# Is "The Confidential Agent" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Confidential Agent by Graham Greene (William Heinemann, 1939) is identified by: First edition, first printing, William Heinemann, London, 1939. UK Heinemann is the true first; the first US edition (Viking Press, New York) also appeared in 1939, following the London issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, William Heinemann, London, 1939
- One of Greene's 'entertainments,' an espionage novel set against the Spanish Civil War
- Bound in blue cloth with the spine lettered in red
- The first-issue dust jacket is notably scarce and, when present, retains the printed price; jackets are prone to staining and fraying at the spine ends
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, William Heinemann, London, 1939 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, William Heinemann, London, 1939. One of Greene's 'entertainments,' an espionage novel set against the Spanish Civil War. Bound in blue cloth with the spine lettered in red. The first-issue dust jacket is notably scarce and, when present, retains the printed price; jackets are prone to staining and fraying at the spine ends.

## Is this the true first?
UK Heinemann is the true first; the first US edition (Viking Press, New York) also appeared in 1939, following the London issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club and Uniform/Collected/Library Edition reprintings appeared later and are set from the same text but are not the 1939 Heinemann first; the Library Edition carries Peter Edwards jackets and a distinct copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Confidential Agent* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-confidential-agent
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.