7 P.D. James first editions are documented on this shelf, from Cover Her Face (1962) to A Taste for Death (1986) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that P.D. James 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 P.D. James copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Cover Her Face — 1962 · Faber and FaberFaber and Faber first, 1962; publisher's green cloth lettered in gilt on the spine; first-issue dust jacket (art by Charles Mozley) with its printed price on the front flap. Copyright verso carries a single 'First published in mcmlxii' statement with no later-impression line. The UK Faber edition of 1962 is the true first; the US Scribner edition followed several years later (1966). This was P.D. James's debut novel and the first Adam Dalgliesh book. Genuinely scarce in the original jacket. Later Faber impressions add a printing/reprint statement to the verso. Price-clipped jackets lose the printed price point. The US Scribner edition is a separate, much later first American edition, not the true first.
- A Mind to Murder — 1963 · Faber and FaberFaber and Faber first, 1963; publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt on the spine; first-issue dust jacket with its printed price on the front flap. Copyright verso carries a single first-published statement with no later-impression line. The UK Faber edition of 1963 precedes the US Scribner edition (1967). Second Adam Dalgliesh novel. UK Faber is the true first. Later impressions add a printing statement to the verso. Price-clipped jackets lose the printed price point. The US first is a separate, later first American edition.
- Unnatural Causes — 1967 · Faber and FaberFaber and Faber first, 1967; publisher's red boards lettered in silver/gilt on the spine; copyright verso carries a single first-published statement with no later-impression line. First-issue dust jacket unclipped. The UK Faber edition of 1967 precedes the US Scribner edition; the Scribner copyright code A-8.67 dates the American printing to August 1967, after Faber. Third Adam Dalgliesh novel. UK Faber is the true first. Later impressions add a printing statement to the verso. Price-clipped jackets lose the original price point. The US Scribner is a separate first American edition, not the true first.
- Shroud for a Nightingale — 1971 · Faber and FaberFaber and Faber first, 1971; publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt on the spine; first-issue dust jacket with its printed price (unclipped). Copyright verso carries a single first-published statement with no later-impression line. The UK Faber edition of 1971 precedes the US Scribner edition of the same year. Fourth Adam Dalgliesh novel; a recognised, award-noted title. Later impressions add a printing statement to the verso. Price-clipped jackets lose the printed price point. The US first is a separate first American edition.
- An Unsuitable Job for a Woman — 1972 · Faber and FaberFaber and Faber first, 1972; publisher's green cloth lettered in gilt on the spine; first-issue dust jacket with its printed price (unclipped). Copyright verso carries a single first-published statement with no later-impression line. Introduces Cordelia Gray. The UK Faber edition of 1972 precedes the US Scribner edition (1973). First Cordelia Gray novel. UK Faber is the true first. Later impressions add a printing statement to the verso. Price-clipped jackets lose the printed price point. The US first is a separate, later first American edition.
- The Black Tower — 1975 · Faber and FaberFaber and Faber first, 1975; publisher's grey cloth lettered in gilt on the spine; first-issue dust jacket with its printed price (unclipped). Copyright verso carries a single first-published statement with no later-impression line. The UK Faber edition of 1975 is conventionally taken as the true first; the US Scribner edition also appeared in 1975. Adam Dalgliesh novel; Silver Dagger winner. Later impressions add a printing statement to the verso. Price-clipped jackets lose the printed price point. The US Scribner is a separate first American edition of the same year.
- A Taste for Death — 1986 · Faber & FaberUK Faber & Faber first edition, 1986, ISBN 0-571-13799-7, in the first-issue priced dust jacket (the printed price should be present on the front flap). Bound in original black cloth boards with the spine lettered in silver. A first impression has no later-printing statement on the copyright page. Seventh Adam Dalgliesh novel. UK Faber & Faber (1986) is the true first; the US Knopf edition, published 12 October 1986, follows. Often cited as a high point of the Dalgliesh series. Book-club copies carry a blind-stamped impression mark on the rear board and lack a flap price; later Faber impressions state the impression number on the copyright page.
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