# Is "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (Geoffrey Bles, 1952) is identified by: First UK edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1952, in publisher's red cloth lettered in silver on the spine, 177 pages; it combines and revises the three earlier wartime broadcast books (Broadcast Talks/The Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality) with a new preface, and carries no later-impression statement. The UK Bles 1952 edition (red cloth) is the true first; the US Macmillan 1952 edition, bound in blue cloth lettered in silver, follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First UK edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1952, in publisher's red cloth lettered in silver on the spine, 177 pages; it combines and revises the three earlier wartime broadcast books (Broadcast Talks/The Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality) with a new preface, and carries no later-impression statement
- Two dust-jacket states are recorded: the earlier state has no review quotes and a blank back flap, the later state adds reviews on the front flap that continue onto the back flap; the printed price should be present on the first-state jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Geoffrey Bles
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.S. Lewis |
| Publisher | Geoffrey Bles |
| Year | 1952 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First UK edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1952, in publisher's red cloth lettered in silver on the spine, 177 pages; it combines and revises… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First UK edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1952, in publisher's red cloth lettered in silver on the spine, 177 pages; it combines and revises the three earlier wartime broadcast books (Broadcast Talks/The Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality) with a new preface, and carries no later-impression statement. Two dust-jacket states are recorded: the earlier state has no review quotes and a blank back flap, the later state adds reviews on the front flap that continue onto the back flap; the printed price should be present on the first-state jacket.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Bles 1952 edition (red cloth) is the true first; the US Macmillan 1952 edition, bound in blue cloth lettered in silver, follows. Cloth color is a quick tell: red cloth indicates the UK first, blue cloth the US issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Bles impressions and the wartime constituent volumes are separate; later printings carry impression statements the first lacks.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Mere Christianity* by C.S. Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mere-christianity
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.