Dorothy L. Sayers First Editions

• Whose Body? — 1923 · Boni & LiverightTRUE FIRST is the US Boni & Liveright edition, New York, 1923 — the first appearance of Lord Peter Wimsey and Sayers's debut novel — which PRECEDES the UK T. Fisher Unwin edition (also 1923). Defining first-state point: the title page reads 'Boni & Liveright' WITHOUT 'Inc.'; 'Inc.' was added in a later state once the omission was noticed, so the scarce first state lacks it. Bound in blue cloth, lettered in black…. Precedence point: the US Boni & Liveright edition (1923) precedes the UK T. Fisher Unwin edition (1923); the US is the accepted true world first of the first Lord Peter Wimsey novel, and the UK first is separately collected. The US is generally dated a few months ahead of the UK (even UK dealers note the title 'was first published in the States, in 1923'). Confirm the first state by the title page reading 'Boni & Liveright' WITHOUT 'Inc.' (blue cloth, black lettering). A 1923 Boni & Liveright title page alone does not prove first state — the later state adds 'Inc.' Reprints and the UK Fisher Unwin edition carry their own imprints.
• Clouds of Witness — 1926 · T. Fisher UnwinUK T. Fisher Unwin 1926 is the true first, with a frontispiece (Gilbert A4a). The second Lord Peter Wimsey novel. The first US edition was The Dial Press, New York, 1927, published under the pluralized title Clouds of Witnesses. Sayers lightly revised the text in 1935, so the 1926 Unwin printing carries the earliest text state. UK T. Fisher Unwin 1926 is the true first, preceding the Dial Press US edition of 1927. Note the US title variant Clouds of Witnesses (plural). Later reprints and the 1935 revised text follow the 1926 first; the earliest text appears only in the Unwin printing.
• Unnatural Death (US: The Dawson Pedigree) — 1927 · Ernest BennUK Ernest Benn 1927 is the true first (Gilbert A5a), in publisher's yellow cloth lettered in black with a printed dust jacket. The third Lord Peter Wimsey novel; introduces Miss Climpson. The first US edition was The Dial Press, New York, 1928, retitled The Dawson Pedigree. UK Ernest Benn 1927 is the true first, preceding the US Dial Press 1928 edition, which was issued under the variant title The Dawson Pedigree. Later UK and US reprints follow the 1927 Benn first.
• Lord Peter Views the Body — 1928 · Victor GollanczUK Victor Gollancz, London, 1928 is the true first, published November 1928 and gathering twelve stories as Sayers' first Lord Peter Wimsey short-story collection. The first edition is bound in the publisher's black cloth lettered in red on the spine, and is issued in the striking pictorial dust jacket designed by E. McKnight Kauffer, with the price printed at the foot of the spine panel. The Kauffer jacket is…. UK Gollancz 1928 is the true first; the US Brewer & Warren, New York, edition followed in 1929. A second impression appeared in December 1928, and later Gollancz reprints follow the first; look for the black cloth lettered in red and, where present, the McKnight Kauffer jacket to confirm the first.
• The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club — 1928 · Ernest BennUK Ernest Benn (London, 1928) is the true first, the fourth Lord Peter Wimsey novel, in a first impression of roughly 1,000 copies. Bound in black boards lettered and decorated in orange, octavo, 287 pages. The scarce first-issue dust jacket is buff printed in black and should retain its printed price. The US edition was published by Payson & Clarke, New York, 1928. UK Ernest Benn 1928 is the true first, with the US Payson & Clarke edition following the same year; the small Benn first impression of about 1,000 copies makes the true first, especially in jacket, notably scarce. Later Benn impressions and subsequent reprints follow the 1928 first; only the first impression carries the original small print run.
• Strong Poison — 1930 · Victor GollanczUK Victor Gollancz first edition, 1930, published 23 October 1930 in octavo (288 pages), bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in red to the spine; the first Sayers title issued by Gollancz and her first for that house after Ernest Benn. It introduces Harriet Vane, on trial for the arsenic poisoning of her lover, and is the fifth Lord Peter Wimsey novel (the first of the four Wimsey–Vane books). The unclipped…. UK Gollancz first edition (1930) is the true first; the US Brewer & Warren edition followed the same year. Later reprints follow the 1930 Gollancz first; Gollancz reissues and cheap editions of the 1930s and later lack the first-impression jacket and price and are not the first edition.
• The Documents in the Case — 1930 · Ernest BennUK Ernest Benn 1930 is the true first, written with Robert Eustace (pen name of Eustace Robert Barton); an epistolary, non-Wimsey mystery, roughly viii + 287 pages, bound in original black cloth with orange (gilt-orange) lettering, in a printed dust jacket carrying its first-state price. US Brewer & Warren, New York, 1930. UK Ernest Benn 1930 is the true first; US Brewer & Warren, New York, followed the same year. Reprints follow the 1930 first.
• The Five Red Herrings (US: Suspicious Characters) — 1931 · Victor GollanczUK Gollancz 1931 is the true first, published March 1931 (sixth Lord Peter Wimsey novel). Octavo in original black cloth lettered in orange to the spine, with illustrated endpapers reproducing a map of Galloway, Scotland; a publisher's advertisement leaf is called for and is sometimes lacking. The scarce dust wrapper carries the printed price. The US edition was published the same year under the variant title…. UK Gollancz 1931 is the true first; the US Brewer, Warren & Putnam edition of the same year appeared under the variant title Suspicious Characters. Reprints follow the 1931 first.
