Salman Rushdie First Editions

• Grimus — 1975 · Victor GollanczLondon: Victor Gollancz, 1975. Rushdie's scarce first novel, a work of fantasy and science fiction. Publisher's lilac boards, gilt spine titles; first-issue dust jacket printed in dark blue and purple, with its printed price to the flap, unclipped. Copyright page reads 'First published 1975'. Genuinely uncommon as Rushdie's debut. The UK Gollancz edition (1975) is the true first, preceding the US Overlook Press edition (1979). The debut is the scarcest Rushdie first. Later impressions add a printing statement; the US edition is much later (1979) and a separate setting.
• Midnight's Children — 1981 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape London 1981 (Booker Prize winner; later 'Booker of Bookers'). First impression copyright page shows the number line and no later-impression statement; dust jacket with its printed price. Publisher's boards. Jonathan Cape London 1981 is the true first; Alfred A. Knopf New York 1981 is the first US. The UK Cape first is markedly scarcer and more valuable than the US. US Knopf edition carries a different imprint and price; later Cape impressions stated on verso. Franklin Library and book club editions are distinct.
• Shame — 1983 · Jonathan CapeLondon: Jonathan Cape, 1983. Rushdie's third novel. Black boards lettered in gilt on the spine; textured-paper dust jacket designed by Mon Mohan, priced to the flap and unclipped. Title page states 'First published 1983'. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (1983) is the true first, preceding the US Alfred A. Knopf edition (also 1983). Later impressions add printing/impression statements; first printing carries only 'First published 1983'.
• The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey — 1987 · Picador / Pan BooksRushdie's first full-length non-fiction book. The true UK first was issued as a Picador paperback original in printed pictorial wrappers (not a hardcover in boards), with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The Viking (Elisabeth Sifton Books) US edition, also 1987, was the first hardcover printing. The UK Picador paperback original (1987) is the true first edition; Jonathan Cape is named only in association and was not the issuing imprint. The US Viking hardcover (1987) was the first appearance in cloth. Later printings of the Picador wrappered edition remove the 1 from the number line or add a printing statement.
• The Satanic Verses — 1988 · VikingViking (London), 1988, published 26 September 1988; ISBN 0-670-82537-9, octavo, 546 pages. First printing copyright page states 'First published 1988' with a full number line running to 1. Publisher's blue cloth boards, gilt lettering to the spine; dust jacket priced with the printed UK price present at the front flap. Viking London 1988 is the true first; the Viking New York edition (1989) is the first US, so the UK precedes the US. First-issue copies are the earliest Viking London impression identified by the intact number line to 1. Later impressions are shown by a number line no longer reaching 1 (later-printing Viking London copies are common). The US edition is dated 1989 with the New York imprint. Signed copies are scarce owing to the security situation surrounding the author after publication.
• Haroun and the Sea of Stories — 1990 · Granta Books in association with PenguinRushdie's first children's book; cloth boards with gilt spine lettering; copyright page carries a full number line ending in 1 (first printing) with no later-printing statement; dust jacket priced accordingly. The UK Granta/Penguin first edition (1990) precedes the US Granta/Viking Penguin edition (1990) and is the true first. Later printings add a printing statement or remove the 1 from the number line.
• Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981–1991 — 1991 · Granta Books in association with PenguinGranta Books in association with Penguin, London, 1991, first edition, first printing. Collected essays and criticism in black cloth-covered boards with silver spine lettering and grey-blue endpapers; the copyright page carries a full number line ending in 1 (first printing). The dust jacket should carry its printed net price on the front flap. The UK Granta first edition (1991) precedes the US Viking edition (1991) and is the true first. Later printings add a printing statement or remove the 1 from the number line. The 1991 US Viking issue is a separate edition rather than the true first.
• The Wizard of Oz (BFI Film Classics) — 1992 · British Film InstituteSlim BFI Film Classics monograph of roughly 69 pages, issued only in illustrated wrappers; first printing. Contains Rushdie's essay on the 1939 MGM film plus his short story 'At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers.' ISBN 0851703003. The UK BFI edition (1992) is the true first; the title was issued in wrappers, with no simultaneous hardcover. No book-club edition. The series was later reprinted; the 1992 BFI wrappered printing is the first.
