# Is "The Labours of Hercules" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1947) is identified by: A collection of twelve linked Poirot stories framed around the labours of Hercules. The US Dodd, Mead edition (around mid-1947) precedes the UK Collins Crime Club edition (September 1947), making the US printing the true first, not the UK edition as originally recorded.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- A collection of twelve linked Poirot stories framed around the labours of Hercules
- The US Dodd, Mead edition (about 265 pages) was published around mid-1947; the UK Collins Crime Club edition (about 256 pages) followed in September 1947
- Publisher imprint reads Dodd, Mead and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
| Year | 1947 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | A collection of twelve linked Poirot stories framed around the labours of Hercules |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
A collection of twelve linked Poirot stories framed around the labours of Hercules. The US Dodd, Mead edition (about 265 pages) was published around mid-1947; the UK Collins Crime Club edition (about 256 pages) followed in September 1947.

## Is this the true first?
The US Dodd, Mead edition (around mid-1947) precedes the UK Collins Crime Club edition (September 1947), making the US printing the true first, not the UK edition as originally recorded.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and reprints follow the 1947 first editions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Labours of Hercules* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-labours-of-hercules
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.