Talk:The Murder on the Links

Place of first publication

I was reverted in my change to the novel's first place of publication. Since this was the lead it should be summarising the article which seems to me suggest first publication by Bodley Head in the UK. "The novel received its first true publication as a four-part serialisation in the Grand Magazine from December 1922 to March 1923 (Issues 214–217) under the title of The Girl with the Anxious Eyes before it was issued in book form by The Bodley Head in May 1923." and the order in the publication history. However I could not check any of the print references. Also, the wording of the claim in the lead is written very oddly in a way that made it look dubious. Marcum certainly indicates it was first published in the US and that may be right. In doing this I really should have removed the cites from the lead but I didn't want to lose them from the article. I couldn't move them into the body because I couldn't refer to them. With hindsight I regret my edit and should have raised the matter first here on talk.

Evidence? Not much. In Abebooks (.com and .co.uk) for Dodd Mead, sellers in both countries refer fairly equally to both "first edition" and "first US edition". For Bodley Head, sellers in both countries say "first edition" without any qualification. Maybe this is the last squeak of British Imperialism. I'm interested that the asking price (in both countries) of the Bodley Head first edition (even in its second 1923 printing) is far higher than for Dodd Mead but that may merely reflect availability. However, and importantly, the dates of the newspaper reviews suggest US publication was indeed first. Does anyone have access to the printed works cited? Thincat (talk) 10:18, 22 September 2020 (UTC)

I forgot to look at Marcum. I think that is a reliable source for first publication in the US. I am not positive, but I think the serialization in a newspaper or magazine is not usually counted as first publication -- it is the first publication of the novel that seems to matter, perhaps because the serialization might not be exactly what is published in the hardback novel. I do not have access to those printed works cited at the start of every article on a novel by Agatha Christie, but someone, some editor, must have that access. Certainly some editor had the access when all these Agatha Christie articles were started. I think it is best to leave it as a first publication in the US, with the US first edition cover in the infobox, Thincat. --Prairieplant (talk) 00:16, 23 September 2020 (UTC)

Yes, I'll accept that. I see that Jtomlin1uk added the publication sequence with careful referencing[1][2] in 2008 (remarkably careful for 2008!) so I think it is very reasonable to stick with that. Thincat (talk) 08:30, 23 September 2020 (UTC)

I've just found the book was registered for US copyright in March 1923[3] (ref 957). That fits in well. It was first serialised in a magazine (under a different title) in Britain and at the end of that immediately published for the first time in book form in the US followed, two months later, by book publication in Britain. Thincat (talk) 09:19, 23 September 2020 (UTC)

That is a good source! It argues for putting the US edition first in the list in the Publication history, and perhaps adding the month of March, which is earlier than May, to the text? I wonder why Jtomlinuk removed the month for the US publication but somehow the month of May sticks around in the text for the UK publication. --Prairieplant (talk) 23:31, 23 September 2020 (UTC)