• East, West — 1994 · Jonathan CapeStory collection of nine tales. Hardback in boards with gilt-lettered spine, issued in dust jacket. First edition, first impression has the full number line ending in 1; the jacket carries a net price. Later printings state the impression. The UK Jonathan Cape edition of 1994 precedes the US Pantheon edition of 1995, making the Cape printing the true first. Book-club and later trade impressions identify the later impression on the copyright page; the true first carries the complete number line down to 1.
• The Moor's Last Sigh — 1995 · Jonathan CapeHardback in boards with gilt-lettered spine, issued in dust jacket. First edition, first impression has the full number line ending in 1; later printings state the impression. Booker Prize shortlisted and Whitbread Novel Award winner. The UK Jonathan Cape edition of 1995 precedes the US Pantheon edition of 1996, making the Cape printing the true first. A separate signed limited issue of 200 numbered copies also exists, but the standard trade hardback is the true first for general identification. Later impressions add the impression statement on the copyright page; the true first shows the complete number line down to 1.
• The Ground Beneath Her Feet — 1999 · Jonathan CapeFirst edition, first impression: black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, octavo (about 24 cm), 575 pages, issued in a dust jacket printed on reflective paper (photograph/design credited to Anthony Brien) whose printed front-flap price should be present. The first impression carries the complete number line 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 on the copyright page. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (April 1999, ISBN 0224044192 / 9780224044196) is taken as the true first, narrowly preceding the US Henry Holt edition (1999, ISBN 0805053085). Cape copies show black cloth, gilt spine, and the 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 line. Later impressions state the impression on the copyright page and break the descending number sequence; the true first shows the full line ending in 1. No book-club factor for the Cape printing.
• Fury — 2001 · Jonathan CapeFirst edition, first impression: black boards with gilt-lettered spine, issued in a pictorial dust jacket that must retain its printed price on the front flap. The first impression is identified by the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page, with no impression statement present. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (30 August 2001, ISBN 0224061593 / 9780224061599) precedes the US Random House edition (September 2001), making the Cape printing the true first. Later impressions add an impression statement to the copyright page and the number line no longer descends to 1; the true first shows the full unbroken line ending in 1. No separate book-club edition of the Cape printing is a factor here.
• Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992–2002 — 2002 · Jonathan CapeCollected essays and nonfiction, issued in cloth-backed boards with a gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (28 November 2002, ISBN 0224061607) is a hardback in boards; the first impression carries the full number line and the copyright page names no later impression. The US Random House edition (ISBN 0679463348) was published earlier, on 10 September 2002. The US Random House edition (10 September 2002) precedes the UK Jonathan Cape edition (28 November 2002) by about eleven weeks, so the Random House printing is the true first appearance in book form; the Cape printing is the standard British first. Verify precedence copy-in-hand where possible, but the recorded publication dates favor US-first. Later impressions state the impression number on the copyright page; the true first shows the complete number line with the copyright page free of any additional-printing notice.
• Shalimar the Clown — 2005 · Jonathan CapeHardback in boards with gilt-lettered spine, issued in dust jacket. First edition, first impression has the full number line ending in 1; later printings state the impression. Booker Prize longlisted. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (6 September 2005, ISBN 0224061615) and the US edition were released on the same date, so the two are effectively simultaneous rather than one preceding the other. The US first edition was published by Alfred A. Knopf, not Random House; collectors generally treat the Cape printing as the UK first and the Knopf printing as the US first. Later impressions add the impression statement on the copyright page; the true first shows the complete number line down to 1.
• The Enchantress of Florence — 2008 · Jonathan CapeFirst UK trade edition in boards with gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket; complete number line descending to 1. A separate signed and numbered limited issue was also produced. The exact trade-jacket price could not be independently confirmed, so no specific figure is asserted here. Jonathan Cape (London) first edition published 11 April 2008, preceding the US Random House edition. Later printings note the impression on the copyright page; the true first carries the full number line ending in 1.
