Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 21 Oct 2026.
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We value a printing from verified sales of that exact printing, and none of the first impression has come to auction in our records so far. The chart and the value by condition appear here as soon as one does.
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The first British edition is the Jonathan Cape hardback of 1983 (ISBN 0 224 02945 2), 224 pages, 23 cm, reviewed in February 1983. It follows the Delacorte first edition published in New York in 1982. Later British paperbacks (Granada/Panther, and Flamingo in 1992) are not firsts. Check for the Cape imprint and this ISBN on the copyright page. Dealers describe the Cape hardback in blue cloth with gilt lettering on the spine.
Read the full guide to Jonathan Cape 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.
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Jonathan Cape, London, in 1983, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 21 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 …
Read the guide →