# Is "Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories" by C.S. Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories by C.S. Lewis (Geoffrey Bles, 1966) is identified by: Edited with a preface by Walter Hooper. UK Geoffrey Bles is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition followed in 1967.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Edited with a preface by Walter Hooper
- First edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1966 (posthumous), octavo, xi + 148 pages
- Bound in publisher's brown cloth with gilt titling to the spine and the top edge stained red
- The first-issue dust jacket is typographic, designed by Michael Harvey, and carries the printed price on the front flap (present, unclipped price preferred; never state the amount)
- Collects essays including 'On Science Fiction' and 'Unreal Estates' (the 1962 recorded conversation with Kingsley Amis and Brian Aldiss), three science-fiction stories, and 'After Ten Years,' the fragment of an unfinished novel
- Publisher imprint reads Geoffrey Bles
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.S. Lewis |
| Publisher | Geoffrey Bles |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Edited with a preface by Walter Hooper |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Edited with a preface by Walter Hooper. First edition, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1966 (posthumous), octavo, xi + 148 pages. Bound in publisher's brown cloth with gilt titling to the spine and the top edge stained red. The first-issue dust jacket is typographic, designed by Michael Harvey, and carries the printed price on the front flap (present, unclipped price preferred; never state the amount). Collects essays including 'On Science Fiction' and 'Unreal Estates' (the 1962 recorded conversation with Kingsley Amis and Brian Aldiss), three science-fiction stories, and 'After Ten Years,' the fragment of an unfinished novel.

## Is this the true first?
UK Geoffrey Bles is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition followed in 1967.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and the 1967 US Harcourt, Brace & World edition differ from the 1966 Bles brown-cloth first (red top edge, Michael Harvey typographic jacket).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories* by C.S. Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/of-other-worlds-essays-and-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.