# Is "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (Geoffrey Bles, 1942) is identified by: First edition, Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, February 1942. The UK Bles edition is the true first; the US Macmillan edition followed in 1943.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, February 1942
- The first impression copyright page reads 'First published February 1942' with NO subsequent reprint dates; the title sold rapidly and reprints (March, April, May, June, August 1942) were issued the same year, so any copy listing later dates is a later impression
- Original cloth in dust jacket
- The text grew out of the 1941 Guardian serialization
- Publisher imprint reads Geoffrey Bles
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.S. Lewis |
| Publisher | Geoffrey Bles |
| Year | 1942 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, February 1942 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, February 1942. The first impression copyright page reads 'First published February 1942' with NO subsequent reprint dates; the title sold rapidly and reprints (March, April, May, June, August 1942) were issued the same year, so any copy listing later dates is a later impression. Original cloth in dust jacket. The text grew out of the 1941 Guardian serialization.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Bles edition is the true first; the US Macmillan edition followed in 1943. The 1961 'The Screwtape Letters and Screwtape Proposes a Toast' adds new material and is a first thus, not the first edition of the original work.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Because reprints followed within months, examine the copyright page closely: only the standalone 'First published February 1942' line indicates the first impression. Macmillan and book-club copies are not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Screwtape Letters* by C.S. Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-screwtape-letters
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.