# Is "The Blue Flower" by Penelope Fitzgerald a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald (Flamingo, 1995) is identified by: States 'First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Flamingo,' an imprint of HarperCollins; first published 21 September 1995. The UK Flamingo (HarperCollins) edition (1995) is the true first; the US Houghton Mifflin edition follows in 1997.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- States 'First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Flamingo,' an imprint of HarperCollins; first published 21 September 1995
- Her most acclaimed late novel; won the US National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction
- Boards in dust jacket, priced
- Publisher imprint reads Flamingo
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Penelope Fitzgerald |
| Publisher | Flamingo |
| Year | 1995 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | States 'First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Flamingo,' an imprint of HarperCollins; first published 21 September 1995 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
States 'First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Flamingo,' an imprint of HarperCollins; first published 21 September 1995. Her most acclaimed late novel; won the US National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Boards in dust jacket, priced.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Flamingo (HarperCollins) edition (1995) is the true first; the US Houghton Mifflin edition follows in 1997. The UK precedes.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Blue Flower* by Penelope Fitzgerald a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-blue-flower
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.