# Is "Dirty Beasts" by Roald Dahl a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dirty Beasts by Roald Dahl (Jonathan Cape, 1983) is identified by: UK Cape first, dated 1983, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published followed by the date, later printings stated beneath). UK Cape true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Cape first, dated 1983, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published followed by the date, later printings stated beneath)
- Issued in laminated pictorial boards without a dust jacket, so there is no jacket price to check
- The 1983 first is illustrated by Rosemary Fawcett
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roald Dahl |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | UK Cape first, dated 1983, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK Cape first, dated 1983, identified by the standard Cape copyright statement (First published followed by the date, later printings stated beneath). Issued in laminated pictorial boards without a dust jacket, so there is no jacket price to check. The 1983 first is illustrated by Rosemary Fawcett.

## Is this the true first?
UK Cape true first. Dahl disliked the Fawcett illustrations, and Cape reissued the book in 1984 illustrated by Quentin Blake; the Fawcett-illustrated 1983 printing is the collected first. A US Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1984 Quentin Blake illustrated version is a later, reset edition, not the first. Book-club printings are later issues.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dirty Beasts* by Roald Dahl a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dirty-beasts
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.