# Is "The Living Room" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Living Room by Graham Greene (William Heinemann, 1953) is identified by: First printing of Greene's first play (subtitle: A Play in Two Acts), issued in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine. Heinemann, London, 1953 is the true first edition; the US Viking edition followed in 1954.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing of Greene's first play (subtitle: A Play in Two Acts), issued in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine
- The first-issue photographic dust jacket carries a portrait photograph of Dorothy Tutin and Eric Portman taken by Angus McBean on the upper panel, and the printed price should be present on the jacket
- Octavo, with the text running to sixty-seven pages
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing of Greene's first play (subtitle: A Play in Two Acts), issued in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing of Greene's first play (subtitle: A Play in Two Acts), issued in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine. The first-issue photographic dust jacket carries a portrait photograph of Dorothy Tutin and Eric Portman taken by Angus McBean on the upper panel, and the printed price should be present on the jacket. Octavo, with the text running to sixty-seven pages.

## Is this the true first?
Heinemann, London, 1953 is the true first edition; the US Viking edition followed in 1954.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue noted for the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Living Room* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-living-room
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.