# Is "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter" by Mario Vargas Llosa (trans. Helen R. Lane) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa (trans. Helen R. Lane) (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1982) is identified by: First English edition. True first of the work is the Spanish 'La tia Julia y el escribidor' (Seix Barral, Barcelona, 1977).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English edition
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1982, cloth in dust jacket, 374 pages, translated by Helen R. Lane
- Translation of 'La tia Julia y el escribidor.' First US edition, first printing
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mario Vargas Llosa (trans. Helen R. Lane) |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York |
| Year | 1982 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First English edition. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1982, cloth in dust jacket, 374 pages, translated by Helen R. Lane. Translation of 'La tia Julia y el escribidor.' First US edition, first printing.

## Is this the true first?
True first of the work is the Spanish 'La tia Julia y el escribidor' (Seix Barral, Barcelona, 1977). The 1982 FSG is the first English edition; the UK Faber edition followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later FSG and Penguin paperbacks are reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter* by Mario Vargas Llosa (trans. Helen R. Lane) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/aunt-julia-and-the-scriptwriter
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.