# Is "A Heart So White" by Javier Marías (trans. Margaret Jull Costa) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Heart So White by Javier Marías (trans. Margaret Jull Costa) (The Harvill Press, London, 1995) is identified by: First English edition is the UK Harvill Press, 1995, cloth in dust jacket (ISBN 1-86046-002-X cloth / 1-86046-003-8 paper), translated by Margaret Jull Costa from 'Corazón tan blanco.' Marías and Jull Costa shared the 1997 International Dublin (IMPAC) Literary Award for it. True first of the work is the Spanish 'Corazón tan blanco' (Editorial Anagrama, Barcelona, 1992).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English edition is the UK Harvill Press, 1995, cloth in dust jacket (ISBN 1-86046-002-X cloth / 1-86046-003-8 paper), translated by Margaret Jull Costa from 'Corazón tan blanco.' Marías and Jull Costa shared the 1997 International Dublin (IMPAC) Literary Award for it
- Publisher imprint reads The Harvill Press, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Javier Marías (trans. Margaret Jull Costa) |
| Publisher | The Harvill Press, London |
| Year | 1995 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English edition is the UK Harvill Press, 1995, cloth in dust jacket (ISBN 1-86046-002-X cloth / 1-86046-003-8 paper), translated by… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First English edition is the UK Harvill Press, 1995, cloth in dust jacket (ISBN 1-86046-002-X cloth / 1-86046-003-8 paper), translated by Margaret Jull Costa from 'Corazón tan blanco.' Marías and Jull Costa shared the 1997 International Dublin (IMPAC) Literary Award for it.

## Is this the true first?
True first of the work is the Spanish 'Corazón tan blanco' (Editorial Anagrama, Barcelona, 1992). The first edition in English is the UK Harvill (1995); the US New Directions edition came later (2000), so collectors seeking the first English should take the Harvill.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The US New Directions (2000) and later Penguin reprints are not the 1995 UK first English.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Heart So White* by Javier Marías (trans. Margaret Jull Costa) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-heart-so-white
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.