# Is "Napoleon Symphony" by Anthony Burgess a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Napoleon Symphony by Anthony Burgess (Alfred A. Knopf, 1974) is identified by: First edition, first printing. Both the US Knopf and UK Cape editions are dated 1974.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing
- Subtitled A Novel in Four Movements
- Published in 1974 by both Alfred A. Knopf in the US and Jonathan Cape in the UK. The Knopf edition is dated to May 1974; the Cape month is not firmly documented
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anthony Burgess |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1974 |
| 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. Subtitled A Novel in Four Movements. Published in 1974 by both Alfred A. Knopf in the US and Jonathan Cape in the UK. The Knopf edition is dated to May 1974; the Cape month is not firmly documented.

## Is this the true first?
Both the US Knopf and UK Cape editions are dated 1974. The Knopf edition is recorded as May 1974, but the Cape publication month is not established in available sources, so precedence cannot be confirmed.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Napoleon Symphony* by Anthony Burgess a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/napoleon-symphony
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.