# Is "Constance, or Solitary Practices" by Lawrence Durrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Constance, or Solitary Practices by Lawrence Durrell (Faber & Faber, 1982) is identified by: First edition, first impression: blue cloth boards with silver lettering to the spine, in the unclipped David Gentleman dust jacket with the printed price present, roughly 393 pages. UK Faber & Faber is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression: blue cloth boards with silver lettering to the spine, in the unclipped David Gentleman dust jacket with the printed price present, roughly 393 pages
- Volume 3 (the central volume) of The Avignon Quintet
- Booker Prize shortlist 1982
- As a Faber & Faber title of this date, the first impression is identified by the 'First published in 1982' statement on the copyright page (year in Arabic numerals), with no later-impression line added
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lawrence Durrell |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1982 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression: blue cloth boards with silver lettering to the spine, in the unclipped David Gentleman dust jacket with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression: blue cloth boards with silver lettering to the spine, in the unclipped David Gentleman dust jacket with the printed price present, roughly 393 pages. Volume 3 (the central volume) of The Avignon Quintet; Booker Prize shortlist 1982. As a Faber & Faber title of this date, the first impression is identified by the 'First published in 1982' statement on the copyright page (year in Arabic numerals), with no later-impression line added.

## Is this the true first?
UK Faber & Faber is the true first. A US edition followed from The Viking Press in 1982.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Constance, or Solitary Practices* by Lawrence Durrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/constance-or-solitary-practices
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.