5 Chinua Achebe first editions are documented on this shelf, from Things Fall Apart (1958) to Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Chinua Achebe title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Chinua Achebe copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Things Fall Apart — 1958 · William HeinemannThe true first is the William Heinemann hardcover, London, published 17 June 1958: publisher's red cloth, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device blind-stamped to the rear board, issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the flap. The first printing was small (about 2,000 copies), so a first in an unclipped jacket is genuinely scarce. Crucially, the first printing carries NO distinguishing…. The true first is the UK Heinemann 1958 hardcover. It predates the US first edition (McDowell, Obolensky, New York, 1959) and the 1962 African Writers Series paperback (AWS No. 1) — a celebrated but separate first-thus, not the true first. Both the UK 1958 hardcover and the US 1959 hardcover are collected; the UK precedes. Because the first has no internal points, second impressions and ex-library rebinds are routinely sold as firsts: reject copies bearing a later-impression statement, and treat rebound or ex-library copies lacking the priced jacket with caution. The ubiquitous orange African Writers Series paperback (1962, AWS #1) is a later reprint in a new series, not the 1958 first.
- No Longer at Ease — 1960 · William HeinemannFirst edition, Heinemann, London, 1960. Cloth boards with gilt spine lettering; 170 pages. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by Peter Edwards, with no later-printing statement on the first impression. Heinemann London 1960 is the true first edition. The US edition (Ivan Obolensky) followed in 1961. The novel is the second in Achebe's African Trilogy, between Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God. The African Writers Series paperback (1963) and later printings are reprints.
- Arrow of God — 1964 · William HeinemannFirst edition, first impression, Heinemann, London, 1964. Publisher's dark blue cloth boards with gilt lettering to the spine and a blind-stamped publisher's device to the rear cover; issued in an unclipped pictorial dust jacket. This 1964 text is the original, unrevised state; Achebe revised the novel for a 1974 edition, making the 1974 text a distinct 'first thus.'. Heinemann London 1964 is the true first edition, carrying the original unrevised text. The US edition (John Day) followed in 1967. The revised edition of 1974 is the first appearance of the revised text. Arrow of God completes the African Trilogy after Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease. The African Writers Series paperback and the 1974 revised edition are later or first-thus issues. Distinguish the 1964 original text from the 1974 revision.
- A Man of the People — 1966 · William HeinemannFirst edition, Heinemann, London, 1966. Red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine; dust jacket unclipped with the original price to the front flap. The Heinemann London printing is the established first English edition. Heinemann London 1966 is the true first English edition. The first US edition (John Day, New York, 1966, mango-colored cloth, the printed price jacket) appeared the same year and is collected as the first American edition. African Writers Series paperback and later printings are reprints.
- Anthills of the Savannah — 1987 · William HeinemannFirst edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1987 (published December 1987). Bound in pale green cloth boards with silver titling to the spine, issued in a graphic dust jacket designed by Siobhan Keaney. The first-issue jacket carries the printed publisher's price at the front flap; a complete, unclipped example is preferred. Shortlisted for the 1987 Booker Prize. Precedes the first US edition…. The Heinemann London 1987 issue is the true first. The first American edition, Anchor Press/Doubleday, follows in 1988 with its own priced jacket and is a later state, not the first. The US edition and all later paperbacks are reprints; only the 1987 Heinemann first impression is the first.
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