Anthony Burgess First Editions

• Time for a Tiger — 1956 · William HeinemannFirst edition in publisher's blue-grey cloth, titles gilt on spine, with dust jacket. Burgess's first novel and volume 1 of The Malayan Trilogy. Octavo, [viii], 214, [2] pp. Genuinely scarce; no contemporary US edition. UK Heinemann is the true first. The novel was later collected with its two sequels in the US omnibus The Long Day Wanes (W. W. Norton), first published in 1964. No book-club issue; a key early rarity.
• The Enemy in the Blanket — 1958 · William HeinemannFirst edition, William Heinemann (London), 1958, in publisher's dark blue boards with silver lettering to the spine, issued in the pictorial dust jacket by John Rowland with the printed price present to the inside front flap (as called for; unclipped copies retain it). Burgess's second novel and the second title in The Malayan Trilogy, following the Crabbes. UK Heinemann is the true first. Later collected in the US omnibus The Long Day Wanes (W. W. Norton). No book-club issue noted.
• Beds in the East — 1959 · William HeinemannFirst printing; the third and final volume of the Malayan Trilogy (collectively The Long Day Wanes), following Time for a Tiger (1956) and The Enemy in the Blanket (1958). Octavo, 237 pp, original pictorial dust jacket. UK Heinemann is the true first. No book-club issue.
• The Doctor Is Sick — 1960 · HeinemannFirst published in 1960 by William Heinemann (London), an octavo of 261 pages in original green boards with the spine stamped in red, issued in the illustrated dust jacket. The first-state jacket carries the printed price on the front flap, which should be present (unclipped) on a first-state copy. Early Burgess, scarce in the jacket. The UK Heinemann edition (1960) is the true first; the US Norton edition followed, so the UK edition precedes. No notable book-club edition.
• The Right to an Answer — 1960 · William HeinemannFirst printing, UK Heinemann 1960. Publisher's black cloth boards, spine lettered in silver. The first-issue dust jacket is illustrated by John Rowland with a predominantly black design and should retain the printed price on the front flap; the spine panel is prone to fading. UK Heinemann 1960 precedes the US W. W. Norton edition of 1961. UK Heinemann (1960) is the true first; US W. W. Norton followed in 1961. No book-club issue; look for the black cloth with silver spine lettering and the unclipped Rowland-illustrated jacket.
• Devil of a State — 1961 · William HeinemannFirst printing, an octavo of 282 pages in red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, issued in the pictorial dust jacket. UK Heinemann 1961 precedes the US Norton edition of 1962; the US issue is bound in beige quarter cloth over blue boards with red and blue spine lettering, in a Larry Lubin jacket bearing a line drawing of a wicker chair, fern, and pith helmet. UK Heinemann (1961) is the true first; US W. W. Norton followed in 1962. No book-club issue.
• One Hand Clapping — 1961 · Peter DaviesFirst printing published under the pseudonym 'Joseph Kell' (Burgess's first of two Kell novels, the other being Inside Mr Enderby). First-issue point: title page and binding credit Joseph Kell, not Burgess. UK Peter Davies is the true first, issued as by Joseph Kell. Later editions credit Burgess; US Knopf 1972 appeared under the Burgess name. No book-club issue. The pseudonymous Joseph Kell first issue is the key point.
• The Worm and the Ring — 1961 · William HeinemannFirst printing, 1961. Withdrawn after a libel action by Gwendoline Bustin (secretary of Banbury Grammar School); Heinemann recalled and pulped the remaining stock, making the original first issue scarce. A bowdlerised/revised text appeared in 1970. No US edition. UK Heinemann is the true first (1961). Original first issue was withdrawn and largely pulped for libel; the revised text followed in 1970. The 1961 first issue is the rarity. No book-club issue. The withdrawn 1961 first issue is the key point.
• A Clockwork Orange — 1962 · William HeinemannHeinemann London 1962 is the true first and contains the final (the printed pricet) chapter omitted from the US edition. Publisher's boards, dust jacket with its printed price. UK first precedes US Norton 1963. Heinemann London 1962 is the true first and textually complete (21 chapters); W.W. Norton New York 1963 is the first US but drops the final chapter. The UK first is both first and the complete text. US Norton edition (20 chapters) and later reprints differ in text and imprint; book club editions lack the priced Heinemann first-state jacket. The presence of chapter 21 confirms the UK text.
