Contagion, cover of another edition (the Macmillan 1996 cover is not yet photographed)Another edition's cover

Cover of another edition of this book. The Macmillan 1996 jacket has not been photographed yet.

Hardback Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery

Contagion (1996)

Robin Cook · Macmillan, London

Publisher Macmillan Year 1996 ISBN 9780333662793

Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 30 Oct 2026.

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Market value

What decides the price

  • It is the first UK edition; the true first was published elsewhere.
  • The original dust jacket carries much of the price for a book of this age; its condition matters as much as the book's.
  • Condition is graded separately for book and jacket, from Fine down to Poor.

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Sales record

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In short

Quick answer

Who published the Contagion 1996 hardback?
Macmillan, London, in 1996, in hardback.
Identification

How to identify this edition

This Contagion is the medical thriller by Robin Cook, not a Lisa Jackson title. G. P. Putnam's Sons published the true first in New York in 1995. The first British edition is the Macmillan issue, London 1996, ISBN 0333662792; the British National Bibliography gives 434 pages and lists a second Macmillan ISBN, 0333671686, on the same record without saying which binding each is. Our earlier lead, the Book Club Associates issue of 1996, is a book club edition; its Open Library record says it was originally published in London by Macmillan the same year. Tell them apart by the publisher named on the title page and spine.

Publisher's practice

How Macmillan marked its first editions

  • This guide covers only the American firm, The Macmillan Company of New York (later Macmillan Publishing Co.); the British Macmillan has its own practice.
  • Before mid 1936 there is no "First printing" line. For a first printing, the year on the title page should match the latest year on the copyright page.
  • From mid 1936 a first printing carries a printing statement on the copyright page. A further line beneath it, such as a second printing or revised edition note, means the copy is not a first.
  • A number row was added later: two guides place it in the 1970s and one after 1979. The "1" must be present for a first printing.
  • Book club copies (a general tell for US trade houses; no mark specific to this house was found): a jacket flap with no printed price is the commonest sign, though a printed price does not on its own rule out a club copy. Also look for a small blind stamp, such as a dot or square, pressed into the rear board, and for a book that is smaller and more cheaply made than the trade edition.

Read the full guide to Macmillan 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.

Printing by printing

Printings and states

First impression

1996

At a glance

Not yet researched

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.

Notes

The cover image shows this book but may not be this edition or printing.

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Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

Who published the Contagion 1996 hardback?

Macmillan, London, in 1996, in hardback.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  • Contagion, Macmillan 1996, British National Bibliography record GB96X9282 (BNB open data, May 2018 dump
  • checked in the local dump as the live URL no longer resolves) (bnb.data.bl.uk)
  • Contagion, Book Club Associates, London 1996, Open Library (note: originally published London: Macmillan, 1996) (openlibrary.org)
  • Contagion, Macmillan 1996, Open Library (openlibrary.org)
  • Contagion (Robin Cook), Putnam 1995, Open Library (openlibrary.org)

Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 30 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.

Related

Other editions of this book

ContagionG.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995ContagionBook Club Associates, 1996
Related

Next and previous in Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery

ContagionBook Club Associates, 1996VectorG.P. Putnam's Sons, 1999
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