# Is "The Dog Beneath the Skin" by Christopher Isherwood a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Dog Beneath the Skin by Christopher Isherwood (Faber & Faber, 1935) is identified by: First edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, May 1935. The Faber and Faber London edition of May 1935 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, May 1935
- Full title: The Dog Beneath the Skin, or Where is Francis? A Play in Three Acts
- A verse play and the first 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 | 1935 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, May 1935 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, May 1935. Full title: The Dog Beneath the Skin, or Where is Francis? A Play in Three Acts. A verse play and the first 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 May 1935 is the true first. The first US edition (Random House, New York, October 1935) followed the same year in grey boards stamped in blue and orange. 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 Dog Beneath the Skin* by Christopher Isherwood a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-dog-beneath-the-skin
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.