# Is "Redwall" by Brian Jacques a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Redwall by Brian Jacques (Hutchinson, 1986) is identified by: First edition, first impression: London, Hutchinson, published 23 October 1986. UK Hutchinson (London), 23 October 1986 is the true first; an ABAA dealer states flatly that the British edition precedes all others.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression: London, Hutchinson, published 23 October 1986
- Illustrated by Gary Chalk (in-text designs and a map); jacket illustration by Pete Lyon
- Bound in blue cloth-grain paper-covered boards lettered in gilt to the spine — two independent ABAA/ILAB dealers agree on blue boards with gilt spine lettering
- Hutchinson firsts of this period state 'First published (Year)' or 'First published in Great Britain (Year)' on the copyright page; a numeral sequence is also recorded for Hutchinson, with 1 on first printings and 2 on seconds
- The jacket carries the net UK-only price at the front flap and should be unclipped with the price present
- Genuinely scarce in the first UK printing
- Publisher imprint reads Hutchinson

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Brian Jacques |
| Publisher | Hutchinson |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First edition, first impression: London, Hutchinson, published 23 October 1986 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression: London, Hutchinson, published 23 October 1986. Illustrated by Gary Chalk (in-text designs and a map); jacket illustration by Pete Lyon. Bound in blue cloth-grain paper-covered boards lettered in gilt to the spine — two independent ABAA/ILAB dealers agree on blue boards with gilt spine lettering. Hutchinson firsts of this period state 'First published (Year)' or 'First published in Great Britain (Year)' on the copyright page; a numeral sequence is also recorded for Hutchinson, with 1 on first printings and 2 on seconds. The jacket carries the net UK-only price at the front flap and should be unclipped with the price present. Genuinely scarce in the first UK printing.

## Is this the true first?
UK Hutchinson (London), 23 October 1986 is the true first; an ABAA dealer states flatly that the British edition precedes all others. The first American edition is Philomel Books, New York, published August 1987, which states 'First impression' — publisher's red cloth-backed grey paper-covered boards titled in gilt, retaining Gary Chalk's illustrations but with new cover art by Troy Howell. Both are collected: the Hutchinson as the true first, the Philomel as the first American edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The principal trap is dating: the Philomel first American edition carries a 1986 copyright and is therefore routinely catalogued and offered as a '1986 first edition' when it was in fact published in 1987 and is not the true first — verify by the 'First impression' statement and the Philomel imprint, never by the copyright year. Later Philomel printings are also widely listed as 'first edition, later printing' (second, thirteenth and beyond are recorded). The 1997 illustrated trade paperback and later collector's/anniversary editions are 'first thus' only. Note a source conflict on collation: two dealers give the Hutchinson at 351 pages while a reference source gives 311, so page count should not be used as a point.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Redwall* by Brian Jacques a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/redwall
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.