# Is "Spinsters in Jeopardy (US also: The Bride of Death)" by Ngaio Marsh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Spinsters in Jeopardy (US also: The Bride of Death) by Ngaio Marsh (Little, Brown, 1953) is identified by: US Little, Brown (Boston, 1953), stated first edition, in grey boards with red spine lettering, roughly 278 pages; the seventeenth Roderick Alleyn novel. True first is the US Little, Brown edition (1953), preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition (1954).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Little, Brown (Boston, 1953), stated first edition, in grey boards with red spine lettering, roughly 278 pages; the seventeenth Roderick Alleyn novel
- This American issue precedes the UK Collins Crime Club edition
- The true-first jacket should retain its printed price and is acceptable clipped or unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ngaio Marsh |
| Publisher | Little, Brown |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Little, Brown (Boston, 1953), stated first edition, in grey boards with red spine… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Little, Brown (Boston, 1953), stated first edition, in grey boards with red spine lettering, roughly 278 pages; the seventeenth Roderick Alleyn novel. This American issue precedes the UK Collins Crime Club edition (1954). The true-first jacket should retain its printed price and is acceptable clipped or unclipped.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the US Little, Brown edition (1953), preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition (1954). The US paperback was also issued under the alternate title 'The Bride of Death'.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and book-club issues follow the 1953 US first; the UK Collins edition is a separate, later first-British printing, not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Spinsters in Jeopardy (US also: The Bride of Death)* by Ngaio Marsh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/spinsters-in-jeopardy-us-also-the-bride-of-death
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.