# Is "The World in the Evening" by Christopher Isherwood a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The World in the Evening by Christopher Isherwood (Methuen, 1954) is identified by: First British edition published by Methuen, London, 1954, bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine; the first American edition was published by Random House, New York, the same year in cloth boards. The UK first edition is Methuen, not The Bodley Head, which did not publish this title.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First British edition published by Methuen, London, 1954, bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine; the first American edition was published by Random House, New York, the same year in cloth boards
- Both are dated 1954 and appear under a shared dust-jacket design; each should retain the printed price on its respective jacket flap
- Publisher imprint reads Methuen
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Christopher Isherwood |
| Publisher | Methuen |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First British edition published by Methuen, London, 1954, bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine; the first American edition… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First British edition published by Methuen, London, 1954, bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine; the first American edition was published by Random House, New York, the same year in cloth boards. Both are dated 1954 and appear under a shared dust-jacket design; each should retain the printed price on its respective jacket flap.

## Is this the true first?
The UK first edition is Methuen, not The Bodley Head, which did not publish this title. Methuen and Random House both issued the book in 1954; bibliographic precedence between the British and American editions is not firmly established, as no source gives a month for either, and the American Random House edition was in circulation by mid-1954.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue noted for the 1954 first printings; verify a copy carries no later-printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The World in the Evening* by Christopher Isherwood a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-world-in-the-evening
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.