# Is "Shakespeare" by Anthony Burgess a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Shakespeare by Anthony Burgess (Jonathan Cape, 1970) is identified by: First edition, first printing. Both the UK Cape and US Knopf editions are dated 1970.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing
- Illustrated biography (a large-format work with 48 color and 97 black-and-white plates, 272 pages)
- Published in 1970 by Jonathan Cape in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the US
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anthony Burgess |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing. Illustrated biography (a large-format work with 48 color and 97 black-and-white plates, 272 pages). Published in 1970 by Jonathan Cape in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the US.

## Is this the true first?
Both the UK Cape and US Knopf editions are dated 1970. Sources do not firmly establish which was issued first, so the UK-first claim should not be presented as definitive.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Shakespeare* by Anthony Burgess a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/shakespeare
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.