# Is "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday, New York, 2022) is identified by: US Doubleday first printing (ISBN 978-0-385-54734-5): the copyright page states "First Edition" and carries a complete number line including the "1". The census claim that the US is the "standard first" is NOT supported and is corrected here.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Doubleday first printing (ISBN 978-0-385-54734-5): the copyright page states "First Edition" and carries a complete number line including the "1"
- Doubleday uses a split line, so a copy whose line begins "2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3" is the second printing — the statement alone is not decisive, read the line
- Bound in plain pale-blue paper-covered boards with black quarter binding (black spine) lettered in gilt; about 9 the printed price inches tall
- 390 numbered pages followed by an unnumbered "About the Author" leaf
- The jacket should be unclipped with the price present at the front flap
- UK Doubleday first printing (ISBN 978-0-85752-812-4, 400 pp) carries a full number line on the copyright page; dealers catalogue it simply as "UK first"
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bonnie Garmus |
| Publisher | Doubleday, New York |
| Year | 2022 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Doubleday first printing (ISBN 978-0-385-54734-5): the copyright page states "First Edition" and carries a complete number line… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Doubleday first printing (ISBN 978-0-385-54734-5): the copyright page states "First Edition" and carries a complete number line including the "1". Doubleday uses a split line, so a copy whose line begins "2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3" is the second printing — the statement alone is not decisive, read the line. Bound in plain pale-blue paper-covered boards with black quarter binding (black spine) lettered in gilt; about 9 the printed price inches tall; 390 numbered pages followed by an unnumbered "About the Author" leaf. The jacket should be unclipped with the price present at the front flap. UK Doubleday first printing (ISBN 978-0-85752-812-4, 400 pp) carries a full number line on the copyright page; dealers catalogue it simply as "UK first". The Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition (ISBN 978-0-385-54940-0, 404 pp) is a separate simultaneous issue, not the trade first.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim that the US is the "standard first" is NOT supported and is corrected here. Doubleday New York (Penguin Random House US) and Doubleday London (an imprint of Transworld, a different company) both published on 5 April 2022 per the publishers' own listings — a genuinely simultaneous issue with no established precedence. Both are collected and both should be named. Because both carry the Doubleday name, a UK copy is easily mistaken for the US first; separate them by ISBN prefix (0-385- = US New York; 0-85752- = UK London). Garmus is an American resident in London, which is why UK copies circulate widely in the US market.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A Book of the Month (BOTM) hardcover was issued and is not the Doubleday trade first — club copies are printed for the club and carry no price at the jacket flap. Also distinguish the 2024 Transworld "special hardback edition" (ISBN 978-1-5299-3829-6) with stencilled/sprayed edges, new endpapers and added exclusive content: that is a later first-thus, not a first printing. Any copy collating 404 pp rather than 390 is not the US trade first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Lessons in Chemistry* by Bonnie Garmus a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/lessons-in-chemistry
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.