuscript in her lifetime and precedence for her late novels is not uniformly UK-first, treat the Collins printing as the UK first and confirm global precedence per title rather than assuming it.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published in 1982 both in the UK by Collins Crime Club and in the US by Little, Brown
- The thirty-second and final Roderick Alleyn novel, set around a production of Macbeth; published just after Marsh's death in February 1982
- Verify a UK first by the Collins Crime Club imprint, 1982 dating, and a British-priced dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ngaio Marsh |
| Publisher | Collins |
| Year | 1982 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published in 1982 both in the UK by Collins Crime Club and in the US by Little… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First published in 1982 both in the UK by Collins Crime Club and in the US by Little, Brown. The thirty-second and final Roderick Alleyn novel, set around a production of Macbeth; published just after Marsh's death in February 1982. Verify a UK first by the Collins Crime Club imprint, 1982 dating, and a British-priced dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
Marsh died in February 1982 and both the Collins UK and Little, Brown US editions are dated 1982; because Little, Brown accepted the manuscript in her lifetime and precedence for her late novels is not uniformly UK-first, treat the Collins printing as the UK first and confirm global precedence per title rather than assuming it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book club editions (readily found) and reprints follow; the BCE lacks a jacket price and shows blind-stamps or gutter dots.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Light Thickens* by Ngaio Marsh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/light-thickens
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.