C.S. Lewis First Editions

• The Pilgrim's Regress — 1933 · J.M. Dent & SonsFirst UK edition, J. M. Dent & Sons, London 1933; Lewis's first published prose fiction. Bound in the publisher's original cinnamon cloth with the spine lettered in a darker brown, with no later-impression statement on the copyright page. Genuinely scarce in the original unclipped dust jacket, which should retain its printed price on an unaltered example. The Dent London 1933 edition is the true first. Dent sold the rights to Sheed and Ward, which issued a London second edition and a New York first American edition, both 1935. Scarce in jacket. The revised 1943 Geoffrey Bles edition, with a new preface and added running headlines, is a distinct text and not a printing of the 1933 first.
• The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition — 1936 · Oxford University Press / Clarendon PressFirst edition, first impression, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1936 (published 21 May 1936). Octavo, pp. viii, [2], 278, [2]; publisher's dark blue cloth with gilt titling to the spine, bottom edge uncut. The first impression carries no reprint notice (the text was reprinted with corrections in 1938). The dust jacket is scarce; when present it should retain its printed price, though many surviving copies are…. UK Clarendon Press is the true first. It won the Hawthornden Prize and remains Lewis's foundational scholarly work, combining a study of medieval allegory with a new account of courtly love. Later corrected reprints differ; the 1938 reprint states it was reprinted with corrections.
• Out of the Silent Planet — 1938 · John Lane The Bodley HeadFirst edition, John Lane The Bodley Head, 1938. Copyright page reads 'First published in 1938' with no later reprint history. Octavo bound in brick-red cloth, title in gilt on spine, top edge stained. First volume of the Ransom (Space) Trilogy. Genuine firsts are scarce in the original dust jacket. The UK Bodley Head edition is the true first. The US Macmillan edition did not appear until 1943, years later. First printings in jacket are scarce. Later impressions and reprints carry a printing history on the verso of the title leaf. US Macmillan and book-club copies postdate the UK first by years and are not the true first.
• Rehabilitations and Other Essays — 1939 · Oxford University PressFirst edition published by Oxford University Press, London, 1939; Lewis's first essay collection, nine essays. Original cloth in dust jacket; title page dated 1939 with no reprint statement on the verso. UK Oxford true first; scarce, and Oxford did not reprint the collection in this form, so genuine copies are all first edition. The essays were later dispersed into other Lewis collections rather than reissued under this title.
• The Personal Heresy: A Controversy (with E.M.W. Tillyard) — 1939 · Oxford University PressFirst edition published by Oxford University Press, London, 27 April 1939; the debate in essays between Lewis and E.M.W. Tillyard. Original cloth with gilt spine lettering, 150 pages; title page dated 1939 and verso carries no reprint or later-impression statement. UK Oxford true first; there was no earlier or simultaneous US edition. Later reprints (Oxford 1965 and a 2008 Concordia reissue) are clearly identified as such on their title or copyright pages.
• The Problem of Pain — 1940 · Geoffrey Bles / The Centenary PressFirst UK edition published October 1940 by Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, London, in the Christian Challenge series; original cloth in dust jacket; first impression carries no later-impression statement (Bles reprints list impression dates). UK Bles/Centenary true first; the first American edition followed from Macmillan, New York, in 1944. Later printings and book-club issues differ and later Bles impressions are dated on the verso.
• A Preface to Paradise Lost — 1942 · Oxford University PressFirst edition published by Oxford University Press, London, 8 October 1942; developed from the Ballard Matthews Lectures of 1941; original cloth in dust jacket; title page dated 1942 with no reprint statement on the verso (Oxford's frequent later impressions list their reprint dates). UK Oxford true first. Later Oxford reprints are common and identify themselves on the copyright page.
• Broadcast Talks (US: The Case for Christianity) — 1942 · Geoffrey Bles / The Centenary PressFirst UK edition published July 1942 by Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, London; grey cloth hardback in dust jacket; reprints, with some alterations, the first two BBC talk series; first impression has no reprint statement, and later Bles printings list impression dates. UK Bles true first (July 1942); the US edition, retitled The Case for Christianity, followed from Macmillan in September 1943. Superseded by Mere Christianity (1952); later impressions and the 1946 and later resettings differ in binding and are dated.
