# Is "Bachelors Anonymous" by P.G. Wodehouse a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Bachelors Anonymous by P.G. Wodehouse (Barrie & Jenkins, 1973) is identified by: First UK edition, London, Barrie & Jenkins, 15 October 1973 (published on Wodehouse's 92nd birthday), octavo, 191 pages. The UK Barrie & Jenkins edition is the true first and precedes the US Simon & Schuster edition of 1974; the title is unchanged between the two.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First UK edition, London, Barrie & Jenkins, 15 October 1973 (published on Wodehouse's 92nd birthday), octavo, 191 pages
- Bound in publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering to the spine
- The dust jacket carries a pictorial front illustration by Osbert Lancaster (Amelia Bingham bandaging Ephraim Trout's hand) with the printed price on the flap; the laminate on these jackets is prone to cracking, so a clean unsplit jacket is a condition point
- The US first followed on 28 August 1974 from Simon & Schuster under the same title
- Publisher imprint reads Barrie & Jenkins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | P.G. Wodehouse |
| Publisher | Barrie & Jenkins |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First UK edition, London, Barrie & Jenkins, 15 October 1973 (published on Wodehouse's 92nd birthday), octavo, 191 pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First UK edition, London, Barrie & Jenkins, 15 October 1973 (published on Wodehouse's 92nd birthday), octavo, 191 pages. Bound in publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering to the spine. The dust jacket carries a pictorial front illustration by Osbert Lancaster (Amelia Bingham bandaging Ephraim Trout's hand) with the printed price on the flap; the laminate on these jackets is prone to cracking, so a clean unsplit jacket is a condition point. The US first followed on 28 August 1974 from Simon & Schuster under the same title.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Barrie & Jenkins edition is the true first and precedes the US Simon & Schuster edition of 1974; the title is unchanged between the two.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No separate book-club issue affecting the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Bachelors Anonymous* by P.G. Wodehouse a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/bachelors-anonymous
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.