# Is "MF" by Anthony Burgess a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of MF by Anthony Burgess (Alfred A. Knopf, 1971) is identified by: First edition, first printing. Both the US Knopf and UK Cape editions appeared in 1971.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing
- Issued in 1971 by Alfred A. Knopf in the US and Jonathan Cape in the UK. The Knopf jacket styles the title M/F on the spine while the title page reads MF. Precedence between the two 1971 editions is not firmly established
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anthony Burgess |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing. Issued in 1971 by Alfred A. Knopf in the US and Jonathan Cape in the UK. The Knopf jacket styles the title M/F on the spine while the title page reads MF. Precedence between the two 1971 editions is not firmly established.

## Is this the true first?
Both the US Knopf and UK Cape editions appeared in 1971. Reliable sources do not establish which was issued first, so neither should be presented as the definitive true first without further bibliographic confirmation.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue noted.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *MF* by Anthony Burgess a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mf
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.