• The Wanting Seed — 1962 · William HeinemannFirst edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1962; octavo, collating vi, 283, [1] pages. Bound in green cloth with black spine titling. Issued in a dust jacket designed by Brian Russell; a first-issue jacket carries the printed price on the front flap (its presence, clipped or not, does not by itself decide priority). This dystopian novel of an overpopulated future precedes the US W. W. Norton…. The UK Heinemann 1962 printing is the true first edition; the US W. W. Norton edition followed in 1963 with a different dust-jacket design. No book-club issue is recorded; identify the first by the 1962 Heinemann imprint, green cloth, and Brian Russell jacket.
• Honey for the Bears — 1963 · William HeinemannFirst printing published by William Heinemann, London, 1963, octavo, 256 pages. Bound in orange cloth boards with gilt lettering to the spine. The first-issue dust jacket was designed by Neil and Leila Godfrey and should carry the printed shilling price at the front flap corner; the wrapper is notoriously fragile and is usually found chipped or incomplete, so complete examples are uncommon. The UK Heinemann…. UK Heinemann is the true first; the US Norton edition followed in 1964. No book-club issue.
• Inside Mr Enderby — 1963 · HeinemannFirst published in 1963 by Heinemann under the pseudonym 'Joseph Kell' - the true first carries the Kell byline, not Burgess. This is the key bibliographic point. First volume of the Enderby sequence. The UK Heinemann edition (1963), bylined 'Joseph Kell', is the true first. Later editions under Burgess's own name, and the US Norton 'Enderby' omnibus, are subsequent. Editions crediting 'Anthony Burgess' on the title page are later, not the true first.
• Nothing Like the Sun — 1964 · William HeinemannFirst printing of the Shakespeare novel (full title Nothing Like the Sun: A Story of Shakespeare's Love-Life), William Heinemann, London, 1964, published to coincide with the quatercentenary of Shakespeare's birth. Issued in black boards lettered in gilt on the spine, in the pictorial dust jacket designed by Barry Trengove. The earliest state of the first impression carries the lowest of the jacket's recorded…. UK Heinemann is the true first; the US Norton edition followed in 1964. Within the Heinemann first impression, the earliest jacket price state and black boards precede the higher-priced jacket state and the later purple-board copies. No book-club issue.
• The Eve of Saint Venus — 1964 · Sidgwick & JacksonFirst printing of the illustrated novella, London 1964, in publisher's sea-green cloth with gilt spine lettering and a pictorial dust jacket, illustrated throughout by Edward Pagram with monochrome vignettes and full-page plates; octavo, 138 pages. UK Sidgwick & Jackson is the true first; the US Norton edition followed in 1970. No book-club issue.
• The Long Day Wanes: A Malayan Trilogy — 1964 · W.W. NortonFirst one-volume US edition collecting the three Malayan novels (Time for a Tiger, The Enemy in the Blanket, Beds in the East), New York 1964. This was the first appearance of the trilogy under the collective title The Long Day Wanes, drawn by Burgess from Tennyson's 'Ulysses'. First-thus. US Norton is the true first as a single volume under this title (1964, not 1965); the three constituent novels first appeared separately as UK Heinemann firsts (1956, 1958, 1959). Omnibus collection; priority for the individual works rests with the UK Heinemann firsts.
• A Vision of Battlements — 1965 · Sidgwick & JacksonFirst printing, London 1965, in yellow cloth with black spine lettering, illustrated by Edward Pagram. Written in 1949, this was Burgess's earliest-composed novel though published later. The UK Sidgwick & Jackson edition precedes the US W. W. Norton edition of 1966. UK Sidgwick & Jackson is the true first; the US Norton edition followed in 1966. No book-club issue.
• Tremor of Intent — 1966 · William HeinemannFirst printing of the spy novel, London 1966. The UK Heinemann edition is the priority issue; the US W. W. Norton edition, also 1966, adds the subtitle 'An Eschatological Spy Novel' on its jacket, which does not appear on the UK first edition's title page or jacket. UK Heinemann is the true first; the US Norton edition followed in 1966 with the added subtitle. No book-club issue.