• Have His Carcase — 1932 · Victor GollanczUK Gollancz 1932 is the true first (seventh Wimsey novel, second featuring Harriet Vane), title and author stamped in orange on the spine with Gollancz at the foot. US Brewer, Warren & Putnam, New York, 1932. UK Gollancz 1932 is the true first; US Brewer, Warren & Putnam followed the same year. Reprints follow the 1932 first.
• Hangman's Holiday — 1933 · Victor GollanczFirst edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1933; a story collection gathering four Lord Peter Wimsey stories and six featuring the wine-and-spirits traveller Montague Egg, plus two other tales. Bound in Gollancz's black cloth boards with orange lettering to the spine, and issued in the characteristic yellow Gollancz typographic dust jacket printing the net price to the spine (the printed price should be…. The UK Gollancz 1933 edition is the true first. A US Harcourt, Brace edition also appeared in 1933 but follows the London printing. Later Gollancz impressions and subsequent reprints follow the first; the black cloth with orange spine lettering and the priced yellow typographic jacket identify the 1933 first.
• Murder Must Advertise — 1933 · Victor GollanczFirst edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, February 1933, a Lord Peter Wimsey novel of 352 pages. Bound in Gollancz's standard black cloth lettered in orange on the spine, issued in the publisher's characteristic typographic yellow dust jacket printed in black and red (no pictorial art). The jacket should carry the printed original price. The US first edition was published by Harcourt, Brace, New York,…. The UK Gollancz edition (February 1933) is the true first, preceding the US Harcourt, Brace edition of the same year. A second Gollancz impression appeared in June 1933 and the first cheap edition in January 1934; the first impression carries no later-impression statement, and these and other reprints follow the true first.
• The Nine Tailors — 1934 · Victor GollanczVictor Gollancz UK first, 1934, in the characteristic Gollancz yellow dust jacket printed in black/magenta (typographical, no pictorial art). Copyright page dated 1934 with no later-printing statement. UK Gollancz 1934 is the true first, preceding the US Harcourt, Brace edition (also 1934). The UK first in the bright typographic Gollancz jacket is the prize. US Harcourt is the American first. Later Gollancz reprints note the reprint on the copyright page; the unmarked 1934 is the first.
• Gaudy Night — 1935 · Victor GollanczUK Victor Gollancz first edition, London, 1935, in black cloth with the characteristic Gollancz yellow printed dust jacket in black and red typographic design. A cornerstone Wimsey and Harriet Vane novel. The first printing shows no later-impression line on the copyright page. The fragile Gollancz jacket of this period rarely survives, so a first in jacket is genuinely scarce. UK Gollancz 1935 is the true first and precedes the US Harcourt, Brace edition of 1936. The Harcourt US edition is a first-thus. Book-club and later Gollancz impressions are stated as such on the verso of the title leaf.
• Busman's Honeymoon — 1937 · Victor GollanczFirst edition of the novel, Victor Gollancz, London, 1937, in publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt on the spine; the last full-length Lord Peter Wimsey novel. First-issue text points include 'errific' for 'terrific' at page 227 and an exclamation mark in place of a full stop at page 378, and the issue carries an erratum slip at page 335. The scarce first-state dust jacket should retain its printed spine…. The UK Gollancz 1937 edition is the true first of the novel. Note the stage play (co-written with Muriel St. Clare Byrne) preceded the novel, premiering in 1936, so the novel is not the earliest appearance of the story in any form. One isolated dealer listing claims the American Harcourt edition precedes the English; this runs against the bibliographic consensus that Gollancz is the true first. Later Gollancz impressions and reprints follow the first and lack the first-issue text points and erratum slip.
• In the Teeth of the Evidence — 1939 · Victor GollanczFirst edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1939, in original black cloth lettered in red on the spine; octavo. A story collection of Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg stories, the last of Sayers's crime-fiction volumes. Issued in the characteristic Gollancz typographic dust wrapper (yellow paper, printed text only, no pictorial art), which should carry the printed price on the front flap. As is common…. The UK Gollancz 1939 edition is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace edition followed in 1940. Later printings and reprints follow the first; the first printing carries no later-printing statement on the copyright page.
• The Man Born to Be King — 1943 · Victor GollanczFirst edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, September 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays on the life of Christ, subtitled "A Play-Cycle on the Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Approximately 343 pages, octavo (about 20 cm), in gilt-lettered cloth, issued in a printed dust jacket that should retain its price. A wartime production, so paper and binding follow Book Production War Economy standards. The Gollancz 1943 edition is the true first printing of the collected play-cycle. The plays were first broadcast by the BBC (produced by Val Gielgud) between December 1941 and October 1942, so the broadcasts preceded the book, but the 1943 volume is the first published edition of the texts. Later printings and reprints follow the first; the wartime dust jacket is scarce and many surviving copies lack it, so a first in a complete, priced jacket is the desirable state.

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