3 James Ngugi (Ngugi wa Thiong'o) first editions are documented on this shelf, from Weep Not, Child (1964) to A Grain of Wheat (1967) across 3 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that James Ngugi (Ngugi wa Thiong'o) 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 James Ngugi (Ngugi wa Thiong'o) copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Weep Not, Child — 1964 · HeinemannFirst edition 1964, bylined James Ngugi (the pre-renaming author-name point). Heinemann African Writers Series number 7; issued as series wrappers and also in a cloth hardback issue. The first novel in English by an East African to be published by Heinemann. Heinemann London 1964 is the true first edition, bylined James Ngugi, a major identifying point since later printings and editions appear under Ngugi wa Thiong'o. The US Macmillan issue follows. Any copy bylined Ngugi wa Thiong'o is a later printing or edition, as the author changed his name around 1970. Later African Writers Series reprints and US editions are not the first.
- The River Between — 1965 · HeinemannFirst edition 1965, bylined James Ngugi (the pre-renaming author-name point). Heinemann African Writers Series number 17; issued in series wrappers and also a cloth issue. Although published after Weep Not, Child, it was written earlier. Heinemann London 1965 is the true first edition, bylined James Ngugi. Copies bylined Ngugi wa Thiong'o are later printings or editions. Later printings carry the Ngugi wa Thiong'o byline, a reprint tell. The African Writers Series number is a series marker rather than a printing point.
- A Grain of Wheat — 1967 · HeinemannFirst edition 1967, published by Heinemann in London as African Writers Series number 36, bylined 'James Ngugi' (before the author adopted the Gikuyu form of his name). Issued in both cloth and wrappers. The author later revised the text for the 1986 edition, so the 1967 printing carries the original, unrevised text. Heinemann London 1967 is the true first edition with the original text, under the byline 'James Ngugi'. The 1986 Heinemann edition is a revised text and is a separate 'first thus'. The US Macmillan issue follows the London first. A 1986 revised-text edition, or any copy bylined 'Ngugi wa Thiong'o' rather than 'James Ngugi', indicates a later edition. Distinguish the 1967 original text from the 1986 revision.
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