# Is "Inside the Whale and Other Essays" by George Orwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Inside the Whale and Other Essays by George Orwell (Victor Gollancz, 1940) is identified by: First edition, published 11 March 1940 in cloth with dust jacket. UK Gollancz March 1940 is the true first; there was no contemporary US edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, published 11 March 1940 in cloth with dust jacket
- A small print run of roughly 1,000 to 1,100 copies; the book went out of print within the year and some copies were destroyed in wartime bombing, making it scarce
- Orwell's first essay collection
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Orwell |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Year | 1940 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, published 11 March 1940 in cloth with dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, published 11 March 1940 in cloth with dust jacket. A small print run of roughly 1,000 to 1,100 copies; the book went out of print within the year and some copies were destroyed in wartime bombing, making it scarce. Orwell's first essay collection.

## Is this the true first?
UK Gollancz March 1940 is the true first; there was no contemporary US edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue; small original print run.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Inside the Whale and Other Essays* by George Orwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/inside-the-whale-and-other-essays
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.