# Is "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (William Heinemann, 1940) is identified by: First published by William Heinemann, London, 7 August 1940, in an initial run of about 7,500 copies, octavo, bound in yellow cloth with the spine lettered in red. Heinemann London, 7 August 1940, is the true first under this title.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by William Heinemann, London, 7 August 1940, in an initial run of about 7,500 copies, octavo, bound in yellow cloth with the spine lettered in red
- Wartime production; much of Heinemann's stock was destroyed when the publisher's warehouse was bombed during the Blitz in 1940, making surviving first editions in the jacket scarce
- The first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed price; a later-priced jacket noting a large reprinting belongs to a subsequent printing
- The UK first precedes the US edition, which was retitled 'The Labyrinthine Ways' (Viking, 1940)
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1940 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by William Heinemann, London, 7 August 1940, in an initial run of about 7,500 copies, octavo, bound in yellow cloth with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published by William Heinemann, London, 7 August 1940, in an initial run of about 7,500 copies, octavo, bound in yellow cloth with the spine lettered in red. Wartime production; much of Heinemann's stock was destroyed when the publisher's warehouse was bombed during the Blitz in 1940, making surviving first editions in the jacket scarce. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed price; a later-priced jacket noting a large reprinting belongs to a subsequent printing. The UK first precedes the US edition, which was retitled 'The Labyrinthine Ways' (Viking, 1940).

## Is this the true first?
Heinemann London, 7 August 1940, is the true first under this title. The first US edition appeared as 'The Labyrinthine Ways' (Viking 1940) — a different title for the same book, collectible in its own right.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
US 'Labyrinthine Ways' is a distinct title-state, not a reprint. Later Heinemann impressions carry a printing statement and a higher-priced jacket noting the reprinting; the Library/Collected Edition is separately dated and marked.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Power and the Glory* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-power-and-the-glory
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.