# Is "Heaven and Hell" by Aldous Huxley a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley (Chatto & Windus, 1956) is identified by: First edition, 1956, of the sequel essay to The Doors of Perception. Both the London (Chatto & Windus) and New York (Harper & Brothers) editions appeared in 1956 and a firm priority of one over the other is not established by the standard bibliographies; the UK edition cannot be asserted as the unambiguous true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, 1956, of the sequel essay to The Doors of Perception
- The London Chatto & Windus issue is in publisher's red cloth stamped in gilt on the spine, in a blue dust jacket bearing two overlapping circles on the front panel lettered in red and white, the jacket designed by John Woodcock
- The New York Harper & Brothers issue is in two-tone blue cloth with orange spine lettering under a pictorial jacket
- First-state jackets should retain the printed price and be unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Aldous Huxley |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1956 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, 1956, of the sequel essay to The Doors of Perception |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, 1956, of the sequel essay to The Doors of Perception. The London Chatto & Windus issue is in publisher's red cloth stamped in gilt on the spine, in a blue dust jacket bearing two overlapping circles on the front panel lettered in red and white, the jacket designed by John Woodcock. The New York Harper & Brothers issue is in two-tone blue cloth with orange spine lettering under a pictorial jacket. First-state jackets should retain the printed price and be unclipped.

## Is this the true first?
Both the London (Chatto & Windus) and New York (Harper & Brothers) editions appeared in 1956 and a firm priority of one over the other is not established by the standard bibliographies; the UK edition cannot be asserted as the unambiguous true first.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Heaven and Hell* by Aldous Huxley a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/heaven-and-hell
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.