Ian McEwan First Editions

• First Love, Last Rites — 1975 · Jonathan CapeLondon: Jonathan Cape, 1975. McEwan's first book, a collection of short stories. Publisher's black cloth, gilt spine titles; dust jacket designed by Bill Botten, with its printed price to the flap, unclipped. Copyright page reads 'First published 1975'. The collection won the Somerset Maugham Award for 1976. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (1975) is the true first, preceding the US Random House edition (1975). The debut is the key McEwan first. Later impressions add a printing statement; the US edition is a separate setting.
• In Between the Sheets — 1978 · Jonathan CapeFull title 'In Between the Sheets, and Other Stories'. Cloth-backed boards, gilt spine; copyright page reads 'First published 1978' with no statement of later impression. First-issue dust jacket priced 3.50 net on the front flap. UK Cape (1978) precedes the US Simon and Schuster edition (1979). McEwan's second short-story collection (seven stories). Later printings add an impression statement or number; paperbacks are later issues.
• The Cement Garden — 1978 · Jonathan CapeLondon: Jonathan Cape, 1978. McEwan's first full-length novel (his third book, after two story collections). Publisher's green cloth, gilt spine titles, grey endpapers; first-issue dust jacket designed by Ron Bowen, with its printed price to the flap, unclipped. Copyright page reads 'First published 1978'. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (1978) precedes the US Simon & Schuster edition (1978). Later impressions add a printing statement.
• The Comfort of Strangers — 1981 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape, London, 1981, McEwan's second novel (134 pp). Issued in publisher's cloth boards with gilt titling to the spine. The first-issue dust jacket reproduces a Turner watercolour and should retain its printed net price on the flap (present, unclipped, for a first-issue jacket). The UK Cape edition precedes the first US edition, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1981. Jonathan Cape, London, 1981 is the true first; Simon & Schuster, New York, 1981 (ISBN 0-671-42850-0) is the first US edition and does not have precedence. Later impressions are noted on the copyright page; the US edition is distinguished by its Simon & Schuster imprint and dollar pricing.
• The Imitation Game and Other Plays — 1981 · Jonathan CapeFull title 'The Imitation Game: Three Plays for Television' (the three plays are Jack Flea's Birthday Celebration, Solid Geometry, and The Imitation Game). Speckled cloth, black spine titles; copyright page reads 'First published 1981'. First-issue dust jacket priced 5.95 net on the front flap. UK Cape is the true first; no contemporaneous US hardcover. Collection of television plays. No book club edition traced.
• Or Shall We Die? — 1983 · Jonathan CapeLibretto/oratorio text (words by McEwan, music by Michael Berkeley); slim volume of about 32 pages; copyright page reads 'First published 1983'. A separate Oxford University Press musical score followed in 1984. UK Cape (1983) is the true first appearance of the text. Minor collectible. No book club edition; the 1984 OUP score is a separate music publication, not a reprint of the Cape text.
• The Ploughman's Lunch — 1985 · MethuenOriginal screenplay issued as a Methuen Paperback original (about 34 pages) with an introduction by McEwan; copyright page reads 'First published 1985'. No hardcover was issued, so the paperback is the true first. Methuen paperback original (1985) is the true first; the film itself dates to 1983. No book club edition.
• The Child in Time — 1987 · Jonathan CapeBoards with gilt spine titling; copyright page reads 'First published 1987' (Cape used a printed first-published statement, not a number line); pictorial dust jacket using a detail from Leonardo's 'Virgin and Child with St Anne'. Whitbread Novel Award winner. UK Cape (1987) precedes the US Houghton Mifflin edition (1987); the US printing is a separate first-thus. Later impressions add an impression statement; the US edition is a distinct issue.
• Soursweet — 1988 · Faber & FaberScreenplay adapted from Timothy Mo's novel 'Sour Sweet' (1982); Faber & Faber paperback original in pictorial printed wrappers, roughly 83 pages with some black-and-white film stills, and a preface by McEwan. The copyright page reads 'First published in 1988'. No hardcover was issued; on an unclipped copy the printed price should be present on the wrapper. The Faber paperback original in wrappers (1988) is the true first; the film also dates to 1988. No book club edition.
