# Is "In the Teeth of the Evidence" by Dorothy L. Sayers a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy L. Sayers (Victor Gollancz, 1939) is identified by: First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1939; a story collection of Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg stories, the last of Sayers's crime-fiction volumes. The UK Gollancz 1939 edition is the true first; the US Harcourt Brace edition followed in 1940.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1939; a story collection of Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg stories, the last of Sayers's crime-fiction volumes
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dorothy L. Sayers |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1939; a story collection of Lord… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1939; a story collection of Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg stories, the last of Sayers's crime-fiction volumes.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Gollancz 1939 edition is the true first; the US Harcourt Brace edition followed in 1940.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and reprints follow the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In the Teeth of the Evidence* by Dorothy L. Sayers a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-the-teeth-of-the-evidence
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.