# Is "A Shilling for Candles" by Josephine Tey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey (Methuen & Co., 1936) is identified by: Issued by Methuen & Co., London, 1936, with the full title on the title page reading "A Shilling for Candles. The UK Methuen (London) 1936 edition is the true first and the only contemporary edition of the text.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Issued by Methuen & Co., London, 1936, with the full title on the title page reading "A Shilling for Candles
- The Story of a Crime"; it is the first book published under the Josephine Tey pseudonym
- Methuen's house practice from 1905 onward, per the Quill & Brush publisher reference, was to state "First published in [Year]" on the copyright page of a first edition and to note subsequent printings, so a first printing should read "First published in 1936" with no reprint or later-edition notice beneath it; that Methuen did mark later states is confirmed by catalogued Methuen copies designated "2nd Edition"
- Binding is original mustard cloth with the upper cover and spine lettered in black, as described in the Sotheby's 2021 Detective Fiction / Alexis Galanos Collection catalogue
- The dust jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the upper flap; the Sotheby's copy is expressly noted with the price absent from the upper flap, i.e. clipped
- Publisher imprint reads Methuen & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Josephine Tey |
| Publisher | Methuen & Co. |
| Year | 1936 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Issued by Methuen & Co., London, 1936, with the full title on the title page reading "A Shilling for Candles |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Issued by Methuen & Co., London, 1936, with the full title on the title page reading "A Shilling for Candles. The Story of a Crime"; it is the first book published under the Josephine Tey pseudonym. Methuen's house practice from 1905 onward, per the Quill & Brush publisher reference, was to state "First published in [Year]" on the copyright page of a first edition and to note subsequent printings, so a first printing should read "First published in 1936" with no reprint or later-edition notice beneath it; that Methuen did mark later states is confirmed by catalogued Methuen copies designated "2nd Edition". Binding is original mustard cloth with the upper cover and spine lettered in black, as described in the Sotheby's 2021 Detective Fiction / Alexis Galanos Collection catalogue. The dust jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the upper flap; the Sotheby's copy is expressly noted with the price absent from the upper flap, i.e. clipped.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Methuen (London) 1936 edition is the true first and the only contemporary edition of the text. No American edition followed for eighteen years: the first American edition is The Macmillan Company, New York, 1954, issued in Macmillan's "Murder Revisited" series. Both editions are collected, but the Macmillan 1954 is a first American edition only and must never be described as a first edition of the work; the eighteen-year gap makes precedence unambiguous.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue of the 1936 Methuen printing is documented. Later-issue tells: Methuen reprints and later editions carry the corresponding reprint/edition notice on the copyright page (a Methuen copy catalogued "2nd Edition" is recorded). All Pan (from 1958), Berkley, Dell and Folio Society appearances are plainly later reprints under their own imprints and title-page names.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Shilling for Candles* by Josephine Tey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-shilling-for-candles
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.