# Is "The World's Last Night and Other Essays" by C.S. Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The World's Last Night and Other Essays by C.S. Lewis (Harcourt Brace, 1960) is identified by: Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, first American edition, February 1960; 113 pages, with "first edition" stated on the copyright page. US Harcourt Brace 1960 is the true first for this gathering; no earlier UK edition of this collection precedes it.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, first American edition, February 1960
- 113 pages, with "first edition" stated on the copyright page
- Bound in teal cloth, the spine lettered in gilt with a gilt device to the upper board and yellow endpapers, in a dust jacket designed by Jeanyee Wong (red title over black author name over a black, white and red flourish with a central cross, on a teal ground) bearing its printed price
- The gathering assembles essays for the US market, including "Screwtape Proposes a Toast."
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.S. Lewis |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace |
| Year | 1960 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, first American edition, February 1960 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, first American edition, February 1960; 113 pages, with "first edition" stated on the copyright page. Bound in teal cloth, the spine lettered in gilt with a gilt device to the upper board and yellow endpapers, in a dust jacket designed by Jeanyee Wong (red title over black author name over a black, white and red flourish with a central cross, on a teal ground) bearing its printed price. The gathering assembles essays for the US market, including "Screwtape Proposes a Toast."

## Is this the true first?
US Harcourt Brace 1960 is the true first for this gathering; no earlier UK edition of this collection precedes it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Individual essays appear elsewhere, but this February 1960 gathering is their first collected appearance in this form. Later printings drop the "first edition" statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The World's Last Night and Other Essays* by C.S. Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-worlds-last-night-and-other-essays
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.