# Is "To the Devil—a Daughter" by Dennis Wheatley a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of To the Devil—a Daughter by Dennis Wheatley (Hutchinson & Co., 1953) is identified by: The copyright page must read 'First Published 1953' with no further impression line beneath it — this is the point dealers call for as indicating a true first printing. Census claim CONFIRMED.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The copyright page must read 'First Published 1953' with no further impression line beneath it — this is the point dealers call for as indicating a true first printing
- Octavo (about 19 cm); pp. [8], 9-383, [1]. Bound in original black cloth/boards with the titles stamped in gilt to the spine
- Illustrated map endpapers, present at both the paste-downs and the free endpapers
- The dust jacket was designed by Frank C. Papé, the English artist and book illustrator, and is one of the better-known macabre jacket designs of the period; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the flap, and dealers note the spine of a fresh example is unfaded
- Publisher imprint reads Hutchinson & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dennis Wheatley |
| Publisher | Hutchinson & Co. |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The copyright page must read 'First Published 1953' with no further impression line beneath it — this is the point dealers call for as… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The copyright page must read 'First Published 1953' with no further impression line beneath it — this is the point dealers call for as indicating a true first printing. Octavo (about 19 cm); pp. [8], 9-383, [1]. Bound in original black cloth/boards with the titles stamped in gilt to the spine. Illustrated map endpapers, present at both the paste-downs and the free endpapers. The dust jacket was designed by Frank C. Papé, the English artist and book illustrator, and is one of the better-known macabre jacket designs of the period; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the flap, and dealers note the spine of a fresh example is unfaded.

## Is this the true first?
Census claim CONFIRMED. Hutchinson & Co. (London, 1953) is the true first. No contemporaneous American hardcover of this title is recorded in the dealer and bibliographic listings consulted; American appearances are later paperback reprints, so no UK/US precedence contest exists and only the Hutchinson issue is collected as the first edition. English is the original language.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The reliable reprint tell is the copyright page: later Hutchinson impressions add an impression statement beneath 'First Published 1953', and a copy carrying any additional impression line is not the first. A 1954 Hutchinson reprint and a 1971 Hutchinson second impression are both recorded. No specific contemporary book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted; book-club copies in the trade are catalogued as such by their own club imprints rather than by a distinct textual point.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *To the Devil—a Daughter* by Dennis Wheatley a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/to-the-devil-a-daughter
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.