# Is "Arcadia" by Tom Stoppard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Arcadia by Tom Stoppard (Faber and Faber, 1993) is identified by: First edition, Faber and Faber, London, 1993, a paperback original in printed wrappers (green and black). UK Faber 1993 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Faber and Faber, London, 1993, a paperback original in printed wrappers (green and black)
- There was no simultaneous trade hardback for the general issue
- The first impression is identified by the copyright-page statement 'First published in 1993' with no later-impression statement
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tom Stoppard |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Year | 1993 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Paperback original |
| Key point | First edition, Faber and Faber, London, 1993, a paperback original in printed wrappers (green and black) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, Faber and Faber, London, 1993, a paperback original in printed wrappers (green and black). There was no simultaneous trade hardback for the general issue. The first impression is identified by the copyright-page statement 'First published in 1993' with no later-impression statement.

## Is this the true first?
UK Faber 1993 is the true first. Because Faber issued it as a paperback original, the printed-wrappers issue is the collected first; US editions are later. Signed first-impression copies are handled by major dealers such as Peter Harrington and Raptis.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Rely on the 'First published in 1993' statement and the absence of a later-impression line rather than on a number line, which Faber did not consistently apply to its drama paperbacks of this period.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Arcadia* by Tom Stoppard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/arcadia
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.