# Is "Hickory Dickory Dock (US: Hickory Dickory Death)" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hickory Dickory Dock (US: Hickory Dickory Death) by Agatha Christie (William Collins, Sons, 1955) is identified by: UK first: Collins Crime Club, 31 October 1955, 192 pages, in red cloth with the spine lettered in black, issued as Hickory Dickory Dock in a dust jacket lettered in black and white with the printed price present on the front flap. The UK Collins Crime Club edition is the true first, preceding the US Dodd, Mead edition (variant title Hickory Dickory Death) by roughly a month.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK first: Collins Crime Club, 31 October 1955, 192 pages, in red cloth with the spine lettered in black, issued as Hickory Dickory Dock in a dust jacket lettered in black and white with the printed price present on the front flap
- US: Dodd, Mead, November 1955, retitled Hickory Dickory Death
- A Hercule Poirot novel
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins, Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins, Sons |
| Year | 1955 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK first: Collins Crime Club, 31 October 1955, 192 pages, in red cloth with the spine lettered in black, issued as Hickory Dickory Dock in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK first: Collins Crime Club, 31 October 1955, 192 pages, in red cloth with the spine lettered in black, issued as Hickory Dickory Dock in a dust jacket lettered in black and white with the printed price present on the front flap. US: Dodd, Mead, November 1955, retitled Hickory Dickory Death. A Hercule Poirot novel.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Collins Crime Club edition is the true first, preceding the US Dodd, Mead edition (variant title Hickory Dickory Death) by roughly a month.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and book-club editions follow the 1955 Collins first; a club copy lacks the printed jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hickory Dickory Dock (US: Hickory Dickory Death)* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hickory-dickory-dock-us-hickory-dickory-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 2026-07-04.