• The Novel Now — 1967 · Faber and FaberFirst edition, first printing: the Faber and Faber (London) issue of 1967, a critical guide to contemporary fiction. The Faber first, published in London in 1967, precedes the W. W. Norton (New York) edition of the same year, consistent with Burgess's general pattern of British publication ahead of the American; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price. The UK Faber and Faber 1967 edition is the true first; the US Norton edition followed later in 1967. Burgess issued a revised edition through Faber in 1971. The revised 1971 edition has substantially altered and expanded text and should not be confused with the 1967 first; identify the first by the Faber imprint and 1967 date without any 'revised edition' or 'second edition' wording.
• Enderby Outside — 1968 · William HeinemannFirst edition, first printing. Second of the Enderby novels, bound in brown cloth with gilt spine lettering. The UK Heinemann edition is the true first; there was no separate first US hardcover under this title. UK William Heinemann 1968 is the true first. In the US the text first appeared within the Norton omnibus Enderby (1968), which combined Inside Mr Enderby and Enderby Outside. No separate book-club issue noted.
• Urgent Copy — 1968 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape, London, 1968; octavo, 272 pages, in publisher's blue cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, in an unclipped pictorial dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the flap. A collection of Burgess's literary essays and reviews. The UK Cape edition precedes the US W. W. Norton edition. UK Jonathan Cape 1968 is the true first, in blue cloth with pictorial jacket; the US Norton edition followed the same year (1968). No book-club issue noted.
• Shakespeare — 1970 · Jonathan CapeFirst edition, first printing. Illustrated biography (a large-format work with 48 color and 97 black-and-white plates, 272 pages). Published in 1970 by Jonathan Cape in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the US. Both the UK Cape and US Knopf editions are dated 1970. Sources do not firmly establish which was issued first, so the UK-first claim should not be presented as definitive. No book-club issue noted.
• MF — 1971 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst edition, first printing. Issued in 1971 by Alfred A. Knopf in the US and Jonathan Cape in the UK. The Knopf jacket styles the title M/F on the spine while the title page reads MF. Precedence between the two 1971 editions is not firmly established. Both the US Knopf and UK Cape editions appeared in 1971. Reliable sources do not establish which was issued first, so neither should be presented as the definitive true first without further bibliographic confirmation. No book-club issue noted.
• Napoleon Symphony — 1974 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst edition, first printing. Subtitled A Novel in Four Movements. Published in 1974 by both Alfred A. Knopf in the US and Jonathan Cape in the UK. The Knopf edition is dated to May 1974; the Cape month is not firmly documented. Both the US Knopf and UK Cape editions are dated 1974. The Knopf edition is recorded as May 1974, but the Cape publication month is not established in available sources, so precedence cannot be confirmed. No book-club issue noted.
• The Clockwork Testament, or Enderby's End — 1974 · Hart-Davis, MacGibbonFirst printing, the third Enderby novel. The London Hart-Davis MacGibbon edition of 1974 precedes the American Alfred A. Knopf edition of 1975. The UK first runs to 126 pages in blue boards; the later Knopf edition adds illustrations by the Quay brothers. UK Hart-Davis MacGibbon 1974 is the true first; the US Knopf edition followed in 1975. No book-club issue identified.
• Beard's Roman Women — 1976 · McGraw-HillFirst edition, first printing: McGraw-Hill, New York, 1976 (ISBN 0-07-008960-4, roughly 155 pages), identified by a full number line on the copyright page descending to 1. Illustrated with photographs by David Robinson and issued in a dust jacket bearing its printed price (present on unclipped copies). The McGraw-Hill first precedes the UK Hutchinson edition of 1977; the novel was originally titled 'Rome in the…. US McGraw-Hill 1976 is the true first; the UK Hutchinson edition followed in 1977. No book-club issue identified.
• Moses: A Narrative — 1976 · StonehillFirst printing of the long narrative poem, written as a preliminary to a screenplay for a television series on Moses. Issued in 1976 by Stonehill in New York and by Dempsey & Squires in London. The two carry different identifiers (the Stonehill issue and the Dempsey & Squires London issue are distinct printings). Two 1976 issues appeared close together: Stonehill in New York (US) and Dempsey & Squires in London (UK). Precedence between them is not firmly established in available sources, with at least one source describing near-simultaneous publication. Collectors should treat both 1976 issues as candidate firsts rather than assuming one preceded the other. No book-club issue identified.
