# Is "The Ascent of F6" by Christopher Isherwood a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Ascent of F6 by Christopher Isherwood (Faber & Faber, 1936) is identified by: First edition, first impression, published by Faber and Faber, London, 1936. The Faber and Faber London edition of 1936 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression, published by Faber and Faber, London, 1936
- Full title: The Ascent of F6: A Tragedy in Two Acts
- A play and the second Auden-Isherwood collaboration; the title page credits both W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, with Auden named first
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Christopher Isherwood |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1936 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression, published by Faber and Faber, London, 1936 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression, published by Faber and Faber, London, 1936. Full title: The Ascent of F6: A Tragedy in Two Acts. A play and the second Auden-Isherwood collaboration; the title page credits both W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, with Auden named first.

## Is this the true first?
The Faber and Faber London edition of 1936 is the true first. The play exists in three slightly different published versions: the first English edition (1936), a revised first US edition (Random House, 1937, in 1,500 copies, with a considerably revised text), and a second English edition (1937). The 1936 Faber printing is the textual and bibliographic first. This is a joint work by W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, not by Isherwood alone.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Ascent of F6* by Christopher Isherwood a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-ascent-of-f6
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.