# Is "Strong Poison" by Dorothy L. Sayers a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers (Victor Gollancz, 1930) is identified by: UK Victor Gollancz first edition, 1930, published 23 October 1930 in octavo (288 pages), bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in red to the spine; the first Sayers title issued by Gollancz and her first for that house after Ernest Benn. UK Gollancz first edition (1930) is the true first; the US Brewer & Warren edition followed the same year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Victor Gollancz first edition, 1930, published 23 October 1930 in octavo (288 pages), bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in red to the spine; the first Sayers title issued by Gollancz and her first for that house after Ernest Benn
- It introduces Harriet Vane, on trial for the arsenic poisoning of her lover, and is the fifth Lord Peter Wimsey novel (the first of the four Wimsey–Vane books)
- The unclipped dust jacket should retain its original printed price
- US first from Brewer & Warren, New York, 1930, in red cloth with black stamping
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dorothy L. Sayers |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Year | 1930 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Victor Gollancz first edition, 1930, published 23 October 1930 in octavo (288 pages), bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in red… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Victor Gollancz first edition, 1930, published 23 October 1930 in octavo (288 pages), bound in publisher's black cloth lettered in red to the spine; the first Sayers title issued by Gollancz and her first for that house after Ernest Benn. It introduces Harriet Vane, on trial for the arsenic poisoning of her lover, and is the fifth Lord Peter Wimsey novel (the first of the four Wimsey–Vane books). The unclipped dust jacket should retain its original printed price. US first from Brewer & Warren, New York, 1930, in red cloth with black stamping.

## Is this the true first?
UK Gollancz first edition (1930) is the true first; the US Brewer & Warren edition followed the same year.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints follow the 1930 Gollancz first; Gollancz reissues and cheap editions of the 1930s and later lack the first-impression jacket and price and are not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Strong Poison* by Dorothy L. Sayers a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/strong-poison
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.