# Is "The Children Act" by Ian McEwan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Children Act by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, 2014) is identified by: Bound in boards with gilt spine lettering; the copyright page carries 'first published 2014' with a full number line ending in 1 (216 pp; ISBN 9780224101998). The UK Jonathan Cape edition, published 2 September 2014, precedes the US Nan A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Bound in boards with gilt spine lettering; the copyright page carries 'first published 2014' with a full number line ending in 1 (216 pp
- ISBN 9780224101998)
- The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price (price presence, not any amount, is the point)
- Signed and limited/numbered slipcased issues of the Cape first also exist
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ian McEwan |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 2014 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Bound in boards with gilt spine lettering; the copyright page carries 'first published 2014' with a full number line ending in 1 (216 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Bound in boards with gilt spine lettering; the copyright page carries 'first published 2014' with a full number line ending in 1 (216 pp; ISBN 9780224101998). The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price (price presence, not any amount, is the point). Signed and limited/numbered slipcased issues of the Cape first also exist.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Jonathan Cape edition, published 2 September 2014, precedes the US Nan A. Talese/Doubleday edition published 9 September 2014, making the Cape hardcover the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions substitute the impression number for the terminal 1 in the number line; the Doubleday US issue is a separate later-dated first for that market.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Children Act* by Ian McEwan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-children-act
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.