# Is "The Man Born to Be King" by Dorothy L. Sayers a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy L. Sayers (Victor Gollancz, 1943) is identified by: First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, September 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays on the life of Christ, subtitled "A Play-Cycle on the Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Approximately 343 pages, octavo (about 20 cm), in gilt-lettered cloth, issued in a printed dust jacket that should retain its price. The Gollancz 1943 edition is the true first printing of the collected play-cycle.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, September 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays on the life of Christ, subtitled "A Play-Cycle on the Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Approximately 343 pages, octavo (about 20 cm), in gilt-lettered cloth, issued in a printed dust jacket that should retain its price
- A wartime production, so paper and binding follow Book Production War Economy standards
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dorothy L. Sayers |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Year | 1943 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, September 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays on the life of Christ, subtitled "A… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition published by Victor Gollancz, London, September 1943; a cycle of twelve radio plays on the life of Christ, subtitled "A Play-Cycle on the Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Approximately 343 pages, octavo (about 20 cm), in gilt-lettered cloth, issued in a printed dust jacket that should retain its price. A wartime production, so paper and binding follow Book Production War Economy standards.

## Is this the true first?
The Gollancz 1943 edition is the true first printing of the collected play-cycle. The plays were first broadcast by the BBC (produced by Val Gielgud) between December 1941 and October 1942, so the broadcasts preceded the book, but the 1943 volume is the first published edition of the texts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and reprints follow the first; the wartime dust jacket is scarce and many surviving copies lack it, so a first in a complete, priced jacket is the desirable state.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Man Born to Be King* by Dorothy L. Sayers a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-man-born-to-be-king
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.