# Is "Look Back in Anger: A Play in Three Acts" by John Osborne a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Look Back in Anger: A Play in Three Acts by John Osborne (Faber and Faber, London, 1957) is identified by: The first impression is identified negatively, by the absence of an impression line: the imprint page carries Faber's Roman-numeral publication statement ('First published in mcmlvii by Faber and Faber Limited, 24 Russell Square, London') and nothing further, whereas later impressions add an explicit line — a copy seen in the course of this check states 'Second Impression' on that page while otherwise matching the first. The Faber and Faber, London, 1957 edition is the true first and precedes all others — Osborne's first published play, and the founding text of the 'Angry Young Men' moment.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first impression is identified negatively, by the absence of an impression line: the imprint page carries Faber's Roman-numeral publication statement ('First published in mcmlvii by Faber and Faber Limited, 24 Russell Square, London') and nothing further, whereas later impressions add an explicit line — a copy seen in the course of this check states 'Second Impression' on that page while otherwise matching the first
- Bound in publisher's russet (brown) cloth, spine lettered in gilt; the gilt is characteristically oxidised or dulled on surviving copies, which is a condition trait rather than an issue point and should not be mistaken for one
- Collation 96 pp., octavo, approximately 8.5 x 5.5 inches
- Issued in a photographic dust jacket; the point collectors check is a priced jacket, with the price present at the flap and not clipped
- Offsetting to the endpapers is common and, again, is condition rather than issue
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Osborne |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber, London |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | The first impression is identified negatively, by the absence of an impression line: the imprint page carries Faber's Roman-numeral… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The first impression is identified negatively, by the absence of an impression line: the imprint page carries Faber's Roman-numeral publication statement ('First published in mcmlvii by Faber and Faber Limited, 24 Russell Square, London') and nothing further, whereas later impressions add an explicit line — a copy seen in the course of this check states 'Second Impression' on that page while otherwise matching the first. Bound in publisher's russet (brown) cloth, spine lettered in gilt; the gilt is characteristically oxidised or dulled on surviving copies, which is a condition trait rather than an issue point and should not be mistaken for one. Collation 96 pp., octavo, approximately 8.5 x 5.5 inches. Issued in a photographic dust jacket; the point collectors check is a priced jacket, with the price present at the flap and not clipped. Offsetting to the endpapers is common and, again, is condition rather than issue.

## Is this the true first?
The Faber and Faber, London, 1957 edition is the true first and precedes all others — Osborne's first published play, and the founding text of the 'Angry Young Men' moment. The first American edition, Criterion Books, New York, 1957, is a same-year issue but not a rival first: it was printed in Great Britain from the Faber sheets and issued with the American publisher's imprint, so it is textually identical to and derived from the London edition. Both are collected and should be named, but the Criterion issue is properly described as the first American edition from British sheets, never as a co-first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprint and later-issue tells are unusually clean for this title: any impression statement on the Faber imprint page ('Second Impression' and onward) rules out the first. The Criterion Books, New York, 1957 issue is distinguished by the American imprint on British sheets. Faber paperback and acting-edition texts, and the tie-in printings following the 1959 Tony Richardson film with Richard Burton and Mary Ure, are all later. No dedicated book-club edition was documented in the sources consulted.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Look Back in Anger: A Play in Three Acts* by John Osborne a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/look-back-in-anger-a-play-in-three-acts
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.