• The Screwtape Letters — 1942 · Geoffrey BlesFirst edition, Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, February 1942. The first impression copyright page reads 'First published February 1942' with NO subsequent reprint dates; the title sold rapidly and reprints (March, April, May, June, August 1942) were issued the same year, so any copy listing later dates is a later impression. Original cloth in dust jacket. The text grew out of the 1941 Guardian serialization. The UK Bles edition is the true first; the US Macmillan edition followed in 1943. The 1961 'The Screwtape Letters and Screwtape Proposes a Toast' adds new material and is a first thus, not the first edition of the original work. Because reprints followed within months, examine the copyright page closely: only the standalone 'First published February 1942' line indicates the first impression. Macmillan and book-club copies are not the true first.
• Christian Behaviour — 1943 · Geoffrey Bles / The Centenary PressFirst UK edition 1943, Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, London; orange cloth lettered in black, 64 pages, dust jacket; first impression dated March 1943 with no reprint statement (later Bles impressions list their printing dates); later folded into Mere Christianity. Conventionally collected with the UK Bles edition as the first, but the US Macmillan edition (70 pages, teal cloth) also appeared in 1943 and at least one specialist bibliography records the Macmillan issue earlier that year, so UK versus US precedence is not firmly settled. Superseded by Mere Christianity (1952); Macmillan reprinted its edition repeatedly through 1950 and reprints are identified.
• Perelandra — 1943 · John Lane The Bodley HeadFirst UK edition, London 1943; copyright page states First Published 1943 with no later impressions listed. Blue cloth, dust jacket. Space Trilogy vol. 2; a fragile wartime production under paper rationing. UK Bodley Head true first; US Macmillan edition follows in 1944. Later printings differ.
• The Abolition of Man — 1943 · Oxford University PressFirst UK edition, Oxford University Press 1943, originating as the fifteenth series of Riddell Memorial Lectures delivered at King's College, Newcastle (Durham University) on 24-26 February 1943. Issued not in cloth but in original publisher's printed wrappers: the grey-green wrappers printed in black and bearing the Durham University crest and date on the front are the recognised first-issue form (a plainer…. UK Oxford University Press wrappered issue of 1943 is the true first; the US Macmillan hardcover edition follows in 1947. Later printings and the 1947 US Macmillan edition differ in binding and imprint; the American issue is a cloth hardcover, not the original wrappers.
• Beyond Personality — 1944 · Geoffrey Bles / The Centenary PressFirst UK edition 1944 (Geoffrey Bles / The Centenary Press); slim 64-page volume of the BBC radio talks, printed on War Economy paper, in original pale yellow cloth with the backstrip lettered in blue. First-issue dust jacket printed in blue and cream, with the printed price present. Later incorporated into Mere Christianity (1952). UK Bles/Centenary Press true first; US Macmillan edition follows in 1945. Text superseded by Mere Christianity; the 1944 first stands as a distinct earlier state.
• That Hideous Strength — 1945 · John Lane The Bodley HeadFirst UK edition, London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1945, subtitled 'a modern fairy-tale for grown-ups'; octavo, 476 pages, produced to War Economy Standards on cheap, fragile wartime paper. Bound in black cloth lettered in gilt on the spine. The pictorial dust jacket is printed in green, yellow and black and carries the printed net price on the front flap; because later impressions add a 'Second Impression' or…. UK Bodley Head true first (1945); the US Macmillan edition follows in 1946. The Tortured Planet is a later abridged text (Lewis's own abridgement, Avon paperback) and is not the first edition. Later impressions state 'Second Impression' or 'Third Impression' on the lower front dust-jacket flap; the abridged Tortured Planet text is a separate, later issue.
• The Great Divorce — 1945 · Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary PressFirst UK edition, published November 1945 under the joint Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press imprint; publisher's yellow cloth, spine lettered in black, dust jacket; 118 pages; fragile War Economy production. First serialized in The Guardian, 1944 to 1945. UK Bles/Centenary Press true first (November 1945); US Macmillan edition follows in 1946. Later printings differ.
• Miracles: A Preliminary Study — 1947 · Geoffrey BlesFirst UK edition, Geoffrey Bles (The Centenary Press), London, 1947, bound in publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and issued in a printed dust jacket; no later-impression statement on the reverse of the title leaf. The first-issue text carries the original chapter 3, titled The Self-Contradiction of the Naturalist. The simultaneous US first (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1947) is bound in…. UK Geoffrey Bles is the true first; the US Macmillan edition also appeared in 1947 in blue cloth. Lewis rewrote chapter 3 for the 1960 revised edition following the Anscombe debate, so the original chapter-3 title is the surest text point for the unrevised first. The revised 1960 text is a distinct state; the original chapter 3 title (The Self-Contradiction of the Naturalist) identifies the unrevised first-edition text.
