# Is "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" by Dorothy L. Sayers a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers (Ernest Benn, 1928) is identified by: UK Ernest Benn 1928 is the true first (the fourth Lord Peter Wimsey novel); US Payson & Clarke, New York, 1928. UK Ernest Benn 1928 is the true first; the US Payson & Clarke edition followed the same year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Ernest Benn 1928 is the true first (the fourth Lord Peter Wimsey novel)
- US Payson & Clarke, New York, 1928
- UK issued in black cloth with dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Ernest Benn
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dorothy L. Sayers |
| Publisher | Ernest Benn |
| Year | 1928 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Ernest Benn 1928 is the true first (the fourth Lord Peter Wimsey novel) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Ernest Benn 1928 is the true first (the fourth Lord Peter Wimsey novel); US Payson & Clarke, New York, 1928. UK issued in black cloth with dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
UK Ernest Benn 1928 is the true first; the US Payson & Clarke edition followed the same year.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions and reprints follow the 1928 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club* by Dorothy L. Sayers a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-unpleasantness-at-the-bellona-club
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.