• Abba Abba — 1977 · Faber & FaberFirst printing of the Keats and Belli novella with the sequence of translated sonnets. The London Faber and Faber edition of 1977, an octavo of about 127 pages in papered boards, is the originating edition. UK Faber and Faber 1977 is the true first; a US Little, Brown edition also appeared in 1977. No book-club issue identified.
• 1985 — 1978 · HutchinsonFirst printing, combining an Orwell critique with a novella. The London Hutchinson edition of 1978, in blue cloth boards stamped in silver, runs to roughly 240 pages and precedes the American Little, Brown edition of 1978. UK Hutchinson 1978 is the true first; the US Little, Brown edition followed in 1978. No book-club issue identified.
• Ernest Hemingway and His World — 1978 · Thames & HudsonFirst printing of the illustrated biography, about 128 pages with roughly 116 illustrations. Issued in 1978 by Thames & Hudson in London and by Scribner in New York; the Scribner issue carries a number line beginning with 1 on the copyright page. As a Thames & Hudson illustrated biography the London issue is generally treated as the originating first. UK Thames & Hudson 1978 is generally treated as the true first as the originating publisher; the US Scribner edition also appeared in 1978. No book-club issue identified.
• Man of Nazareth — 1979 · McGraw-HillFirst US edition, McGraw-Hill hardcover, 1979 (357 pp., ISBN 0-07-008962-0). A novelization developed from Burgess's screenplay for Franco Zeffirelli's television film Jesus of Nazareth. The US McGraw-Hill hardcover is the true first; the UK Magnum issue of 1979 was a paperback. US McGraw-Hill hardcover is the true first edition; the contemporaneous UK Magnum issue was a paperback original, not a hardcover first. No book-club edition.
• Earthly Powers — 1980 · HutchinsonTrue first is Hutchinson (London), 1980, stating 'First published 1980'; cloth boards, dust jacket priced in sterling (an unclipped example is preferred). The UK Hutchinson edition precedes the US Simon & Schuster (New York) 1980 edition. UK Hutchinson 1980 is the true first; the US Simon & Schuster (New York) 1980 edition is a first-thus. Booker-shortlisted; widely regarded as Burgess's magnum opus. No major book-club edition of note. Confirm the Hutchinson (London) imprint and 'First published 1980' statement versus the US Simon & Schuster printing.
• The End of the World News — 1982 · HutchinsonFirst edition, Hutchinson, London, 1982, subtitled An Entertainment (ISBN 0-09-150540-2), paginated x + 388 pages. Bound in publisher's blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and issued in the dust jacket, which carries the printed price on the front flap and should be present (unclipped) on a first-state copy. The UK Hutchinson edition precedes the US McGraw-Hill edition of 1983. UK Hutchinson 1982 is the true first; the US McGraw-Hill edition followed in 1983. No book-club edition.
• This Man and Music — 1982 · HutchinsonFirst edition, Hutchinson, London, 1982, hardcover (192 pp., ISBN 0-09-149610-1). A work of music criticism and autobiography expanding Burgess's 1980 T.S. Eliot Memorial Lectures. The UK Hutchinson edition precedes the US McGraw-Hill edition of 1983. UK Hutchinson 1982 is the true first; the US McGraw-Hill edition followed in 1983. No book-club edition.
• Enderby's Dark Lady, or No End to Enderby — 1984 · HutchinsonFirst edition, Hutchinson, London, 1984, hardcover; the fourth and final Enderby novel. The UK Hutchinson edition precedes the US McGraw-Hill edition, also dated 1984. Both editions carry the 1984 date, so distinguish by publisher imprint on the title page and verso. UK Hutchinson 1984 is the true first; the first American edition (McGraw-Hill, 1984) followed. No book-club edition.
• Flame Into Being: The Life and Work of D.H. Lawrence — 1985 · HeinemannFirst edition, William Heinemann, London, 1985, hardcover; a biographical and critical study issued to mark the centenary of D.H. Lawrence's birth. The UK Heinemann edition precedes (or is contemporaneous with) the first American edition, Arbor House, New York, 1985 (276 pp., ISBN 0-87795-766-5). UK Heinemann 1985 is the accepted true first; the first American edition was Arbor House, New York, 1985. Both bear the 1985 date; distinguish by imprint. No book-club edition.