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — 1950 · Geoffrey BlesUK Geoffrey Bles (London), published 16 October 1950. The copyright/verso page reads 'First published 1950' with no later-impression statement. Bound in original green cloth lettered in silver on the spine. Illustrated throughout by Pauline Baynes (43 illustrations in the British edition). First-state dust jacket is the grey pictorial Baynes jacket, with the printed price retained on the front flap. A genuinely…. The UK Geoffrey Bles edition of 16 October 1950 is the true first edition worldwide. The Macmillan (New York) first American edition also appeared in 1950 but was reset from new type (with textual changes in chapters 1, 6 and 13 and fewer illustrations), so it does not precede the Bles first. Book-club editions and later Bles/Macmillan printings reprint the text but are not the 1950 Geoffrey Bles first impression; confirm the 'First published 1950' verso statement, the green cloth with silver spine lettering, and the grey pictorial Baynes jacket with printed price present.
• Prince Caspian — 1951 · Geoffrey BlesUK first: Geoffrey Bles, London, 1951, illustrated by Pauline Baynes. The true first is identified by the absence of any reprint or impression notation on the verso of the title page (this period uses no number line; the dated title page plus a clean verso indicates the first printing). First-issue jacket advertises only the Narnia titles published to date. The UK Geoffrey Bles edition is the true first, preceding the US Macmillan edition issued the same year (1951). Later impressions add an impression statement to the verso, and the jacket title-list of other Narnia books lengthens with subsequent printings. The US Macmillan edition is a distinct publication, not the UK first.
• Mere Christianity — 1952 · Geoffrey BlesFirst UK edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1952, in publisher's red cloth lettered in silver on the spine, 177 pages; it combines and revises the three earlier wartime broadcast books (Broadcast Talks/The Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality) with a new preface, and carries no later-impression statement. Two dust-jacket states are recorded: the earlier state has no review quotes and a…. The UK Bles 1952 edition (red cloth) is the true first; the US Macmillan 1952 edition, bound in blue cloth lettered in silver, follows. Cloth color is a quick tell: red cloth indicates the UK first, blue cloth the US issue. Later Bles impressions and the wartime constituent volumes are separate; later printings carry impression statements the first lacks.
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — 1952 · Geoffrey BlesUK first: Geoffrey Bles, London, 1952, illustrated by Pauline Baynes. The true first shows no impression or reprint statement on the verso of the title page (no number line in this era; dated title page with a clean verso indicates first printing). First-issue jacket lists only the Narnia titles published to that point. The UK Geoffrey Bles edition is the true first, preceding the US Macmillan edition (New York, 1952). Later printings carry an impression note on the verso and a longer jacket title-list. The US Macmillan edition is a separate publication and is not the UK first.
• The Silver Chair — 1953 · Geoffrey BlesUK first: Geoffrey Bles, London, 1953, illustrated by Pauline Baynes. The true first has no impression or reprint statement on the verso of the title page (no number line in this period; dated title page with a clean verso indicates the first printing). The UK Geoffrey Bles edition is the true first, preceding the US Macmillan edition issued the same year (1953). Later impressions add a verso impression note and lengthen the jacket title-list. The US Macmillan edition is a distinct publication, not the UK first.
• English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Excluding Drama (OHEL) — 1954 · Oxford University Press / Clarendon PressFirst edition 1954, volume III of the Oxford History of English Literature (general editors F.P. Wilson and Bonamy Dobree). Large octavo in publisher's black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, in the light-yellow dust jacket printed in brown. The key first-issue point is the printed OHEL series list of the projected volumes: on the earliest issue only a small number of the twelve titles are marked…. UK Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press) is the true first, 1954. No book-club issue; later reprints update the printed series list and the copyright-page printing statement.
• The Horse and His Boy — 1954 · Geoffrey BlesUK first: Geoffrey Bles, London, 1954, illustrated by Pauline Baynes. This was the last Narnia title issued by Geoffrey Bles. The true first has no impression or reprint statement on the verso of the title page (no number line in this era; dated title page with a clean verso indicates the first printing). The UK Geoffrey Bles edition is the true first, preceding the US Macmillan edition issued the same year (1954). Later impressions add a verso impression note. The US Macmillan edition is a distinct publication, not the UK first.
• Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life — 1955 · Geoffrey BlesFirst UK edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, first published September 1955 (a second impression followed in November 1955), printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome; octavo, 224 pp. Bound in silver-grey cloth boards with silver spine lettering on a golden-yellow panel, and no later-impression statement on the first. The first-state dust jacket was designed by John R. Biggs; the front flap should retain…. The UK Geoffrey Bles printing of 1955 is the true first edition, with the US Harcourt, Brace edition following in 1956. The November 1955 second impression carries an impression statement and a review-quoting jacket; later reprints differ from the first.
• The Magician's Nephew — 1955 · The Bodley HeadUK first: The Bodley Head, London, 1955, illustrated by Pauline Baynes. For the sixth and seventh Narnia titles the UK imprint changed from Geoffrey Bles to The Bodley Head, so a genuine first of this title carries the Bodley Head imprint, not Bles. The true first shows no impression or reprint statement on the verso of the title page. The UK Bodley Head edition is the true first, preceding the US Macmillan edition issued the same year (1955). The shift from Bles to Bodley Head for the last two books is a common point of confusion. Later impressions add a verso impression note. The US Macmillan edition lacks the Bodley Head imprint and is not the UK first.
• The Last Battle — 1956 · The Bodley HeadUK first: The Bodley Head, London, 1956, illustrated by Pauline Baynes; the seventh and final Narnia title, published under the Bodley Head imprint (not Geoffrey Bles). The true first shows no impression or reprint statement on the verso of the title page, and the first-issue jacket carries no Carnegie Medal notation, since the award was announced after publication. The UK Bodley Head edition is the true first, preceding the US Macmillan edition issued the same year (1956). A Carnegie Medal seal or notation on the jacket indicates a later printing, since the medal was awarded after first publication. Later impressions also add a verso impression note. The US Macmillan edition is a distinct publication, not the UK first.
• Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold — 1956 · Geoffrey BlesFirst edition, first impression, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1956. Octavo, 320 pages, bound in publisher's original blue papered boards lettered in gilt on the spine; no later-impression statement on the reverse of the title. Issued in a pictorial dust wrapper designed by John R. Biggs, with the printed price printed to the front flap (the printed price should be present on an unclipped example). Lewis's last novel, a…. UK Bles is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace edition follows in 1957. Later impressions carry an impression statement on the copyright page; the first impression carries none.
• Reflections on the Psalms — 1958 · Geoffrey BlesFirst UK edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, first printed September 1958 (a further impression followed in December 1958); octavo, pp. viii, 151. Bound in red cloth lettered in yellow on the spine, with no later-impression statement present on the first. The first-state dust jacket, designed by Elizabeth Andrewes, shows a harp against a blue field with title lettering in white and orange; the front flap should carry…. The UK Geoffrey Bles printing of 1958 is the true first edition, preceding the US Harcourt, Brace edition of the same year. Later Bles impressions carry an impression statement, and subsequent reprints and paperbacks differ from the first.
• Studies in Words — 1960 · Cambridge University PressFirst edition, first printing, 1960, Cambridge: at the University Press. Collates [iv], v-vii, [viii] preliminaries and 1-239, [240] (final index page), bound in royal blue cloth with bright copper/gilt lettering to the spine set against a black panel. Issued in the publisher's matte dust jacket in yellow, red and black. The jacket carries the correct publisher's printed price; the printed price should be…. UK Cambridge University Press is the true first (1960). The enlarged second edition of 1967 (with an added chapter, notably on "World") is a distinct, reset edition and not the first. Later printings and the enlarged 1967 second edition differ; check the title-page verso for edition/printing statements and confirm the printed price jacket price and original blue-cloth/copper-spine binding.
• The Four Loves — 1960 · Geoffrey BlesFirst UK edition, Geoffrey Bles, 1960; publisher's grey cloth lettered in red, pictorial dust jacket designed by Michael Harvey; verso states first publication in 1960 with no later impressions listed. UK Geoffrey Bles true first, published March 1960; the US Harcourt Brace edition followed later the same year. Later printings list additional impressions on the verso; book club and later reprints differ.
