# Is "The Pilgrim's Regress" by C.S. Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Pilgrim's Regress by C.S. Lewis (J.M. Dent & Sons, 1933) is identified by: Dent & Sons, London 1933; Lewis's first published prose fiction. The Dent London 1933 edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First UK edition, J. M. Dent & Sons, London 1933
- Lewis's first published prose fiction
- Bound in the publisher's original cinnamon cloth with the spine lettered in a darker brown, with no later-impression statement on the copyright page
- Genuinely scarce in the original unclipped dust jacket, which should retain its printed price on an unaltered example
- Publisher imprint reads J.M. Dent & Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.S. Lewis |
| Publisher | J.M. Dent & Sons |
| Year | 1933 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First UK edition, J. M. Dent & Sons, London 1933 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First UK edition, J. M. Dent & Sons, London 1933; Lewis's first published prose fiction. Bound in the publisher's original cinnamon cloth with the spine lettered in a darker brown, with no later-impression statement on the copyright page. Genuinely scarce in the original unclipped dust jacket, which should retain its printed price on an unaltered example.

## Is this the true first?
The Dent London 1933 edition is the true first. Dent sold the rights to Sheed and Ward, which issued a London second edition and a New York first American edition, both 1935. Scarce in jacket.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The revised 1943 Geoffrey Bles edition, with a new preface and added running headlines, is a distinct text and not a printing of the 1933 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Pilgrim's Regress* by C.S. Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-pilgrims-regress
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.