# Is "That Hideous Strength" by C.S. Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis (John Lane The Bodley Head, 1945) is identified by: First UK edition, London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1945, subtitled 'a modern fairy-tale for grown-ups'; octavo, 476 pages, produced to War Economy Standards on cheap, fragile wartime paper. UK Bodley Head true first (1945); the US Macmillan edition follows in 1946.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First UK edition, London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1945, subtitled 'a modern fairy-tale for grown-ups'; octavo, 476 pages, produced to War Economy Standards on cheap, fragile wartime paper
- Bound in black cloth lettered in gilt on the spine
- The pictorial dust jacket is printed in green, yellow and black and carries the printed net price on the front flap; because later impressions add a 'Second Impression' or 'Third Impression' line along the lower front flap, an unclipped first-printing jacket with no such statement is the surest first-issue point
- Space Trilogy vol
- 3; not reprinted until 1946
- Publisher imprint reads John Lane The Bodley Head
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.S. Lewis |
| Publisher | John Lane The Bodley Head |
| Year | 1945 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First UK edition, London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1945, subtitled 'a modern fairy-tale for grown-ups'; octavo, 476 pages, produced to… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First UK edition, London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1945, subtitled 'a modern fairy-tale for grown-ups'; octavo, 476 pages, produced to War Economy Standards on cheap, fragile wartime paper. Bound in black cloth lettered in gilt on the spine. The pictorial dust jacket is printed in green, yellow and black and carries the printed net price on the front flap; because later impressions add a 'Second Impression' or 'Third Impression' line along the lower front flap, an unclipped first-printing jacket with no such statement is the surest first-issue point. Space Trilogy vol. 3; not reprinted until 1946.

## Is this the true first?
UK Bodley Head true first (1945); the US Macmillan edition follows in 1946. The Tortured Planet is a later abridged text (Lewis's own abridgement, Avon paperback) and is not the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions state 'Second Impression' or 'Third Impression' on the lower front dust-jacket flap; the abridged Tortured Planet text is a separate, later issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *That Hideous Strength* by C.S. Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/that-hideous-strength
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.