# Is "The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories" by Angela Carter a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter (Gollancz, 1979) is identified by: First UK edition, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, copyright page stating 'First published in Great Britain 1979'; slim octavo in black paper boards with the yellow typographic Gollancz dust jacket. UK Gollancz (1979) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First UK edition, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, copyright page stating 'First published in Great Britain 1979'; slim octavo in black paper boards with the yellow typographic Gollancz dust jacket
- Carter's landmark feminist fairy-tale collection and her most collected title
- Publisher imprint reads Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Angela Carter |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
| Year | 1979 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First UK edition, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, copyright page stating 'First published in Great Britain 1979'; slim octavo in black paper… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First UK edition, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, copyright page stating 'First published in Great Britain 1979'; slim octavo in black paper boards with the yellow typographic Gollancz dust jacket. Carter's landmark feminist fairy-tale collection and her most collected title.

## Is this the true first?
UK Gollancz (1979) is the true first. The US Harper & Row edition also appeared in 1979; the UK edition is the established first, the US being a same-year American issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No major book-club edition; later Penguin and Vintage printings are reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories* by Angela Carter a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-bloody-chamber-and-other-stories
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.