# Is "In Search of a Character: Two African Journals" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In Search of a Character: Two African Journals by Graham Greene (The Bodley Head, 1961) is identified by: First edition, first impression, The Bodley Head, London, 1961. UK Bodley Head is the true first; the US Viking edition followed in 1962.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression, The Bodley Head, London, 1961
- Red quarter cloth over green paper-covered boards, gilt spine titles, 228 pages, in a yellow dust jacket with black lettering
- Among Greene's earliest titles for The Bodley Head, his new publisher after leaving Heinemann
- Publisher imprint reads The Bodley Head
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
| Year | 1961 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression, The Bodley Head, London, 1961 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression, The Bodley Head, London, 1961. Red quarter cloth over green paper-covered boards, gilt spine titles, 228 pages, in a yellow dust jacket with black lettering. Among Greene's earliest titles for The Bodley Head, his new publisher after leaving Heinemann.

## Is this the true first?
UK Bodley Head is the true first; the US Viking edition followed in 1962.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue noted for the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In Search of a Character: Two African Journals* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-search-of-a-character-two-african-journals
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.