# Is "Fatherland" by Robert Harris a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Fatherland by Robert Harris (Hutchinson, 1992) is identified by: Hutchinson printed no "First Edition" slug; the first printing is identified by the copyright-page line "First published in 1992 by Hutchinson" with no impression or later-printing statement added beneath it. Census claim confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Hutchinson printed no "First Edition" slug; the first printing is identified by the copyright-page line "First published in 1992 by Hutchinson" with no impression or later-printing statement added beneath it
- Original black cloth/boards, spine lettered in silver; medium octavo, x+372 pp, with a full-page map and title and text decorations
- First-issue dust jacket (design credited to the Senate) with the price present at the front flap, unclipped
- A condition note that is often mistaken for an issue point: the red of the flag artwork fades toward pink on the spine panel, so an unfaded spine indicates a well-kept copy, not a distinct state
- Uncorrected proof copies in pictorial wrappers precede the trade issue
- Some copies were sold with a Waterstones bellyband noting a signed first edition — an accompaniment, not a printing point
- Publisher imprint reads Hutchinson

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Harris |
| Publisher | Hutchinson |
| Year | 1992 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Hutchinson printed no "First Edition" slug; the first printing is identified by the copyright-page line "First published in 1992 by… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Hutchinson printed no "First Edition" slug; the first printing is identified by the copyright-page line "First published in 1992 by Hutchinson" with no impression or later-printing statement added beneath it. Original black cloth/boards, spine lettered in silver; medium octavo, x+372 pp, with a full-page map and title and text decorations. First-issue dust jacket (design credited to the Senate) with the price present at the front flap, unclipped. A condition note that is often mistaken for an issue point: the red of the flag artwork fades toward pink on the spine panel, so an unfaded spine indicates a well-kept copy, not a distinct state. Uncorrected proof copies in pictorial wrappers precede the trade issue. Some copies were sold with a Waterstones bellyband noting a signed first edition — an accompaniment, not a printing point.

## Is this the true first?
Census claim confirmed. UK Hutchinson, London, 7 May 1992 is the true first and precedes the first US edition from Random House (New York) — sources give the Random House date as either 26 May or June 1992, and both fall after Hutchinson. Both editions are collected. The Random House first is identified by its own house convention: a stated first-US-edition line on the copyright page with a number line whose lowest surviving digit is 2. That is a genuine trap — under the usual "the 1 must be present" rule a Random House first reads as a second printing, and it is not. US and UK jackets carry different artwork.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted; the general screen applies — blind stamp to the rear board, no price at the jacket flap, thinner boards and lighter bulk. The more common misidentification with this title is not a book club at all but the Random House US first, whose number line beginning at 2 is correct for a first and routinely gets a true first downgraded to "second printing."

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Fatherland* by Robert Harris a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/fatherland
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.