Is My Divergent a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
• The statement alone proves nothing: HarperCollins left "First Edition" standing on later printings, and dealers routinely list copies "first edition stated" whose number lines begin 20 19 18 or 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 — the number line, not the statement, settles the printing
• Octavo (roughly 5 the printed price x 8 the printed price inches), navy boards, 487 pages, in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the back panel; an unclipped jacket is expected on a first
• The uncorrected proof / advance reader's edition is a softcover and is not the first edition

How Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins marked a first edition

• 1922–c.1962 (Harper & Brothers, stated-first era): from 1922 Harper & Brothers began printing the words 'First Edition' on the copyright page. IMPORTANT: the letter printing code did NOT stop in 1922 — it continued to ap…
• Reading the year code (the central trap): the year sequence begins M=1912 and runs forward through the alphabet — M=1912, N=1913, O=1914 … Z=1925, A=1926, B=1927 … L=1936. In 1937 the alphabet is RECYCLED: it restarts at…

Full Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books), New York, 2011 is the true first. Sources give the on-sale date as either 26 April 2011 (Wikipedia infobox) or 3 May 2011 (retail listings); either way it precedes or is simultaneous with the UK. HarperCollins Children's Books issued Divergent in the UK in 2011 as a paperback (ISBN 9780007420414, listed on sale 3 May 2011) — that is a UK first, not the true first, and collectors chase the US hardcover. Later US reissues, boxed sets, and film tie-ins are "first thus" traps.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The live reprint tells are (a) later printings that retain the "First Edition" statement while the number line's lowest digit rises, and (b) the softcover ARC/uncorrected proof, which is not a first edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Divergent a first edition?

A first edition of Divergent by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins) is identified by: The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books), New York, 2011 is the true first.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The live reprint tells are (a) later printings that retain the "First Edition" statement while the number line's lowest digit rises, and (b) the softcover ARC/uncorrected proof, which is not a first edition.

I have a first edition of Divergent — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.