• The World's Last Night and Other Essays — 1960 · Harcourt BraceHarcourt, Brace and Company, New York, first American edition, February 1960; 113 pages, with "first edition" stated on the copyright page. Bound in teal cloth, the spine lettered in gilt with a gilt device to the upper board and yellow endpapers, in a dust jacket designed by Jeanyee Wong (red title over black author name over a black, white and red flourish with a central cross, on a teal ground) bearing its…. US Harcourt Brace 1960 is the true first for this gathering; no earlier UK edition of this collection precedes it. Individual essays appear elsewhere, but this February 1960 gathering is their first collected appearance in this form. Later printings drop the "first edition" statement on the copyright page.
• A Grief Observed — 1961 · Faber & FaberFirst UK edition, Faber and Faber, London, 1961, published under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk; slim octavo in publisher's grey cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, issued in the first-issue grey and light-green pictorial dust jacket with the title and author in black and light-green lettering. The verso carries 'First published in mcmlxi' with no later-impression statement, and the jacket should retain its printed…. UK Faber true first, as by N. W. Clerk; the US Seabury Press edition followed in 1963. Lewis and his agent Spencer Curtis Brown placed the manuscript with Faber, where director T. S. Eliot approved it. The pseudonymous first issue with the Clerk attribution and 'First published in mcmlxi' verso is the key identifying point. Posthumous and later editions credit Lewis by name on the title page and jacket; only the 1961 Faber first appears as by N. W. Clerk.
• An Experiment in Criticism — 1961 · Cambridge University PressFirst edition, first impression, 1961, Cambridge University Press. Small octavo of [v], 143 pages, bound in dark blue cloth with the author, title and publisher block-stamped in black on the spine. Issued in the publisher's pictorial dust jacket printed in white lettering against a red and black checkered/panelled ground. The jacket was printed with both an American price at the top of the front flap and a…. UK Cambridge University Press is the true first (1961); text derives from Lewis's Cambridge lectures. First impression carries no statement of a later printing on the verso of the title page. Later Cambridge printings and paperback issues are distinct from the 1961 first impression; watch for added printing statements on the copyright page and reset or price-less jackets.
• They Asked for a Paper: Papers and Addresses — 1962 · Geoffrey BlesFirst edition, Geoffrey Bles, 1962; octavo, pp. 211[1]; a collection of twelve papers and addresses. Bound in original tan cloth, the spine lettered in dark blue, with light blue endpapers. Issued in a brown typographic printed dust jacket designed by Michael Harvey. The jacket should retain its printed price. UK Geoffrey Bles true first, published 26 February 1962; the last of Lewis's books published in his lifetime (he died 22 November 1963). Contents overlap later gatherings of Lewis's addresses, but this 1962 Bles volume is the first appearance of the collection as assembled.
• Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer — 1964 · Geoffrey BlesFirst UK edition, Geoffrey Bles (London), 1964, published posthumously. Bound in green cloth boards with gilt titles to the spine, blue topstain, and green endpapers; the title page is dated 1964 with no later-impression statement on the reverse. Dust jacket designed by Michael Harvey, carrying the printed price on the front flap; a price-present jacket is the expected first-state. The Geoffrey Bles UK edition is the true first. The first US edition, Harcourt, Brace & World (New York), also appeared in 1964 but follows the Bles issue; it is bound in blue cloth boards with gilt spine lettering and carries its own priced, illustrated jacket. Later Bles impressions and the US Harcourt issue are distinct from the true UK first; confirm the Bles imprint and a 1964 title page with no statement of later printing.
• The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature — 1964 · Cambridge University PressFirst edition 1964 (posthumous), octavo, in publisher's dark blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and no statement of later impression. The first-issue dust jacket is a typographic wrapper printed in red and black. Cambridge, at the University Press. The Cambridge University Press edition is the true first; the imprint was issued for both Cambridge and New York in 1964, so an early US-market copy carries the same first-edition sheets under a New York imprint line rather than a distinct later printing. Later Cambridge impressions and the paperback (ISBN 0-521-05551-2 and successors) follow the true first; verify the absence of any reprint/impression statement.
• Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories — 1966 · Geoffrey BlesEdited with a preface by Walter Hooper. First edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1966 (posthumous), octavo, xi + 148 pages. Bound in publisher's brown cloth with gilt titling to the spine and the top edge stained red. The first-issue dust jacket is typographic, designed by Michael Harvey, and carries the printed price on the front flap (present, unclipped price preferred; never state the amount). Collects essays…. UK Geoffrey Bles is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition followed in 1967. Later printings and the 1967 US Harcourt, Brace & World edition differ from the 1966 Bles brown-cloth first (red top edge, Michael Harvey typographic jacket).

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