# Is "George's Marvellous Medicine" by Roald Dahl (illus. Quentin Blake) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl (illus. Quentin Blake) (Jonathan Cape, 1981) is identified by: The Jonathan Cape first carries a single 'First published 1981' statement with no later-printing dates added beneath; bound in light blue cloth-effect boards with gilt spine lettering, in the first-issue Quentin Blake jacket bearing the original UK price to the front flap. The UK Jonathan Cape 1981 edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Jonathan Cape first carries a single 'First published 1981' statement with no later-printing dates added beneath; bound in light blue cloth-effect boards with gilt spine lettering, in the first-issue Quentin Blake jacket bearing the original UK price to the front flap
- Uncorrected proofs carry a provisional price and a stated May 1981 publication date and are not the trade first
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roald Dahl (illus. Quentin Blake) |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | The Jonathan Cape first carries a single 'First published 1981' statement with no later-printing dates added beneath; bound in light blue… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The Jonathan Cape first carries a single 'First published 1981' statement with no later-printing dates added beneath; bound in light blue cloth-effect boards with gilt spine lettering, in the first-issue Quentin Blake jacket bearing the original UK price to the front flap. Uncorrected proofs carry a provisional price and a stated May 1981 publication date and are not the trade first.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Jonathan Cape 1981 edition is the true first. The US Knopf edition, titled 'George's Marvelous Medicine' with American spelling, is a separate later issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
US 'Marvelous'-spelling copies are not the UK true first. Later Cape printings add subsequent printing dates beneath the 'First published 1981' line, and price-clipped jackets remove the identifying flap price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *George's Marvellous Medicine* by Roald Dahl (illus. Quentin Blake) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/georges-marvellous-medicine
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.