# Is "A Writer's Notebook" by W. Somerset Maugham a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Writer's Notebook by W. Somerset Maugham (William Heinemann, 1949) is identified by: Published in 1949 in both London (William Heinemann) and New York (Doubleday & Co.). Both UK Heinemann and US Doubleday editions are dated 1949; reliable sources do not firmly fix international precedence, so the Heinemann edition is best described as the British first rather than a confirmed world first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Published in 1949 in both London (William Heinemann) and New York (Doubleday & Co.)
- Each publisher issued an ordinary trade edition and a signed, numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies
- Per the Stott bibliography, the Heinemann limited edition (blue cloth, vellum spine, leather label, top edge gilt) was issued simultaneously with but printed after the Heinemann trade edition
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | W. Somerset Maugham |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1949 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Published in 1949 in both London (William Heinemann) and New York (Doubleday & Co.) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Published in 1949 in both London (William Heinemann) and New York (Doubleday & Co.). Each publisher issued an ordinary trade edition and a signed, numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Per the Stott bibliography, the Heinemann limited edition (blue cloth, vellum spine, leather label, top edge gilt) was issued simultaneously with but printed after the Heinemann trade edition.

## Is this the true first?
Both UK Heinemann and US Doubleday editions are dated 1949; reliable sources do not firmly fix international precedence, so the Heinemann edition is best described as the British first rather than a confirmed world first. Each has a separate signed limited issue of 1,000 copies.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Distinguish the ordinary trade edition from the signed, numbered limited of 1,000 copies; the limited was printed after the trade edition at Heinemann.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Writer's Notebook* by W. Somerset Maugham a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-writers-notebook
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.