# Is "Pulse" by Julian Barnes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Pulse by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape, 2011) is identified by: Collection of fourteen stories. UK Jonathan Cape (2011) precedes the US Knopf edition (2011); the black-cloth Cape issue with the descending-to-1 number line is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Collection of fourteen stories
- First edition bound in black cloth boards stamped in silver to the spine, with dark grey endpapers; the copyright page carries the Jonathan Cape 'First published' statement and the number line 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
- Text typeset in Bembo, printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd
- First-state dust jacket designed by Suzanne Dean, with an author photograph by Alan Edwards to the rear flap; the jacket should retain its printed price to the front flap (price-clipping does not by itself unmake a first)
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Julian Barnes |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 2011 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Collection of fourteen stories |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Collection of fourteen stories. First edition bound in black cloth boards stamped in silver to the spine, with dark grey endpapers; the copyright page carries the Jonathan Cape 'First published' statement and the number line 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1. Text typeset in Bembo, printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd. First-state dust jacket designed by Suzanne Dean, with an author photograph by Alan Edwards to the rear flap; the jacket should retain its printed price to the front flap (price-clipping does not by itself unmake a first).

## Is this the true first?
UK Jonathan Cape (2011) precedes the US Knopf edition (2011); the black-cloth Cape issue with the descending-to-1 number line is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Cape impressions advance the number line so that the low digit is no longer present; a separate Waterstone's limited-edition ISBN also exists and is not the trade first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Pulse* by Julian Barnes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/pulse
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.