# Is "The End of the Affair" by Graham Greene a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (William Heinemann, 1951) is identified by: William Heinemann, London, 1951, first impression: octavo, 237 pages, bound in original cloth. Heinemann London 1951, first impression, is the true first; Viking New York 1951 is the first US edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Heinemann, London, 1951, first impression: octavo, 237 pages, bound in original cloth
- The first-issue dust jacket carries its printed price on the spine; the jacket commonly tones along the spine
- The UK first precedes the US Viking edition of the same year
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Graham Greene |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1951 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | William Heinemann, London, 1951, first impression: octavo, 237 pages, bound in original cloth |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
William Heinemann, London, 1951, first impression: octavo, 237 pages, bound in original cloth. The first-issue dust jacket carries its printed price on the spine; the jacket commonly tones along the spine. The UK first precedes the US Viking edition of the same year.

## Is this the true first?
Heinemann London 1951, first impression, is the true first; Viking New York 1951 is the first US edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions are noted on the verso of the title leaf; book-club and US reprints are distinguished by imprint and by the jacket, whose printed price should be present on a first-issue example.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The End of the Affair* by Graham Greene a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-end-of-the-affair
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.