Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 28 Oct 2026.
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First published in New York by Viking in January 1945 (208 pages). The first British edition was published by William Heinemann in London later the same year: a slim small octavo of [iv], 136 pages, about 19 cm. The cloth is lettered in black on the front and spine, and its colour varies between copies, recorded by dealers as light brown, orange or yellow. The wartime dust wrapper is scarce and usually worn or chipped. Any copy with a New York imprint, or with 208 pages and the Viking 'First published ... January 1945' line, is the American edition.
Before the 1920s. A first edition carries the year of publication on the title page, under the imprint. Reprints either lose that date or gain a notice such as "Second Edition" or "Second Impression", so a first is a copy with a dated title page and no reprint notice.
From the 1920s. The back of the title page carries a printing history. A first edition reads "First published" followed by the year, with no further lines; each later impression or new edition adds its own dated line beneath it.
Read the full guide to Heinemann first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.
We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.
Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.
Heinemann, London, in 1945, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 28 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …
Read the guide →7 min readTo identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
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