# Is "Three Men and a Maid" by P.G. Wodehouse a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Three Men and a Maid by P.G. Wodehouse (George H. Doran, 1922) is identified by: The US edition under the title Three Men and a Maid was published by George H. The US Doran printing is the true first edition; the UK Jenkins printing, retitled The Girl on the Boat, is a few weeks later.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The US edition under the title Three Men and a Maid was published by George H. Doran on 26 April 1922; the UK edition under the title The Girl on the Boat followed from Herbert Jenkins on 15 June 1922
- The US Doran issue therefore precedes the UK Jenkins issue by roughly seven weeks
- Publisher imprint reads George H. Doran
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | P.G. Wodehouse |
| Publisher | George H. Doran |
| Year | 1922 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The US edition under the title Three Men and a Maid was published by George H. Doran on 26 April 1922; the UK edition under the title The… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The US edition under the title Three Men and a Maid was published by George H. Doran on 26 April 1922; the UK edition under the title The Girl on the Boat followed from Herbert Jenkins on 15 June 1922. The US Doran issue therefore precedes the UK Jenkins issue by roughly seven weeks.

## Is this the true first?
The US Doran printing is the true first edition; the UK Jenkins printing, retitled The Girl on the Boat, is a few weeks later. This reverses the usual Wodehouse pattern where the Jenkins UK issue comes first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
US and UK first editions carry different titles. The originally supplied note was ambiguous about precedence; verification confirms the US Doran issue leads.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Three Men and a Maid* by P.G. Wodehouse a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/three-men-and-a-maid
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.