# Is "The Life of the Right Reverend Ronald Knox" by Evelyn Waugh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Life of the Right Reverend Ronald Knox by Evelyn Waugh (Chapman & Hall, 1959) is identified by: First edition, first printing, Chapman & Hall 1959. Chapman & Hall (London) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, Chapman & Hall 1959
- Full title-page reads The Life of the Right Reverend Ronald Knox, Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford and Pronotary Apostolic to His Holiness Pope Pius XII. A separate small deluxe issue of 29 copies was printed for presentation by the author
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman & Hall
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Evelyn Waugh |
| Publisher | Chapman & Hall |
| Year | 1959 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, Chapman & Hall 1959 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, Chapman & Hall 1959. Full title-page reads The Life of the Right Reverend Ronald Knox, Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford and Pronotary Apostolic to His Holiness Pope Pius XII. A separate small deluxe issue of 29 copies was printed for presentation by the author.

## Is this the true first?
Chapman & Hall (London) is the true first. The US edition from Little, Brown (1959) carries the title Monsignor Ronald Knox.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
US edition retitled Monsignor Ronald Knox; no book-club issue precedes the UK first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Life of the Right Reverend Ronald Knox* by Evelyn Waugh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-life-of-the-right-reverend-ronald-knox
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.