# Is "Cancer Ward (Rakovy korpus)" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Cancer Ward (Rakovy korpus) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (The Bodley Head, 1968-1969) is identified by: First English appeared as an unauthorized translation by Nicholas Bethell and David Burg, issued by The Bodley Head, London, in two parts: Part I in 1968 and Part II in 1969. True first English is The Bodley Head UK issue (Part I 1968, Part II 1969), translated by Bethell and Burg, preceding the US Dial Press edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English appeared as an unauthorized translation by Nicholas Bethell and David Burg, issued by The Bodley Head, London, in two parts: Part I in 1968 and Part II in 1969
- This precedes the US Dial Press edition
- Identify by the Bodley Head imprint and the first-impression statement on the Part I volume
- Publisher imprint reads The Bodley Head
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
| Year | 1968-1969 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English appeared as an unauthorized translation by Nicholas Bethell and David Burg, issued by The Bodley Head, London, in two parts… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First English appeared as an unauthorized translation by Nicholas Bethell and David Burg, issued by The Bodley Head, London, in two parts: Part I in 1968 and Part II in 1969. This precedes the US Dial Press edition. Identify by the Bodley Head imprint and the first-impression statement on the Part I volume.

## Is this the true first?
True first English is The Bodley Head UK issue (Part I 1968, Part II 1969), translated by Bethell and Burg, preceding the US Dial Press edition. These were unauthorized; Russian-language editions circulated in the West in 1968 before any authorized release, and excerpts appeared in the Times Literary Supplement in April 1968.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Confirm the Bodley Head two-part issue for the UK first; US Dial Press and later Farrar reprints follow. No legitimate Soviet edition existed at the time.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Cancer Ward (Rakovy korpus)* by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/cancer-ward-rakovy-korpus
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.