# Is "Plot It Yourself (UK: Murder in Style)" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Plot It Yourself (UK: Murder in Style) by Rex Stout (Viking Press, 1959) is identified by: Viking Press, New York, 1959. US Viking edition is the true first; Stout was an American author published first in the United States, ahead of the UK Collins edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Viking Press, New York, 1959
- Copyright page states "First published by the Viking Press 1959." Blue-green cloth, front cover and spine printed in red, rear cover blank; issued in dust wrapper
- A Nero Wolfe novel
- Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club under the alternate title Murder in Style
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Viking Press, New York, 1959 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Viking Press, New York, 1959. Copyright page states "First published by the Viking Press 1959." Blue-green cloth, front cover and spine printed in red, rear cover blank; issued in dust wrapper. A Nero Wolfe novel. Published in the UK by Collins Crime Club under the alternate title Murder in Style.

## Is this the true first?
US Viking edition is the true first; Stout was an American author published first in the United States, ahead of the UK Collins edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Viking printings and book-club and paperback reprints follow the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Plot It Yourself (UK: Murder in Style)* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/plot-it-yourself-uk-murder-in-style
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.