# Is "H Is for Hawk" by Helen Macdonald a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald (Jonathan Cape, 2014) is identified by: UK Jonathan Cape 2014, fawn boards with spine titled in black; complete number line on the copyright page ending in 1; jacket art by Chris Wormell after Sir William Nicholson, with original unclipped price on the first-state jacket. UK Jonathan Cape (London) is the true first, 2014; the US Grove Press edition followed in 2015.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Jonathan Cape 2014, fawn boards with spine titled in black; complete number line on the copyright page ending in 1; jacket art by Chris Wormell after Sir William Nicholson, with original unclipped price on the first-state jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Helen Macdonald |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 2014 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Jonathan Cape 2014, fawn boards with spine titled in black; complete number line on the copyright page ending in 1; jacket art by Chris… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Jonathan Cape 2014, fawn boards with spine titled in black; complete number line on the copyright page ending in 1; jacket art by Chris Wormell after Sir William Nicholson, with original unclipped price on the first-state jacket.

## Is this the true first?
UK Jonathan Cape (London) is the true first, 2014; the US Grove Press edition followed in 2015. Won the Samuel Johnson Prize and the Costa Book of the Year.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The US Grove edition (2015) is not the true first; the UK Cape 2014 printing has precedence and is identified by the full number line to 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *H Is for Hawk* by Helen Macdonald a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/h-is-for-hawk
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.