# Is "The Girl at the Lion d'Or" by Sebastian Faulks a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Girl at the Lion d'Or by Sebastian Faulks (Hutchinson, 1989) is identified by: States 'First published 1989' by Hutchinson on the copyright page. UK Hutchinson (1989) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- States 'First published 1989' by Hutchinson on the copyright page
- Original olive-green cloth, gilt spine titles, decorative endpapers, in a priced dust jacket
- First book of Faulks's loose French trilogy (with Birdsong and Charlotte Gray)
- Publisher imprint reads Hutchinson
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sebastian Faulks |
| Publisher | Hutchinson |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | States 'First published 1989' by Hutchinson on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
States 'First published 1989' by Hutchinson on the copyright page. Original olive-green cloth, gilt spine titles, decorative endpapers, in a priced dust jacket. First book of Faulks's loose French trilogy (with Birdsong and Charlotte Gray).

## Is this the true first?
UK Hutchinson (1989) is the true first. The novel was never issued in US hardcover; the US Vintage paperback came much later. The UK precedes.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition; post-Birdsong reprints are common. The hardcover first is the scarcest of Faulks's novels.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Girl at the Lion d'Or* by Sebastian Faulks a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-girl-at-the-lion-dor
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.