Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 2 Nov 2026.
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Hesse's novel appeared in German from S. Fischer in 1922. Hilda Rosner's English translation was first published in New York by New Directions in 1951, so the American book is the first in English. The first British edition is Peter Owen's of 1954 in Rosner's translation: the British Library catalogues it under Owen and Vision Press, 167 pages, and the University of Pennsylvania copy (London: Owen, date supplied as 1954) also has 167 pages and stands 19 cm. Pan's Picador paperback (British Library record dated 1974) states that this translation was first published by Owen in London in 1954, and is not a first. No source opened describes the 1954 binding, jacket or price. UNVERIFIED: the copyright page of a later Indian reprint calls the 1954 Owen issue the 'First British Commonwealth edition' and gives the translation copyright to Peter Owen Ltd, 1954.
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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Peter Owen, London, in 1954, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 2 November 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
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