# Is "Shalimar the Clown" by Salman Rushdie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie (Jonathan Cape, 2005) is identified by: Hardback in boards with gilt-lettered spine, issued in dust jacket. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (6 September 2005, ISBN 0224061615) and the US edition were released on the same date, so the two are effectively simultaneous rather than one preceding the other.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Hardback in boards with gilt-lettered spine, issued in dust jacket
- First edition, first impression has the full number line ending in 1; later printings state the impression
- Booker Prize longlisted
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Salman Rushdie |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Hardback in boards with gilt-lettered spine, issued in dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Hardback in boards with gilt-lettered spine, issued in dust jacket. First edition, first impression has the full number line ending in 1; later printings state the impression. Booker Prize longlisted.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Jonathan Cape edition (6 September 2005, ISBN 0224061615) and the US edition were released on the same date, so the two are effectively simultaneous rather than one preceding the other. The US first edition was published by Alfred A. Knopf, not Random House; collectors generally treat the Cape printing as the UK first and the Knopf printing as the US first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions add the impression statement on the copyright page; the true first shows the complete number line down to 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Shalimar the Clown* by Salman Rushdie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/shalimar-the-clown
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.