# Is "The Murder on the Links" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1923) is identified by: US Dodd, Mead & Co., March 1923, is the true first: green cloth lettered in orange, 298 pages, jacket with its printed price. Contrary to the usual UK-first assumption for early Christie, the American Dodd, Mead edition (March 1923) precedes the UK Bodley Head edition (May 1923).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Dodd, Mead & Co., March 1923, is the true first: green cloth lettered in orange, 298 pages, jacket with its printed price
- The UK Bodley Head edition did not appear until May 1923
- Second Poirot novel
- Publisher imprint reads Dodd, Mead & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead & Company |
| Year | 1923 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Dodd, Mead & Co., March 1923, is the true first: green cloth lettered in orange, 298… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Dodd, Mead & Co., March 1923, is the true first: green cloth lettered in orange, 298 pages, jacket with its printed price. The UK Bodley Head edition did not appear until May 1923. Second Poirot novel.

## Is this the true first?
Contrary to the usual UK-first assumption for early Christie, the American Dodd, Mead edition (March 1923) precedes the UK Bodley Head edition (May 1923). Library of Congress deposit of March 17, 1923 and a New York Times review of March 25 confirm US issue weeks before the London edition. Dodd, Mead is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Bodley Head and Collins printings are reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Murder on the Links* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-murder-on-the-links
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.