# Is "Hearing Secret Harmonies" by Anthony Powell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hearing Secret Harmonies by Anthony Powell (Heinemann, 1975) is identified by: First printing, first impression, of the twelfth and final volume of A Dance to the Music of Time. The Heinemann London edition of 1975 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing, first impression, of the twelfth and final volume of A Dance to the Music of Time
- Published by Heinemann, London, 1975, octavo, collating 272 pages
- Bound in publisher's red cloth with gilt titling set against a black panel to the spine
- Issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by Broom-Lynne, which on a first-state example retains its printed price to the flap
- Publisher imprint reads Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anthony Powell |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing, first impression, of the twelfth and final volume of A Dance to the Music of Time |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing, first impression, of the twelfth and final volume of A Dance to the Music of Time. Published by Heinemann, London, 1975, octavo, collating 272 pages. Bound in publisher's red cloth with gilt titling set against a black panel to the spine. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by Broom-Lynne, which on a first-state example retains its printed price to the flap.

## Is this the true first?
The Heinemann London edition of 1975 is the true first. The US edition, published by Little, Brown in 1976, follows the UK first and is a separate setting.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later book-club and reprint-society printings followed the trade first and are not the first edition; look for the Heinemann imprint, the red cloth binding, and the Broom-Lynne jacket rather than a book-club board or blind-stamp.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hearing Secret Harmonies* by Anthony Powell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hearing-secret-harmonies
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.