# Is "If I Were You" by P.G. Wodehouse a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of If I Were You by P.G. Wodehouse (Doubleday, Doran, 1931) is identified by: First printing of this novel. US Doubleday, Doran is the true first (3 September 1931), catalogued as McIlvaine A44a; the UK Herbert Jenkins edition followed three weeks later (25 September 1931).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing of this novel
- The US Doubleday, Doran edition (New York, 3 September 1931) precedes the UK Herbert Jenkins edition (25 September 1931)
- The US first is bound in orange cloth lettered in dark red on the spine and upper board, and issued in a pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Henrietta Starrett carrying the printed flap price
- It is recorded in the standard Wodehouse bibliography by McIlvaine as A44a
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday, Doran
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | P.G. Wodehouse |
| Publisher | Doubleday, Doran |
| Year | 1931 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing of this novel |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing of this novel. The US Doubleday, Doran edition (New York, 3 September 1931) precedes the UK Herbert Jenkins edition (25 September 1931). The US first is bound in orange cloth lettered in dark red on the spine and upper board, and issued in a pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Henrietta Starrett carrying the printed flap price. It is recorded in the standard Wodehouse bibliography by McIlvaine as A44a.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday, Doran is the true first (3 September 1931), catalogued as McIlvaine A44a; the UK Herbert Jenkins edition followed three weeks later (25 September 1931).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue. The two 1931 trade issues are distinguished by imprint and by their differing dust-jacket art (Henrietta Starrett on the US Doubleday, Doran jacket).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *If I Were You* by P.G. Wodehouse a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/if-i-were-you
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.