# Is "Bitter Lemons" by Lawrence Durrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrell (Faber & Faber, 1957) is identified by: First edition, first printing, of the Cyprus travel memoir describing Durrell's years on the island from 1953 to 1956, which won the Duff Cooper Prize for 1957 (only the second year the prize was awarded). UK Faber and Faber, London, 1957 is the true first; the first American edition was published by E.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, of the Cyprus travel memoir describing Durrell's years on the island from 1953 to 1956, which won the Duff Cooper Prize for 1957 (only the second year the prize was awarded)
- Issued in publisher's red cloth with a gilt illustration and gilt lettering to the front board and a yellow spine label, 255 pages
- The pictorial dust jacket should carry the original printed price to the front flap; the price being present is a first-state jacket point
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lawrence Durrell |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, of the Cyprus travel memoir describing Durrell's years on the island from 1953 to 1956, which won the Duff… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, of the Cyprus travel memoir describing Durrell's years on the island from 1953 to 1956, which won the Duff Cooper Prize for 1957 (only the second year the prize was awarded). Issued in publisher's red cloth with a gilt illustration and gilt lettering to the front board and a yellow spine label, 255 pages. The pictorial dust jacket should carry the original printed price to the front flap; the price being present is a first-state jacket point.

## Is this the true first?
UK Faber and Faber, London, 1957 is the true first; the first American edition was published by E. P. Dutton in 1958 and follows it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Bitter Lemons* by Lawrence Durrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/bitter-lemons
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.