# Is "When the Going Was Good" by Evelyn Waugh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of When the Going Was Good by Evelyn Waugh (Duckworth, 1946) is identified by: First printing in yellow cloth, with colour frontispiece portrait of Waugh (after Henry Lamb) and a fold-out map; first-thus collection drawn from the 1930s travel books Labels, Remote People, Ninety-Two Days and Waugh in Abyssinia. London Duckworth is the true first (1946).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing in yellow cloth, with colour frontispiece portrait of Waugh (after Henry Lamb) and a fold-out map; first-thus collection drawn from the 1930s travel books Labels, Remote People, Ninety-Two Days and Waugh in Abyssinia
- A separate large-paper deluxe issue of 20 copies on hand-made paper also exists
- Publisher imprint reads Duckworth
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Evelyn Waugh |
| Publisher | Duckworth |
| Year | 1946 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing in yellow cloth, with colour frontispiece portrait of Waugh (after Henry Lamb) and a fold-out map; first-thus collection… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing in yellow cloth, with colour frontispiece portrait of Waugh (after Henry Lamb) and a fold-out map; first-thus collection drawn from the 1930s travel books Labels, Remote People, Ninety-Two Days and Waugh in Abyssinia. A separate large-paper deluxe issue of 20 copies on hand-made paper also exists.

## Is this the true first?
London Duckworth is the true first (1946). US Little, Brown followed in 1947.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Compilation; no book-club issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *When the Going Was Good* by Evelyn Waugh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/when-the-going-was-good
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.