Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 21 Oct 2026.
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The first edition is the Bodley Head hardback, London, 2004, 324 pages, ISBN 0 370 32826 4 (978 0 370 32826 3), with illustrations by David Wyatt, issued in a dust jacket. The Red Fox paperback followed in 2005 (ISBN 978 0 09 945645 2) and records that the book first appeared from Bodley Head in 2004; later paperbacks, the play edition and film tie-ins carry other ISBNs, so any paperback is a later edition. The American edition came from Greenwillow under a different title, The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch. On a hardback, check for the Bodley Head imprint, the 2004 date and a first impression on the copyright page; dealers offer signed first impressions, but no source we opened describes the printing line.
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.
Bodley Head Children's Books, London, in 2004, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 21 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 →