# Is "The Man Born to Be King" by Dorothy L. Sayers a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy L. Sayers (Victor Gollancz, 1943) is identified by: First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays on the life of Christ. The Gollancz 1943 edition is the true first printing of the collected play-cycle.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays on the life of Christ
- A non-mystery title but a first appearance of the collected play-cycle in print
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dorothy L. Sayers |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Year | 1943 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays on the life of Christ. A non-mystery title but a first appearance of the collected play-cycle in print.

## Is this the true first?
The Gollancz 1943 edition is the true first printing of the collected play-cycle. The plays were first broadcast by the BBC between December 1941 and October 1942, so the broadcasts preceded the book, but the 1943 volume is the first published edition of the texts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and reprints follow the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Man Born to Be King* by Dorothy L. Sayers a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-man-born-to-be-king
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.