# Is "The Ghost from the Grand Banks" by Arthur C. Clarke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Ghost from the Grand Banks by Arthur C. Clarke (Victor Gollancz, 1990) is identified by: The US Bantam printing carries a full number line on the copyright page; the UK Gollancz printing states First published 1990 with no later-printing markers. Both the UK Victor Gollancz hardcover and the US Bantam Spectra hardcover appeared in 1990; precedence between them is not firmly established, so the Gollancz UK edition is commonly treated as the true first for this British author.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The US Bantam printing carries a full number line on the copyright page; the UK Gollancz printing states First published 1990 with no later-printing markers
- Both have the price present on the jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur C. Clarke |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The US Bantam printing carries a full number line on the copyright page; the UK Gollancz printing states First published 1990 with no… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The US Bantam printing carries a full number line on the copyright page; the UK Gollancz printing states First published 1990 with no later-printing markers. Both have the price present on the jacket.

## Is this the true first?
Both the UK Victor Gollancz hardcover and the US Bantam Spectra hardcover appeared in 1990; precedence between them is not firmly established, so the Gollancz UK edition is commonly treated as the true first for this British author.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The book club edition is identifiable by a 'Book Club Edition' notation and a jacket with no printed price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Ghost from the Grand Banks* by Arthur C. Clarke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-ghost-from-the-grand-banks
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.