Penguin Random House, 2021 cover
Cover of the Penguin Random House, 2021 edition of this book. The Jonathan Cape 1981 jacket has not been photographed yet.
Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 29 Oct 2026.
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The first British edition is Jonathan Cape, London 1981, subtitled An Autobiographical Collage, ISBN 0-224-01957-0 (978-0-224-01957-6), xviii, 330 pages with illustrations and a facsimile, 22 cm. The true first is the American Delacorte Press edition (Wikipedia gives 1 March 1981, ISBN 0-440-06593-3), also xviii, 330 pages, 22 cm. Because the two share pagination and size, check the title page and spine for the Cape imprint; some online records attach the Cape ISBN to Delacorte. Later British editions are the Granada paperback (London, 1982, 302 pages) and Vintage Classics (2021). Look for a 1981 date with no reprint line on the verso.
A Jonathan Cape first impression carries "First published" with the year on the back of the title page and nothing else, because Cape recorded every later impression in the same place.
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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The cover image shows this book but may not be this edition or printing.
Jonathan Cape, London, in 1981, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 29 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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