• The Innocent — 1990 · Jonathan CapeOctavo, 231 pp.; cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering; copyright page states 'First published 1990' with the printer's key descending to 1. First-issue dust jacket carries the original UK price and is not price-clipped. First published by Jonathan Cape in London in May 1990; the US Doubleday edition (274 pp., a reset and longer typesetting) also appeared in 1990. The two were effectively simultaneous, so the Cape printing is the British first rather than a demonstrable global precedent. Later Cape impressions revise the printer's key (lowest digit no longer 1). The US Doubleday text is a separate setting and stands as its own first US edition.
• Black Dogs — 1992 · Jonathan CapeOctavo; cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering; copyright page states 'First published 1992' with the printer's key descending to 1; first-issue dust jacket carries the original UK price unclipped. Booker Prize shortlisted (1992). First published by Jonathan Cape in London in 1992; the US Nan A. Talese / Doubleday edition also appeared in 1992. A signed limited issue (150 numbered copies) was also produced by Cape and should not be confused with the trade first. Later Cape impressions revise the printer's key so the lowest digit is no longer 1.
• The Daydreamer — 1994 · Jonathan CapeOctavo; green boards with gilt spine titles; illustrated by Anthony Browne; copyright page states 'First published 1994' with the printer's key descending to 1. McEwan's first book of fiction for children. First published by Jonathan Cape in London in 1994. The US HarperCollins edition appeared in 1994 as a separate setting. The US HarperCollins (1994) edition was also illustrated by Anthony Browne, not by Sempé; it stands as a separate first US edition rather than a differently illustrated one. Later UK impressions revise the printer's key.
• Enduring Love — 1997 · Jonathan CapeOctavo; quarter cloth over boards (blue-grey cloth with silver spine lettering); copyright page states 'First published 1997' with the printer's key descending to 1; first-issue dust jacket carries the original UK price unclipped. First published by Jonathan Cape in London in 1997; the US Nan A. Talese / Doubleday edition followed in 1998, so the Cape printing genuinely precedes the US edition. Later Cape impressions revise the printer's key so the lowest digit is no longer 1.
• Amsterdam — 1998 · Jonathan CapeLondon: Jonathan Cape, 1 December 1998. Booker Prize winner. Bound in original black cloth boards with the title lettered in silver to the spine, crimson endpapers (not gilt-lettered boards). A number line ending in 1 on the copyright page indicates the first printing. The first-state dust jacket is with its printed price and does NOT mention the Booker Prize on the front panel, since the win was announced after…. UK Jonathan Cape (1998) is the true first, preceding the US Nan A. Talese/Doubleday (1998). Later printings drop the 1 from the number line; later-state jackets add the Booker Prize mention.
• Atonement — 2001 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape London 2001. First printing has the full number line '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' (or descending to 1) on the copyright page. Publisher's boards, dust jacket with its printed price. UK first precedes US Doubleday/Nan A. Talese 2002. Jonathan Cape London 2001 is the true first; Nan A. Talese/Doubleday New York 2002 is the first US. Signed copies command a premium. Number line not ending in '1' indicates a later printing; US edition is dated 2002 and carries the Doubleday imprint. Book club editions lack the priced Cape jacket.
• Saturday — 2005 · Jonathan CapeOctavo, 279 pp.; cloth with gilt spine lettering; copyright page states 'First published 2005' with the printer's key descending to 1; first-issue dust jacket carries the original UK price unclipped. A Cape signed limited issue also exists. First published by Jonathan Cape in London in February 2005; the US Nan A. Talese / Doubleday edition (289 pp.) also appeared in 2005. Publication across London, New York, and Toronto was near-simultaneous, so the Cape printing is the British first rather than a clear global precedent. Later Cape impressions revise the printer's key so the lowest digit is no longer 1.
• On Chesil Beach — 2007 · Jonathan CapeOctavo novella; black cloth with gilt spine titles and blue endpapers; copyright page states 'First published 2007' with the printer's key descending to 1; first-issue pictorial matt dust jacket carries the original UK price unclipped. Booker Prize shortlisted (2007). First published by Jonathan Cape in London in 2007; the US Nan A. Talese / Doubleday edition also appeared in 2007, near-simultaneously, so the Cape printing is the British first rather than a clear global precedent. Later Cape impressions revise the printer's key so the lowest digit is no longer 1.
• For You — 2008 · VintageOpera libretto for Michael Berkeley's opera; Vintage paperback original (ISBN 9780099526995). Issued in 2008 in two forms: a signed/numbered limited issue of 1000 copies (signed by McEwan and Berkeley on the title page) and the ordinary trade paperback. A minor title in the McEwan canon. Both forms are Vintage 2008. The signed/numbered limited issue of 1000 copies is the precedence point and ranks ahead of the ordinary trade paperback. No book-club edition.
