# Is "London: The Biography" by Peter Ackroyd a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd (Chatto & Windus, 2000) is identified by: First edition, first printing. The UK Chatto & Windus edition of 2000 is the true first and precedes the US edition (Nan A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing
- A large octavo of xxiii plus 822 pages with thirty-two unnumbered plates (some in colour) and maps, bound in original grey cloth lettered in silver on the spine, issued in the first-issue photographic dust jacket with the printed UK price present to the flap on an unclipped copy
- UK first issued under ISBN 1856197166
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Peter Ackroyd |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 2000 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing. A large octavo of xxiii plus 822 pages with thirty-two unnumbered plates (some in colour) and maps, bound in original grey cloth lettered in silver on the spine, issued in the first-issue photographic dust jacket with the printed UK price present to the flap on an unclipped copy. UK first issued under ISBN 1856197166.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Chatto & Windus edition of 2000 is the true first and precedes the US edition (Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, 2001).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions and the paperback issues are reprints and do not precede the Chatto & Windus first; confirm the first by the grey cloth, silver spine lettering, and the photographic jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *London: The Biography* by Peter Ackroyd a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/london-the-biography
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.