# Is "Journey to a War" by Christopher Isherwood a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Journey to a War by Christopher Isherwood (Faber & Faber, 1939) is identified by: First edition, first printing, 1939, in publisher's cloth with the spine lettered yellow and red, in the illustrated dust jacket priced the printed price. UK Faber & Faber is the true first; the US Random House edition followed in 1939.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, 1939, in publisher's cloth with the spine lettered yellow and red, in the illustrated dust jacket priced the printed price
- China reportage written with W. H. Auden, illustrated with photographic plates and a folding map at the rear
- Bloomfield A20a
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Christopher Isherwood |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, 1939, in publisher's cloth with the spine lettered yellow and red, in the illustrated dust jacket priced the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, 1939, in publisher's cloth with the spine lettered yellow and red, in the illustrated dust jacket priced the printed price. China reportage written with W. H. Auden, illustrated with photographic plates and a folding map at the rear. Bloomfield A20a.

## Is this the true first?
UK Faber & Faber is the true first; the US Random House edition followed in 1939. The work is a collaboration with W. H. Auden, catalogued here under Isherwood.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Journey to a War* by Christopher Isherwood a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/journey-to-a-war
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.