# Is "The Fashion in Shrouds" by Margery Allingham a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham (William Heinemann, 1938) is identified by: True first is the Heinemann issue, London and Toronto, 1938: original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device blind-stamped to the rear board, grey-green endpapers. UK precedes.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Heinemann issue, London and Toronto, 1938: original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device blind-stamped to the rear board, grey-green endpapers
- It collates 3 preliminary leaves plus 437 pages, 21 cm (Library of Congress, LCCN 38022497)
- Heinemann first impressions of this period carry only the 'First published 1938' line on the title verso; any 'New impression' or dated reprint line added beneath it rules the copy out
- The jacket is by Youngman Carter (Allingham's husband) and should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap
- The first American edition (Doubleday, Doran, New York, 1938, LCCN 38027954) is a separate 310-page setting and states 'First Edition' on the copyright page — the 437-page vs 310-page collation is the fastest way to tell the two 1938 issues apart
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Margery Allingham |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1938 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Heinemann issue, London and Toronto, 1938: original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device blind-stamped… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is the Heinemann issue, London and Toronto, 1938: original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device blind-stamped to the rear board, grey-green endpapers. It collates 3 preliminary leaves plus 437 pages, 21 cm (Library of Congress, LCCN 38022497). Heinemann first impressions of this period carry only the 'First published 1938' line on the title verso; any 'New impression' or dated reprint line added beneath it rules the copy out. The jacket is by Youngman Carter (Allingham's husband) and should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap. The first American edition (Doubleday, Doran, New York, 1938, LCCN 38027954) is a separate 310-page setting and states 'First Edition' on the copyright page — the 437-page vs 310-page collation is the fastest way to tell the two 1938 issues apart.

## Is this the true first?
UK precedes. Heinemann, London published in June or July 1938 (Margery Allingham Society); the Doubleday, Doran first American edition followed the same year and was registered later at the Library of Congress (38022497 before 38027954). Both are collected — the Heinemann as the true first, the Doubleday, Doran as the first American — and ABAA/ILAB dealers consistently describe the Doubleday as 'first U.S. edition' rather than the first. No title change between markets. Census claim confirmed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Sun Dial Press, Doubleday's cheap-reprint imprint, issued a New York reprint in 1939 from the same 310-page setting as the Doubleday, Doran first American edition (Library of Congress, LCCN 39032049); a Sun Dial imprint on spine or title page is always a reprint. On the US side, a Doubleday, Doran copyright page lacking the 'First Edition' line is a later printing. No book-club printing of the Heinemann issue is documented in the sources consulted.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Fashion in Shrouds* by Margery Allingham a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-fashion-in-shrouds
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.