# Is "Unfinished Portrait" by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Unfinished Portrait by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) (William Collins, 1934) is identified by: UK Collins, London, first published March 1934 under the Mary Westmacott pseudonym, in cloth boards lettered in black. UK Collins (March 1934) is the true first edition, preceding the US Doubleday, Doran edition of 1934.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Collins, London, first published March 1934 under the Mary Westmacott pseudonym, in cloth boards lettered in black
- Second of the six Westmacott novels and semi-autobiographical
- The dust jacket art is by Hookway Cowles, the same illustration used on both the UK and US editions
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1934 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Collins, London, first published March 1934 under the Mary Westmacott pseudonym, in cloth boards lettered in black |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Collins, London, first published March 1934 under the Mary Westmacott pseudonym, in cloth boards lettered in black. Second of the six Westmacott novels and semi-autobiographical. The dust jacket art is by Hookway Cowles, the same illustration used on both the UK and US editions.

## Is this the true first?
UK Collins (March 1934) is the true first edition, preceding the US Doubleday, Doran edition of 1934.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A second impression followed in the same month (March 1934); distinguishing the true first from that early reprint is a key collecting point, and later reissues follow the 1934 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Unfinished Portrait* by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/unfinished-portrait
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.