# Is "French Leave" by P.G. Wodehouse a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of French Leave by P.G. Wodehouse (Herbert Jenkins, 1956) is identified by: First edition, first impression. UK Herbert Jenkins is the true first (20 January 1956), reference McIlvaine A78a.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression
- The true first is the UK Herbert Jenkins issue, published 20 January 1956 (McIlvaine A78a): an octavo (roughly 19 by 13 cm) of 206 pages in publisher's red cloth lettered in black on the spine, issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by 'Sax' and bearing the printed UK price to the flap (present on an unclipped copy)
- It precedes the US Simon & Schuster edition (28 September 1959) by more than three years
- Publisher imprint reads Herbert Jenkins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | P.G. Wodehouse |
| Publisher | Herbert Jenkins |
| Year | 1956 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression. The true first is the UK Herbert Jenkins issue, published 20 January 1956 (McIlvaine A78a): an octavo (roughly 19 by 13 cm) of 206 pages in publisher's red cloth lettered in black on the spine, issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by 'Sax' and bearing the printed UK price to the flap (present on an unclipped copy). It precedes the US Simon & Schuster edition (28 September 1959) by more than three years.

## Is this the true first?
UK Herbert Jenkins is the true first (20 January 1956), reference McIlvaine A78a. The US Simon & Schuster edition followed on 28 September 1959, with light textual changes; the novel was adapted from Guy Bolton's 1938 stage play Three Blind Mice.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue noted for the UK true first; the later US Simon & Schuster text was lightly revised. Confirm the first by the red cloth binding, the 'Sax' jacket, and the McIlvaine A78a points.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *French Leave* by P.G. Wodehouse a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/french-leave
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.