# Is "Reflections on a Marine Venus" by Lawrence Durrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Reflections on a Marine Venus by Lawrence Durrell (Faber & Faber, 1953) is identified by: First edition, first printing, in green cloth with a pictorial dust jacket, with black-and-white photographic plates. UK Faber and Faber, London, 1953 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, in green cloth with a pictorial dust jacket, with black-and-white photographic plates
- Subtitled A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes; a travel companion to the earlier Prospero's Cell
- A US Dutton edition followed later
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lawrence Durrell |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, in green cloth with a pictorial dust jacket, with black-and-white photographic plates |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, in green cloth with a pictorial dust jacket, with black-and-white photographic plates. Subtitled A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes; a travel companion to the earlier Prospero's Cell. A US Dutton edition followed later.

## Is this the true first?
UK Faber and Faber, London, 1953 is the true first. A first American edition was issued by Dutton.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Reflections on a Marine Venus* by Lawrence Durrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/reflections-on-a-marine-venus
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.