# Is "Lord Rochester's Monkey" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Lord Rochester's Monkey by Graham Greene (The Bodley Head, 1974) is identified by: First printing, copyright page stating 'First published 1974'. The Bodley Head London edition is the true first; a Viking (US) edition followed in 1974.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing, copyright page stating 'First published 1974'
- Quarto, cloth binding, illustrated; a biography of John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, written in the 1930s and first published in 1974
- Publisher imprint reads The Bodley Head
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
| Year | 1974 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing, copyright page stating 'First published 1974' |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing, copyright page stating 'First published 1974'. Quarto, cloth binding, illustrated; a biography of John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, written in the 1930s and first published in 1974.

## Is this the true first?
The Bodley Head London edition is the true first; a Viking (US) edition followed in 1974.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Lord Rochester's Monkey* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/lord-rochesters-monkey
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.