# Is "Journey Without Maps" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Journey Without Maps by Graham Greene (William Heinemann, 1936) is identified by: First edition, first impression, May 1936. UK Heinemann is the true first (May 1936); the US Doubleday Doran edition followed in 1936.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression, May 1936
- A Freetown doctor, P.D. Oakley, sued over the character Pa Oakley
- Heinemann withdrew the book and pulped remaining stock, making the first issue scarce
- Travel account of Greene's walk through Liberia
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1936 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression, May 1936 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression, May 1936. A Freetown doctor, P.D. Oakley, sued over the character Pa Oakley; Heinemann withdrew the book and pulped remaining stock, making the first issue scarce. Travel account of Greene's walk through Liberia.

## Is this the true first?
UK Heinemann is the true first (May 1936); the US Doubleday Doran edition followed in 1936.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The withdrawn first issue is the key state. The book was not reprinted in the UK until after Greene secured the rights around 1946; it was not simply reissued in 1936.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Journey Without Maps* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/journey-without-maps
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.