The Descendants cover, Jonathan Cape 2008

The Descendants (2008)

Kaui Hart Hemmings · Jonathan Cape, London · Reviewed by Harriet Ellis, MyVolumes editor · Updated 10 Nov 2026

Publisher Jonathan Cape Year 2008 ISBN 9780224081375

Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 10 Nov 2026.

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Market value

What decides the price

  • It is the first UK edition; the true first was published elsewhere.
  • Condition is graded separately for book and jacket, from Fine down to Poor.

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Sales record

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In short

Quick answer

Who published The Descendants 2008?
Jonathan Cape, London, in 2008.
Identification

How to identify this edition

The true first edition is the Random House hardback published in the USA on 15 May 2007 (ISBN 1-4000-6633-6). The first British edition is the Jonathan Cape paperback of January 2008 (ISBN 978-0-224-08137-5, 283 pages), issued as a paperback rather than a hardback, so there is no UK first in boards to look for. Check for the Cape imprint and the 978-0-224 ISBN; US Random House copies are a different edition.

Publisher's practice

How Jonathan Cape marked its first editions

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.

  • Cape told H. S. Boutell that it printed "First published" and the year on the back of the title page and added a line such as "Second impression" with its year for each unrevised reprint. The Ahearns' publisher list for ILAB gives the same rule: "First published (Year)" on first editions, with later printings noted.
  • On the Bond novels, a first impression shows the "First Published" statement with no later printings listed beneath it.

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.

Printing by printing

Printings and states

First impression

2008

At a glance

Not yet researched

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.

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Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

Who published The Descendants 2008?

Jonathan Cape, London, in 2008.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 10 November 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.

Related

Other editions of this book

The DescendantsRandom House, 2007
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