Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 29 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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Not the true first: Harper & Row published the novel in New York in 1989 (ISBN 0-06-016118-3), with jacket art by Peter Thorpe. The first British edition is the Michael Joseph hardback in dust jacket, London, 1990, ISBN 0-7187-3376-5, which the British Library catalogued at 238 pages. Identify it by the Michael Joseph imprint and the 0-7187 ISBN; a Harper & Row copy, even one sold in Britain, is the American first. Look for a first-impression statement on the verso and an unclipped jacket.
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.
Michael Joseph, London, in 1990, 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 …
Read the guide →