# Is "Terra Nostra" by Carlos Fuentes (trans. Margaret Sayers Peden) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Terra Nostra by Carlos Fuentes (trans. Margaret Sayers Peden) (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1976) is identified by: First English-language edition, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1976, octavo, 778 pages, first printing stated on the copyright page. The true first edition is the Spanish 'Terra Nostra' (Editorial Joaquin Mortiz, Mexico, 1975; also Seix Barral, Spain, 1975).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English-language edition, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1976, octavo, 778 pages, first printing stated on the copyright page
- Bound in quarter cloth, plum/purple cloth spine over red paper-covered boards, in a dust jacket carrying the printed price at the front flap (present, unclipped price preferred; never state the amount)
- Translation of 'Terra Nostra'
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Carlos Fuentes (trans. Margaret Sayers Peden) |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York |
| Year | 1976 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English-language edition, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1976, octavo, 778 pages, first… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First English-language edition, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1976, octavo, 778 pages, first printing stated on the copyright page. Bound in quarter cloth, plum/purple cloth spine over red paper-covered boards, in a dust jacket carrying the printed price at the front flap (present, unclipped price preferred; never state the amount). Translation of 'Terra Nostra' (1975).

## Is this the true first?
The true first edition is the Spanish 'Terra Nostra' (Editorial Joaquin Mortiz, Mexico, 1975; also Seix Barral, Spain, 1975). The 1976 Farrar, Straus & Giroux, identified by the stated first printing and the plum-spine/red-board quarter-cloth binding, is the first English-language edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later paperbacks (FSG, Penguin, Dalkey Archive) are reprints, not the 1976 FSG cloth first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Terra Nostra* by Carlos Fuentes (trans. Margaret Sayers Peden) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/terra-nostra
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.