# Is "Murder on the Orient Express (US: Murder in the Calais Coach)" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Murder on the Orient Express (US: Murder in the Calais Coach) by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1934) is identified by: UK Collins Crime Club, 1 January 1934, priced the printed price; a landmark Hercule Poirot novel. The UK Collins printing is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition is a slightly later issue under the variant title.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Collins Crime Club, 1 January 1934, priced the printed price; a landmark Hercule Poirot novel
- Published in the US by Dodd, Mead on 28 February 1934 as Murder in the Calais Coach
- The US retitle was chosen to avoid confusion with Graham Greene's novel Stamboul Train, which had appeared in the US as Orient Express
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1934 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Collins Crime Club, 1 January 1934, priced the printed price; a landmark Hercule… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Collins Crime Club, 1 January 1934, priced the printed price; a landmark Hercule Poirot novel. Published in the US by Dodd, Mead on 28 February 1934 as Murder in the Calais Coach. The US retitle was chosen to avoid confusion with Graham Greene's novel Stamboul Train, which had appeared in the US as Orient Express.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Collins printing is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition is a slightly later issue under the variant title. The first UK impression is scarce, with an unusually small print run.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Collins impressions and reprints follow the first UK printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Murder on the Orient Express (US: Murder in the Calais Coach)* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/murder-on-the-orient-express-us-murder-in-the-calais-coach
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.