# Is "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002) is identified by: First edition, first printing has the full FSG number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' ending in 1 on the copyright page. US FSG (2002) is the true first; the UK Bloomsbury edition is later.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing has the full FSG number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Octavo of roughly 529 pages, bound in tan boards backed with tan cloth with metallic red detailing; dust jacket designed by Susan Mitchell with multicolored spine lettering, retaining its original printed price on the front flap
- Pulitzer Prize winner
- Oprah's Book Club selection — jackets bearing the printed Oprah seal are a later jacket state
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jeffrey Eugenides |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 2002 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing has the full FSG number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' ending in 1 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing has the full FSG number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' ending in 1 on the copyright page. Octavo of roughly 529 pages, bound in tan boards backed with tan cloth with metallic red detailing; dust jacket designed by Susan Mitchell with multicolored spine lettering, retaining its original printed price on the front flap. Pulitzer Prize winner. Oprah's Book Club selection — jackets bearing the printed Oprah seal are a later jacket state.

## Is this the true first?
US FSG (2002) is the true first; the UK Bloomsbury edition is later. An advance uncorrected proof / reader's copy precedes the published first edition. The first-state jacket lacks the printed Oprah's Book Club seal.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Oprah's Book Club printings carry the printed Oprah seal on the jacket; book-club editions lack the full number line ending in 1 and typically carry a blind-stamp on the rear board.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Middlesex* by Jeffrey Eugenides a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/middlesex
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.