Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 30 Oct 2026.
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First published in New York by Viking in 1978. The first British edition is the Chatto & Windus hardback, London, 1979, 312 pages, ISBN 0 7011 2372 9. Some online records wrongly give Viking as the publisher of this ISBN, so check that the title page reads Chatto & Windus. Dealers describe first UK copies with no later printings stated. Open Library also lists a Leisure Circle issue dated 1978, which we could not confirm.
Read the full guide to Chatto & Windus 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.
Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.
Chatto & Windus, London, in 1979, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 30 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 →