Photo of Penguin founder Sir Allen Lane, London Zoo (founder)

Thepublicskye, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · licence

Publisher · founded 1935 · London

Penguin Books

Imprint of Penguine Random House.

Editions tracked: 1,081
First editions: 604
Books: 1,054
Years: 1928 to 2025

Search all Penguin Books editions Website Wikidata

How to spot a Penguin Books first edition

We have not yet written the guide to Penguin Books's first-edition conventions. Until we do, check each book's own page: we list its points where we know them. Know how Penguin Books marked its firsts? Tell us.

AuthorsErle Stanley Gardner (19)Rick Riordan (9)Christine Feehan (7)Richelle Mead (7)Marie Lu (6)Georges Simenon (6)Tom Clancy (5)Clive Cussler (5)John Flanagan (5)Stephen King (5)

SeriesVampire Academy Buru Quartet Maigret collection Nero Wolfe Alex Delaware Assassin's Creed Brotherband Little House on the Prairie

Books

Published by Penguin Books

Coming of Age in Samoa

Margaret Mead · first published 1928

Penguin Books1928 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Maigret Meets a Milord

David Coward, Georges Simenon · first published 1931

Penguin Books1931 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this
Penguin Books1963 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Ariel

Andre Maurois · first published 1924 · Penguin and Pelican

Spot the edition: Back cover: The list of the first ten titles gives no. 2 as Farewell to Arms, without the A (first batch)

Penguin Books1935 Paperback · Penguin Books main series 1 Not yet valued Log in to want this

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Agatha Christie · first published 1920 · Penguin and Pelican

Spot the edition: Series number: Numbered 6; the 1936 reissue is no. 61 (1935 issue)

Penguin Books1935 Paperback · Penguin Books main series 6 Not yet valued Log in to want this

The Thin Man

Dashiell Hammett · first published 1934

Penguin Books1935 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

The Jungle

Upton Sinclair · first published 1905

Penguin Books1936 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Homage to Catalonia

George Orwell · first published 1938

1st Penguin Books1938 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

It Walks by Night

John Dickson Carr · first published 1930

Penguin Books1938 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Only Yesterday

Frederick Lewis Allen · first published 1931

Penguin Books1938 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

National Velvet

Enid. Bagnold · first published 1935

Penguin Books1939 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Hag's Nook

John Dickson Carr · first published 1933

Penguin Books1940 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

My Journey to Lhasa

Alexandra David-Néel · first published 1927

Penguin Books1940 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Along This Way

James Weldon Johnson · first published 1933

Penguin Books1941 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Frenchman's Creek

Daphne du Maurier · first published 1941

1st Penguin Books1941 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Death of a Ghost

Margery Allingham · first published 1934

Penguin Books1942 Paperback · Albert Campion Not yet valued Log in to want this

What Happened in History

Vere Gordon Childe · first published 1942

1st Penguin Books1942 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Death in a White Tie

Ngaio Marsh · first published 1938

Penguin Books1944 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

An Outline of European Architecture

Nikolaus Pevsner · first published 1945

1st Penguin Books1945 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Coolie

Mulk Raj Anand · first published 1936

Penguin Books1945 Paperback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Lerouge Case Annotated

Émile Gaboriau · first published 1873

Penguin Books1945 Hardback Not yet valued Log in to want this

Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

How do I identify a Penguin Books first edition?

Check the title page and the copyright page: a Penguin Books first edition gives the first date of publication with no later impression or edition stated. Each book's page here lists its own points.

How many Penguin Books books does MyVolumes track?

We track 1,081 editions published by Penguin Books, 604 of them first editions, across 1,054 books.