# Is "The Documents in the Case" by Dorothy L. Sayers a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers (Ernest Benn, 1930) is identified by: UK Ernest Benn 1930 is the true first, written with Robert Eustace (pen name of Eustace Robert Barton); an epistolary, non-Wimsey mystery. UK Ernest Benn 1930 is the true first; US Brewer & Warren followed the same year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Ernest Benn 1930 is the true first, written with Robert Eustace (pen name of Eustace Robert Barton); an epistolary, non-Wimsey mystery
- US Brewer & Warren, New York, 1930
- Publisher imprint reads Ernest Benn
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dorothy L. Sayers |
| Publisher | Ernest Benn |
| Year | 1930 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Ernest Benn 1930 is the true first, written with Robert Eustace (pen name of Eustace… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Ernest Benn 1930 is the true first, written with Robert Eustace (pen name of Eustace Robert Barton); an epistolary, non-Wimsey mystery. US Brewer & Warren, New York, 1930.

## Is this the true first?
UK Ernest Benn 1930 is the true first; US Brewer & Warren followed the same year.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints follow the 1930 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Documents in the Case* by Dorothy L. Sayers a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-documents-in-the-case
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.