• Luka and the Fire of Life — 2010 · Jonathan CapeFirst UK edition of this children's/young-readers fantasy in boards with gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket; complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. The exact jacket price is not asserted here. Jonathan Cape (London) first edition published 30 September 2010, preceding the US Random House edition. Later printings add an impression statement; the true first shows the full number line ending in 1.
• Joseph Anton: A Memoir — 2012 · Jonathan CapeFirst UK edition, Jonathan Cape (London), 2012, in boards with a gilt-lettered spine and pictorial dust jacket; the copyright page shows a full number line descending to 1. The jacket should retain its printed net price; a copy is complete with that price present, and price-clipping alone does not determine printing. Jonathan Cape (London) and Random House in New York both issued the memoir in September 2012 (18 September); treat as near-simultaneous, with the Cape edition the UK first and the Random House edition the US first, each carrying its own descending number line to 1. Later printings carry an impression statement or a number line no longer ending in 1; the true first shows the complete number line ending in 1.
• Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights — 2015 · Jonathan CapeFirst UK edition, first printing, from Jonathan Cape (London), 2015 (ISBN 978-1-910702-03-1). Issued in boards with a gilt-lettered spine under a dust jacket with the printed price present on the flap, no amount asserted here. First printing shows a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. Signed copies from Rushdie's September 2015 appearances were signed on the title page; some were…. Jonathan Cape (London) issued the UK first edition in 2015; the US Random House edition appeared 8 September 2015. UK and US are effectively simultaneous, with the Cape edition the UK first. A distinct first Canadian edition exists in blue boards with silver spine lettering. Later printings add an impression statement; the true first shows the full number line ending in 1.
• The Golden House — 2017 · Jonathan CapeFirst UK edition, first printing, from Jonathan Cape (London), 2017. Octavo, issued in boards under a dust jacket with a black spine carrying bronze and white lettering; the printed price appears on the front flap and should be present, though no amount is asserted here. First printing is identified by a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. Signed copies were signed flat by Rushdie on the…. Jonathan Cape (London) issued the UK edition in 2017; the US Random House edition was published 5 September 2017. UK and US are effectively simultaneous, so neither is asserted as the unequivocal true first ahead of the other; the Cape printing is the UK first. Later printings carry an added impression statement; the true first shows the full number line ending in 1.
• Quichotte — 2019 · Jonathan CapeFirst UK edition in boards with gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket; complete number line descending to 1. Booker Prize shortlisted, 2019. The exact jacket price is not asserted here. Jonathan Cape (London) first edition published 29 August 2019, preceding the US Random House edition of 3 September 2019. Later printings add an impression statement; the true first shows the full number line ending in 1.
• Languages of Truth: Essays 2003–2020 — 2021 · Jonathan CapeEssay collection issued by Jonathan Cape in original black paper-covered boards with gilt titling to the spine and orange endpapers; the full number line ending in 1 appears on the copyright page. ISBN 9781787331938. Published May 2021. The original dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap. UK Jonathan Cape (2021) and US Random House (ISBN 9780593133170, 2021) appeared the same year; the Cape printing is the standard UK first. Later impressions are identified by an altered number line; no book-club edition of note.
• Victory City — 2023 · Jonathan CapeBoards with gilt spine lettering; full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; original dust jacket with its printed price present on the front flap. Jonathan Cape hardback, ISBN 9781787333444, 338 pages, published 9 February 2023. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (9 February 2023) and the US Random House edition (2023) appeared in the same year; the Cape printing is the standard UK first and the two are effectively simultaneous firsts in their respective markets. Later impressions are shown by a shortened number line that no longer reaches 1. No book-club concern for the first.
• Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder — 2024 · Jonathan CapeMemoir in boards with gilt spine lettering, issued in the original pictorial dust jacket, which should retain its printed price on the flap. The first printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. UK Jonathan Cape edition, ISBN 9781787334793, published April 2024. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (ISBN 9781787334793) and the US Random House edition (ISBN 9780593730249) were near-simultaneous in April 2024. The Cape printing, distinguished by its own ISBN and full number line ending in 1, is the standard UK first; the two are distinct printings rather than a shared setting. Later impressions are identified by an altered number line no longer ending in 1.

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