# Is "Robbery Under Law" by Evelyn Waugh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Robbery Under Law by Evelyn Waugh (Chapman & Hall, 1939) is identified by: First printing in original blue-grey canvas cloth, black spine titling; full UK title and subtitle 'Robbery Under Law: The Mexican Object-Lesson'. London Chapman & Hall is the true first (published June 1939).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing in original blue-grey canvas cloth, black spine titling; full UK title and subtitle 'Robbery Under Law: The Mexican Object-Lesson'
- Travel/politics on the Cardenas-era nationalization and persecution of Catholics in Mexico
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman & Hall
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Evelyn Waugh |
| Publisher | Chapman & Hall |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing in original blue-grey canvas cloth, black spine titling; full UK title and subtitle 'Robbery Under Law: The Mexican… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing in original blue-grey canvas cloth, black spine titling; full UK title and subtitle 'Robbery Under Law: The Mexican Object-Lesson'. Travel/politics on the Cardenas-era nationalization and persecution of Catholics in Mexico.

## Is this the true first?
London Chapman & Hall is the true first (published June 1939). The first American edition followed from Little, Brown (Boston, 1939) under the changed title 'Mexico: An Object Lesson'.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
US edition retitled 'Mexico: An Object Lesson' (Little, Brown). A Catholic Book Club reprint appeared in 1940.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Robbery Under Law* by Evelyn Waugh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/robbery-under-law
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.