# Is "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" by Gabriel García Márquez (trans. Gregory Rabassa) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez (trans. Gregory Rabassa) (Jonathan Cape, London, 1982 (Cape, first English); 1983 (Knopf, first US)) is identified by: The true first English-language edition is Jonathan Cape, London, 1982, translated by Gregory Rabassa. The world first is the Spanish 'Crónica de una muerte anunciada' (Editorial La Oveja Negra, Bogotá, 1981).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first English-language edition is Jonathan Cape, London, 1982, translated by Gregory Rabassa
- The first US edition is Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1983 (cloth in dust jacket)
- Both are firsts in their respective markets, but the UK Cape edition precedes the US Knopf edition
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gabriel García Márquez (trans. Gregory Rabassa) |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape, London |
| Year | 1982 (Cape, first English); 1983 (Knopf, first US) |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first English-language edition is Jonathan Cape, London, 1982, translated by Gregory Rabassa |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first English-language edition is Jonathan Cape, London, 1982, translated by Gregory Rabassa. The first US edition is Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1983 (cloth in dust jacket). Both are firsts in their respective markets, but the UK Cape edition precedes the US Knopf edition.

## Is this the true first?
The world first is the Spanish 'Crónica de una muerte anunciada' (Editorial La Oveja Negra, Bogotá, 1981). The 1982 Jonathan Cape London edition is the first edition in English; the 1983 Knopf is the first US edition, published the following year.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club and later paperbacks are reprints. For first-English precedence, the 1982 Cape edition leads; the 1983 Knopf is the US first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Chronicle of a Death Foretold* by Gabriel García Márquez (trans. Gregory Rabassa) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/chronicle-of-a-death-foretold
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.