# Is "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (US: The Mirror Crack'd)" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (US: The Mirror Crack'd) by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1962) is identified by: UK Collins Crime Club first, published 12 November 1962, octavo, 256 pages. The UK Collins Crime Club edition (November 1962) is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition (September 1963) uses the shortened title 'The Mirror Crack'd.'

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Collins Crime Club first, published 12 November 1962, octavo, 256 pages
- First printings are bound in red cloth with black lettering to the spine and issued in the first-issue pictorial dust jacket printed on a light green ground, lettered in white and red with a jagged black design to the front panel, described on the jacket as a 'Crime Club Choice' and carrying the printed UK price
- A Miss Marple novel set in St
- Mary Mead
- The US Dodd, Mead edition followed in September 1963 under the shortened title 'The Mirror Crack'd' with a 1962 copyright date
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Collins Crime Club first, published 12 November 1962, octavo, 256 pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK Collins Crime Club first, published 12 November 1962, octavo, 256 pages. First printings are bound in red cloth with black lettering to the spine and issued in the first-issue pictorial dust jacket printed on a light green ground, lettered in white and red with a jagged black design to the front panel, described on the jacket as a 'Crime Club Choice' and carrying the printed UK price. A Miss Marple novel set in St. Mary Mead. The US Dodd, Mead edition followed in September 1963 under the shortened title 'The Mirror Crack'd' with a 1962 copyright date.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Collins Crime Club edition (November 1962) is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition (September 1963) uses the shortened title 'The Mirror Crack'd.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club issues are identifiable by plain boards rather than the first-issue cloth, and their jackets omit the printed price on the front flap; later Collins printings state a reprint date on the copyright page. The true first shows no later-printing or book-club statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (US: The Mirror Crack'd)* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-mirror-crackd-from-side-to-side-us-the-mirror-crackd
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.