First impression
2003At a glance
Points of issue
- Dust jacket, front flapPrinted price on the front flap: £16.99→ first issue jacket
Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 Oct 2026.
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McClelland and Stewart in Toronto published the true first in 2003; Bloomsbury issued the British edition and Doubleday the American one the same year. The Bloomsbury hardback (ISBN 0-7475-6259-8, 378 pages) is the first UK edition. Its copyright page states first publication in Great Britain in 2003, and dealers describe first impressions as carrying a complete number line, so a line that does not run down to 1 marks a reprint. The boards are printed in a decorative design, predominantly green, and a green ribbon marker is bound in. The jacket flap carries the price of £16.99, which a clipped jacket loses. Signed copies, usually signed on the title page, appear on the market. Do not confuse it with the Canadian first (ISBN 0-7710-0868-6), whose jacket is by Terry Karydes.
Check these points. Dust jacket, front flap: Printed price on the front flap: £16.99. Each point is confirmed by at least two independent sources.
Bloomsbury, London, in 2003, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
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