# Is "Orpheus Descending, with Battle of Angels" by Tennessee Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Orpheus Descending, with Battle of Angels by Tennessee Williams (New Directions, 1958) is identified by: First edition, New Directions, 1958. US New Directions is the true first; the UK Secker & Warburg edition followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, New Directions, 1958
- Ninety-six pages, bound in publisher's blue cloth stamped in black on the spine, issued in the pictorial dust jacket with the printed price present on the front flap (unclipped copies retain it)
- The volume pairs the rewrite, Orpheus Descending, with the original 1940 play, Battle of Angels
- Recorded as Crandell A19.1.a in the Williams descriptive bibliography
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tennessee Williams |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1958 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, New Directions, 1958 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, New Directions, 1958. Ninety-six pages, bound in publisher's blue cloth stamped in black on the spine, issued in the pictorial dust jacket with the printed price present on the front flap (unclipped copies retain it). The volume pairs the rewrite, Orpheus Descending, with the original 1940 play, Battle of Angels. Recorded as Crandell A19.1.a in the Williams descriptive bibliography.

## Is this the true first?
US New Directions is the true first; the UK Secker & Warburg edition followed.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Orpheus Descending, with Battle of Angels* by Tennessee Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/orpheus-descending-with-battle-of-angels
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.