# Is "He Died with His Eyes Open" by Derek Raymond a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of He Died with His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond (The Alison Press / Martin Secker & Warburg, 1984) is identified by: The census's 'Secker & Warburg' is correct but under-specified: the book was issued under Secker's Alison Press imprint, and the Ballantine US edition's copyright page records it as 'Originally published by the Alison Press/Martin Secker & Warburg Limited in 1984' — the title page and copyright page of the first read Alison Press/Martin Secker & Warburg, not Secker & Warburg alone. The census claim is confirmed and is not a close call: the UK first (London, 1984) precedes the American edition by three years — the US issue did not appear until Ballantine Books / Available Press, New York, 1987 (ISBN 0345342895) — so there is no genuine UK-vs-US precedence contest, and the US 1987 issue should never be catalogued as a first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The census's 'Secker & Warburg' is correct but under-specified: the book was issued under Secker's Alison Press imprint, and the Ballantine US edition's copyright page records it as 'Originally published by the Alison Press/Martin Secker & Warburg Limited in 1984' — the title page and copyright page of the first read Alison Press/Martin Secker & Warburg, not Secker & Warburg alone
- There is no number line: Secker & Warburg firsts of this period state 'First published in England (year) by Martin Secker & Warburg Limited' on the copyright page and note subsequent impressions (Quill & Brush), so a first printing carries the 1984 first-published line and no later-impression statement
- Hardcover in jacket
- An issue characteristic worth recording: the paper stock is poor and the leaves are browned/tanned on effectively every copy, including those catalogued near fine by an ABA/ILAB dealer — tanning here is normal to the issue, not evidence of a later printing or of abuse
- Jackets are frequently found price-clipped and re-priced by the publisher, so a re-priced flap is not by itself disqualifying
- Publisher imprint reads The Alison Press / Martin Secker & Warburg
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Derek Raymond |
| Publisher | The Alison Press / Martin Secker & Warburg |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The census's 'Secker & Warburg' is correct but under-specified: the book was issued under Secker's Alison Press imprint, and the Ballantine… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The census's 'Secker & Warburg' is correct but under-specified: the book was issued under Secker's Alison Press imprint, and the Ballantine US edition's copyright page records it as 'Originally published by the Alison Press/Martin Secker & Warburg Limited in 1984' — the title page and copyright page of the first read Alison Press/Martin Secker & Warburg, not Secker & Warburg alone. There is no number line: Secker & Warburg firsts of this period state 'First published in England (year) by Martin Secker & Warburg Limited' on the copyright page and note subsequent impressions (Quill & Brush), so a first printing carries the 1984 first-published line and no later-impression statement. Hardcover in jacket. An issue characteristic worth recording: the paper stock is poor and the leaves are browned/tanned on effectively every copy, including those catalogued near fine by an ABA/ILAB dealer — tanning here is normal to the issue, not evidence of a later printing or of abuse. Jackets are frequently found price-clipped and re-priced by the publisher, so a re-priced flap is not by itself disqualifying.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is confirmed and is not a close call: the UK first (London, 1984) precedes the American edition by three years — the US issue did not appear until Ballantine Books / Available Press, New York, 1987 (ISBN 0345342895) — so there is no genuine UK-vs-US precedence contest, and the US 1987 issue should never be catalogued as a first. This is the opening novel of the Factory series. Identity note for cataloguing: Derek Raymond is the pen name of the English novelist Robin Cook (1931-1994), adopted to avoid confusion with the American medical-thriller writer of the same name — the two authors are routinely conflated in listings. First-thus traps: the Ballantine/Available Press 1987 US issue, and the later Serpent's Tail and Melville House Factory reprints.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club or reprint tells are documented for this title in the sources consulted; it was a modest UK literary-crime issue rather than a club selection. Do not publish a club point for it.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *He Died with His Eyes Open* by Derek Raymond a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/he-died-with-his-eyes-open
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.