# Is "No Longer at Ease" by Chinua Achebe a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe (William Heinemann, 1960) is identified by: First edition, Heinemann, London, 1960. Heinemann London 1960 is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Heinemann, London, 1960
- Cloth boards with gilt spine lettering
- 170 pages
- Issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by Peter Edwards, with no later-printing statement on the first impression
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Chinua Achebe |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1960 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Heinemann, London, 1960 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, Heinemann, London, 1960. Cloth boards with gilt spine lettering; 170 pages. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket designed by Peter Edwards, with no later-printing statement on the first impression.

## Is this the true first?
Heinemann London 1960 is the true first edition. The US edition (Ivan Obolensky) followed in 1961. The novel is the second in Achebe's African Trilogy, between Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The African Writers Series paperback (1963) and later printings are reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *No Longer at Ease* by Chinua Achebe a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/no-longer-at-ease
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.