# Is "A Fairly Honourable Defeat" by Iris Murdoch a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Fairly Honourable Defeat by Iris Murdoch (Chatto & Windus, 1970) is identified by: True first published by Chatto & Windus, London, 1970, first impression, carrying SBN 7011 1534 0. The London Chatto & Windus 1970 edition is the true first and precedes the American edition (The Viking Press, New York, 1970; US ISBN 0-670-30533-2), which is secondary.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first published by Chatto & Windus, London, 1970, first impression, carrying SBN 7011 1534 0
- Bound in light/sage-green cloth-covered boards, gilt-lettered on the spine and blank on the front board
- The dust jacket was designed by John Sergeant — a colour wrap-around composition — and should be present and unclipped (price present at the flap) on a first-issue copy
- First impression is identified by the 1970 Chatto & Windus imprint with the SBN and no later-printing statement
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Iris Murdoch |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first published by Chatto & Windus, London, 1970, first impression, carrying SBN 7011 1534 0 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first published by Chatto & Windus, London, 1970, first impression, carrying SBN 7011 1534 0. Bound in light/sage-green cloth-covered boards, gilt-lettered on the spine and blank on the front board. The dust jacket was designed by John Sergeant — a colour wrap-around composition — and should be present and unclipped (price present at the flap) on a first-issue copy. First impression is identified by the 1970 Chatto & Windus imprint with the SBN and no later-printing statement.

## Is this the true first?
The London Chatto & Windus 1970 edition is the true first and precedes the American edition (The Viking Press, New York, 1970; US ISBN 0-670-30533-2), which is secondary. English original.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A first Canadian edition and the US Viking issue both appeared and are secondary to the Chatto first. Later Penguin/Triad paperbacks are reprints; confirm the John Sergeant jacket and the SBN 7011 1534 0 to separate the first from reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Fairly Honourable Defeat* by Iris Murdoch a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-fairly-honourable-defeat
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.