• Solar — 2010 · Jonathan CapeFirst UK edition, Jonathan Cape, London, 2010 (ISBN 0-224-09049-6). Black cloth boards with gilt spine titling, black endpapers, and 'First published in 2010' on the copyright page above a full number line ending in 1, issued in a priced dust jacket (the printed price should be present on the flap). The UK Jonathan Cape edition (2010) precedes the US Nan A. Talese/Doubleday edition (2010); the US issue states 'First United States Edition' on its copyright page and is a separate first American printing. Reprints and later impressions show the impression number in place of the 1 in the number line. A signed/numbered limited issue of 100 copies exists in full black morocco with an eclipse motif and a matching slipcase — distinct from the standard black-cloth trade first.
• Sweet Tooth — 2012 · Jonathan CapeFirst edition, first impression published by Jonathan Cape, London, 2012 (ISBN 9780224097376). Bound in boards with gilt spine lettering, issued in the pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed cover price and be unclipped for a true first-issue example. The first impression is identified by a complete descending number line on the copyright page ending in 1, with no impression statement. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (2012) is the true first, preceding the US Nan A. Talese/Doubleday edition (also 2012). Note the separately published London Review Bookshop signed limited edition of 100 copies (75 quarter-bound in leather numbered 1-75, 25 fully leather-bound numbered i-xxv), issued in association with Cape, which is a distinct limited issue rather than the trade first. Later impressions state the impression number or carry a number line no longer ending in 1; there is no significant book-club issue affecting identification.
• The Children Act — 2014 · Jonathan CapeBound in boards with gilt spine lettering; the copyright page carries 'first published 2014' with a full number line ending in 1 (216 pp; ISBN 9780224101998). The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price (price presence, not any amount, is the point). Signed and limited/numbered slipcased issues of the Cape first also exist. The UK Jonathan Cape edition, published 2 September 2014, precedes the US Nan A. Talese/Doubleday edition published 9 September 2014, making the Cape hardcover the true first. Later impressions substitute the impression number for the terminal 1 in the number line; the Doubleday US issue is a separate later-dated first for that market.
• Nutshell — 2016 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape hardcover (ISBN 9781911214335), published September 1, 2016. Pale pink cloth boards with black spine titling and red endpapers; copyright page with a full number line ending in 1 and no impression statement. The first-state pictorial jacket reproduces a Leonardo da Vinci drawing of a foetus/baby on the front panel and retains its printed price. The UK Cape edition (2016) precedes the US Nan A. Talese / Doubleday edition (2016). A separate signed limited edition of 75 copies, quarter-bound in Harmatan leather with patterned sides and housed in a matching slipcase, was issued alongside the trade first and should not be confused with it. Later impressions state the impression number and no longer show the number line ending in 1.
• Machines Like Me — 2019 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape (London), 2019. Bound in blue boards with the title stamped in silver on the spine, with blue endpapers. First impression carries a full number line descending to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page. The dust jacket was designed by Suzanne Dean and should retain its printed price on the flap (unclipped). ISBN 9781787331662. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (2019) precedes the US Nan A. Talese/Doubleday edition (2019). Later impressions state the impression number in place of the 1 in the number line.
• The Cockroach — 2019 · Jonathan CapeSatirical novella in publisher's hardcover boards with dust jacket. First-printing copies carry the full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page with no later-impression statement. Published 27 September 2019 (ISBN 9781529112924). UK Cape hardcover (27 September 2019) is the true first. The US Anchor edition (October 2019) was a trade-paperback original, and Knopf Canada issued simultaneously, so the Cape hardcover precedes them. No book-club edition noted.
• Lessons — 2022 · Jonathan CapeNovel issued in hardcover boards with a gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket. First-printing copies of the Jonathan Cape edition carry the publisher's odd-then-even number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page, with no separate impression statement. The first-issue jacket should retain its printed cover price on the flap. Later impressions are distinguished by an added reprint/impression statement rather…. UK Cape (September 2022) is the first. Knopf Canada published simultaneously and US Knopf followed on 13 September 2022, so the Cape edition is the recognized true first. The Cape first is confirmed by the 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 number line. Later printings are identified by an added impression statement on the copyright page; the first impression shows the complete 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 line with no such notice.

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