• The Kingdom of the Wicked — 1985 · HutchinsonFirst edition, Hutchinson, London, 1985, hardcover. A historical novel of the early Christian church. The UK Hutchinson edition precedes (or is contemporaneous with) the first American edition, Arbor House, New York, 1985 (379 pp., ISBN 0-87795-753-3). A separate Franklin Library signed limited edition also appeared in 1985 but is not the trade first. UK Hutchinson 1985 is the accepted true first; the first American edition was Arbor House, New York, 1985. Verify by imprint, as both bear the 1985 date. No conventional book-club edition; note a separate Franklin Library signed limited edition exists, distinct from the trade first.
• Little Wilson and Big God — 1986 · Weidenfeld & NicolsonFirst printing; volume one of Burgess's autobiography, subtitled 'Being the First Part of the Confessions of Anthony Burgess.' Unlike most of Burgess's books, the American Weidenfeld & Nicolson (New York) edition appeared first, in 1986, and precedes the UK William Heinemann edition of 1987. Collectors seeking the true first should look for the New York Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1986 issue. US Weidenfeld & Nicolson (New York) 1986 is the true first; the UK William Heinemann edition followed in 1987. This reverses the usual UK-first pattern for Burgess. The original record's claim that Heinemann 1987 was the true first is incorrect. No book-club issue.
• The Pianoplayers — 1986 · HutchinsonFirst printing. The UK Hutchinson 1986 edition is the accepted first edition; dealers describe it as first edition, first printing. A US Arbor House edition also appeared in 1986; the exact month-level order of the two 1986 issues is not firmly documented, so the Hutchinson UK printing is treated as the collector's first. UK Hutchinson 1986 is the accepted true first; US Arbor House also 1986. Both appeared the same year and a definitive month-by-month precedence is not established in the sources, but the UK Hutchinson is the conventional first for this British author. No book-club issue.
• Any Old Iron — 1989 · HutchinsonFirst printing of the novel reworking the Excalibur legend through a Welsh-Jewish family, its fictionalised cast including Chaim Weizmann, Winston Churchill, Eamon de Valera and Stalin. Issued by Hutchinson, London, 1989, in black boards with gilt spine lettering, running to 339 pages (ISBN 0-09-173842-3). First-state pictorial dust jacket with the printed price present at the lower flap (not clipped). The Hutchinson London edition of 1989 is the true first. A US Random House edition also appeared in 1989 and follows the UK first. No book-club issue. Later Hutchinson printings and paperback formats follow the trade first and are not the first edition.
• You've Had Your Time — 1990 · William HeinemannLondon: William Heinemann, 1990 (published 29 October 1990); first printing. Volume two of Burgess's autobiography, 'Being the Second Part of the Confessions of Anthony Burgess.' Bound in red cloth in a pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed price. The UK Heinemann 1990 edition precedes the US Grove Weidenfeld edition of 1991. UK William Heinemann 1990 is the true first; US Grove Weidenfeld followed in 1991. No book-club issue.
• A Dead Man in Deptford — 1993 · HutchinsonHutchinson, London, 1993, first UK edition, first printing (272 pages, ISBN 0-09-177977-4). Burgess's novel on the life and death of Christopher Marlowe, the last of his novels published in his lifetime (he died in 1993). Issued in publisher's boards with a black cloth spine strip lettered in gilt and black endpapers; the dust jacket carries a bright yellow design with white lettering showing eyes and riverside…. UK Hutchinson 1993 is the true first edition, first printing. The US Carroll & Graf edition followed in 1995. No book-club issue is recorded. The 1993 Hutchinson first is distinguished from the US Carroll & Graf issue by imprint and by the yellow Hutchinson jacket with its black cloth spine strip and black endpapers.
• Byrne — 1995 · HutchinsonFirst printing; a verse novel in the manner of Byron's 'Don Juan,' completed shortly before Burgess's death and published posthumously. UK Hutchinson 1995 is the first edition; a US Carroll & Graf edition followed in 1997. UK Hutchinson 1995 true first (published September 1995, posthumously); US Carroll & Graf 1997. Posthumous; no book-club issue.

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