# Is "Testament of Youth" by Vera Brittain a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (Victor Gollancz, 1933) is identified by: First edition, Victor Gollancz (London), first impression August 1933. UK Gollancz (London) 1933 is the true first, preceding the first American edition, The Macmillan Company (New York) 1933, which followed within weeks; both are collected.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Victor Gollancz (London), first impression August 1933
- The first-issue binding is publisher's orange cloth and is notably taller; a later issue appears in burgundy/reddish buckram about 1 cm shorter with the spine lettering in a slightly different configuration
- The title ran to at least five further impressions within 1933, so check the copyright page for an impression statement; the priced dust jacket with wrap-around promotional band is seldom present
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Vera Brittain |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Year | 1933 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Victor Gollancz (London), first impression August 1933 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, Victor Gollancz (London), first impression August 1933. The first-issue binding is publisher's orange cloth and is notably taller; a later issue appears in burgundy/reddish buckram about 1 cm shorter with the spine lettering in a slightly different configuration. The title ran to at least five further impressions within 1933, so check the copyright page for an impression statement; the priced dust jacket with wrap-around promotional band is seldom present.

## Is this the true first?
UK Gollancz (London) 1933 is the true first, preceding the first American edition, The Macmillan Company (New York) 1933, which followed within weeks; both are collected. The world first is the Gollancz first-impression in the taller orange-cloth binding.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later 1933 Gollancz impressions (up to at least the fifth) are stated on the copyright page, and the shorter burgundy-buckram binding is a later-issue tell — not the first. Precedence rests on the impression statement plus the taller orange-cloth first-issue binding.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Testament of Youth* by Vera Brittain a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/testament-of-youth
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.