# Is "Clouds of Witness" by Dorothy L. Sayers a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (T. Fisher Unwin, 1926) is identified by: Fisher Unwin 1926 is the true first, with a frontispiece (Gilbert A4a). UK T.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK 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
- Publisher imprint reads T. Fisher Unwin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dorothy L. Sayers |
| Publisher | T. Fisher Unwin |
| Year | 1926 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK T. Fisher Unwin 1926 is the true first, with a frontispiece (Gilbert A4a) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK 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.

## Is this the true first?
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).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and the 1935 revised text follow the 1926 first; the earliest text appears only in the Unwin printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Clouds of Witness* by Dorothy L. Sayers a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/clouds-of-witness
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.