Jonathan Cape published Atonement in 2001. A first impression has a number line on the copyright page that runs down to 1. Cape reprinted the novel many times in the same jacket, so the number line is the test that matters.
What to check:
- Copyright page: First published in Great Britain in 2001 by Jonathan Cape, with a number line that includes 1.
- ISBN: 0 224 06252 2.
- Jacket: the cover photograph by Chris Frazer Smith.
Later impressions look identical on the outside, use the same jacket and often the same price, so the number line is the only reliable check. Open Library also links a second Cape ISBN to the same record, and its role is not yet clear, so treat a copy with a different ISBN with care.
McEwan signed a great many copies, especially after the Booker shortlisting and the film, so signed firsts are not rare. Value depends on the impression, the condition of the jacket and, for signed copies, the provenance.
Uncorrected proofs exist and are collected separately.
Sources: Cheltenham Rare Books, John Atkinson Books, the Morgan Library catalogue and Open Library.