# Is "The Good Soldier Švejk" by Jaroslav Hašek a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek (A. Synek, 1921) is identified by: True first is the Czech 'Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války,' issued in Prague in instalments beginning 1 March 1921 — Part I initially self-published (Hašek with Franta Sauer) then taken over by A. Czech-language true first (Prague, A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Czech 'Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války,' issued in Prague in instalments beginning 1 March 1921 — Part I initially self-published (Hašek with Franta Sauer) then taken over by A. Synek; the four parts appeared 1921–1923 (Part IV completed by Karel Vaněk after Hašek's death)
- The first English was Paul Selver's abridged, bowdlerized translation as 'The Good Soldier Schweik' with Josef Lada's drawings: William Heinemann, London, 1930 — first UK, red cloth lettered gilt, red-and-yellow pictorial wrapper
- The first American followed later in 1930 from Doubleday, Doran, New York (orange cloth stamped brown, 'First Edition' on the copyright page, jacket with the transposed title 'Schweik the Good Soldier')
- The first complete/unabridged English is Cecil Parrott's 'The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the World War' (William Heinemann in association with Penguin, 1973
- US Thomas Y. Crowell, 1973)
- Publisher imprint reads A. Synek
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jaroslav Hašek |
| Publisher | A. Synek |
| Year | 1921 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Czech 'Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války,' issued in Prague in instalments beginning 1 March 1921 — Part I… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the Czech 'Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války,' issued in Prague in instalments beginning 1 March 1921 — Part I initially self-published (Hašek with Franta Sauer) then taken over by A. Synek; the four parts appeared 1921–1923 (Part IV completed by Karel Vaněk after Hašek's death). The first English was Paul Selver's abridged, bowdlerized translation as 'The Good Soldier Schweik' with Josef Lada's drawings: William Heinemann, London, 1930 — first UK, red cloth lettered gilt, red-and-yellow pictorial wrapper. The first American followed later in 1930 from Doubleday, Doran, New York (orange cloth stamped brown, 'First Edition' on the copyright page, jacket with the transposed title 'Schweik the Good Soldier'). The first complete/unabridged English is Cecil Parrott's 'The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the World War' (William Heinemann in association with Penguin, 1973; US Thomas Y. Crowell, 1973).

## Is this the true first?
Czech-language true first (Prague, A. Synek / self-published, 1921–23). In English the London Heinemann 1930 (Selver) is the true first and precedes the New York Doubleday, Doran 1930 first American — confirmed by UK dealers (Jarndyce, Shapero, Ashton) and svejkcentral against a US dealer's looser 'first English language edition' wording. First-thus trap: the 1930 Selver text is heavily abridged; the 1973 Parrott is the first unabridged English, a separate 'first thus,' not the first English appearance.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Selver Heinemann first shows first-impression statements; later Heinemann and Doubleday impressions of the Selver text, and the many Penguin issues of the Parrott translation, are reprints. The US first is distinguished by the 'First Edition' copyright-page statement (Doubleday, Doran practice).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Good Soldier Švejk* by Jaroslav Hašek a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-good-soldier-vejk
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.