# Is "Not After Midnight, and Other Stories" by Daphne du Maurier a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Not After Midnight, and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier (Victor Gollancz, London, 1971) is identified by: Gollancz used no 'first edition' statement in this period; the first impression is identified by a copyright page reading 'First published 1971 by Victor Gollancz Ltd' with no impression or reprint line beneath it, later printings adding 'Second impression' and similar notes (Quill & Brush publisher guide). The true first is the UK Victor Gollancz edition, London, 1971, titled 'Not After Midnight, and Other Stories'.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Gollancz used no 'first edition' statement in this period; the first impression is identified by a copyright page reading 'First published 1971 by Victor Gollancz Ltd' with no impression or reprint line beneath it, later printings adding 'Second impression' and similar notes (Quill & Brush publisher guide)
- Collated octavo, 285 pp., in the publisher's cloth blocked in gilt on the spine; dealer catalogues describe the cloth as red
- The pictorial dust wrapper carries a jacket painting by Flavia Tower, the author's daughter, with an author photograph on the rear panel; a first-issue jacket is unclipped, a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap
- Advance proof copies in printed wrappers are also recorded in the trade
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Daphne du Maurier |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz, London |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Gollancz used no 'first edition' statement in this period; the first impression is identified by a copyright page reading 'First published… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Gollancz used no 'first edition' statement in this period; the first impression is identified by a copyright page reading 'First published 1971 by Victor Gollancz Ltd' with no impression or reprint line beneath it, later printings adding 'Second impression' and similar notes (Quill & Brush publisher guide). Collated octavo, 285 pp., in the publisher's cloth blocked in gilt on the spine; dealer catalogues describe the cloth as red. The pictorial dust wrapper carries a jacket painting by Flavia Tower, the author's daughter, with an author photograph on the rear panel; a first-issue jacket is unclipped, a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap. Advance proof copies in printed wrappers are also recorded in the trade.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the UK Victor Gollancz edition, London, 1971, titled 'Not After Midnight, and Other Stories'. The US edition (Doubleday, Garden City, 1971) was retitled 'Don't Look Now' after the collection's best-known story and, per L.W. Currey's cataloguing, appeared later the same year — it is a first American edition, not a simultaneous issue, so the census note calling the two simultaneous is not supported and is corrected here. Both are collected: the Gollancz for precedence, the Doubleday as the first appearance under the title by which the work is now generally known.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The US 'Don't Look Now' was distributed through the Doubleday/Book-of-the-Month club channels and club copies are common. Standard Doubleday book-club tells apply: a blind stamp (small impressed square, circle or dot) at the lower rear board near the spine, no price at the jacket flap, lighter bulk and cheaper boards than the trade issue, and often a club code printed on the rear jacket panel. Gollancz copies carrying an added impression line beneath the 'First published 1971' statement are later printings, not firsts.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Not After Midnight, and Other Stories* by Daphne du Maurier a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/not-after-midnight-and-other-stories
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.