# Is "May We Borrow Your Husband? and Other Comedies of the Sexual Life" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of May We Borrow Your Husband? and Other Comedies of the Sexual Life by Graham Greene (The Bodley Head, 1967) is identified by: First edition, first impression, The Bodley Head, London, 1967, dated 1967 on the title page with no later impression line. UK Bodley Head is the true first; the US Viking edition, styled the First American Edition, followed in 1967.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression, The Bodley Head, London, 1967, dated 1967 on the title page with no later impression line
- A collection of twelve stories, 188 pages, in green cloth boards with gilt spine lettering, issued in the dust jacket designed by Stephen Russ (which should retain its printed price on the flap)
- Publisher imprint reads The Bodley Head
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression, The Bodley Head, London, 1967, dated 1967 on the title page with no later impression line |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression, The Bodley Head, London, 1967, dated 1967 on the title page with no later impression line. A collection of twelve stories, 188 pages, in green cloth boards with gilt spine lettering, issued in the dust jacket designed by Stephen Russ (which should retain its printed price on the flap).

## Is this the true first?
UK Bodley Head is the true first; the US Viking edition, styled the First American Edition, followed in 1967. Alongside the trade first, Bodley Head issued a signed limited edition of 500 numbered copies, quarter-bound in green cloth over patterned paper boards with gilt lettering.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue noted for the first edition. Distinguish the London Bodley Head trade first from the 1967 New York Viking First American Edition and from the signed limited edition of 500.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *May We Borrow Your Husband? and Other Comedies of the Sexual Life* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/may-we-borrow-your-husband-and-other-comedies-of-the-sexual
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.