# Is "Personal" by Lee Child a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Personal by Lee Child (Bantam Press, 2014) is identified by: UK Bantam Press hardback is the true first: hardback with 'First published in Great Britain' on the copyright page and full number line ending in 1. Nineteenth Reacher novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Bantam Press hardback is the true first: hardback with 'First published in Great Britain' on the copyright page and full number line ending in 1
- The US Delacorte issue states 'First Edition' with a number line ending in 1 but is a later state
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lee Child |
| Publisher | Bantam Press |
| Year | 2014 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Bantam Press hardback is the true first: hardback with 'First published in Great… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Bantam Press hardback is the true first: hardback with 'First published in Great Britain' on the copyright page and full number line ending in 1. The US Delacorte issue states 'First Edition' with a number line ending in 1 but is a later state.

## Is this the true first?
Nineteenth Reacher novel. The UK Bantam Press edition (28 August 2014) preceded the US Delacorte edition (2 September 2014), so the UK hardback is the true first, not the US.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None significant.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Personal* by Lee Child a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/personal
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.