The Beast Must Die

UK precedes US, though both editions are dated 1938 and both are collected. Collins, The Crime Club (London) 1938 is the true first — Blake's UK publisher — and Harper & Brothers (New York) 1938 is the first American edition, bound in publisher's yellow cloth-covered boards; dealers catalogue the Harper as "First American Edition," which is consistent with UK precedence rather than simultaneous issue. Because the two share a year, verify the imprint on the title page rather than the date.