# Is "Mortal Coils" by Aldous Huxley a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Mortal Coils by Aldous Huxley (Chatto & Windus, 1922) is identified by: Collection of five pieces: 'The Gioconda Smile', 'Permutations Among the Nightingales' (cast in the form of a play), 'The Tillotson Banquet', 'Green Tunnels', and 'Nuns at Luncheon'. The UK Chatto & Windus 1922 issue in blue cloth with the paper spine label is the true first; the US George H.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Collection of five pieces: 'The Gioconda Smile', 'Permutations Among the Nightingales' (cast in the form of a play), 'The Tillotson Banquet', 'Green Tunnels', and 'Nuns at Luncheon'
- Published by Chatto & Windus, London, 1922, in octavo (about 229 pages, 20 cm)
- The first edition is bound in light blue full cloth with a white paper spine label lettered in black, the top edge stained blue, and top and fore-edges left partly deckled
- The UK Chatto & Windus printing precedes the US George H. Doran edition of the same year
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Aldous Huxley |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1922 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Collection of five pieces: 'The Gioconda Smile', 'Permutations Among the Nightingales' (cast in the form of a play), 'The Tillotson… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Collection of five pieces: 'The Gioconda Smile', 'Permutations Among the Nightingales' (cast in the form of a play), 'The Tillotson Banquet', 'Green Tunnels', and 'Nuns at Luncheon'. Published by Chatto & Windus, London, 1922, in octavo (about 229 pages, 20 cm). The first edition is bound in light blue full cloth with a white paper spine label lettered in black, the top edge stained blue, and top and fore-edges left partly deckled. The UK Chatto & Windus printing precedes the US George H. Doran edition of the same year.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Chatto & Windus 1922 issue in blue cloth with the paper spine label is the true first; the US George H. Doran 1922 edition, sharing the same contents, follows.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Mortal Coils* by Aldous Huxley a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mortal-coils
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.