# Is "A Clergyman's Daughter" by George Orwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Clergyman's Daughter by George Orwell (Victor Gollancz, 1935) is identified by: London: Victor Gollancz, 1935. UK Gollancz (1935) is the true first; the US Harper edition followed in 1936.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- London: Victor Gollancz, 1935
- Orwell's second novel, in a small printing of about 2,000 copies
- Bindings are recorded in both black cloth and green cloth; the dust jacket is printed in pink and black on a yellow ground (designed by Denis Piper) and is exceedingly rare
- Title page dated 1935 with no later impression statement
- Orwell disliked the book and blocked reprints in his lifetime, leaving the first as the principal edition
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Orwell |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Year | 1935 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | London: Victor Gollancz, 1935 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
London: Victor Gollancz, 1935. Orwell's second novel, in a small printing of about 2,000 copies. Bindings are recorded in both black cloth and green cloth; the dust jacket is printed in pink and black on a yellow ground (designed by Denis Piper) and is exceedingly rare. Title page dated 1935 with no later impression statement. Orwell disliked the book and blocked reprints in his lifetime, leaving the first as the principal edition.

## Is this the true first?
UK Gollancz (1935) is the true first; the US Harper edition followed in 1936.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Very few period reprints. Confirm a genuine first by the 1935 title-page date and absence of any later impression line; the scarce pink-and-black-on-yellow jacket is the key collecting point.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Clergyman's Daughter* by George Orwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-clergymans-daughter
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.