# Is "The Great and Secret Show" by Clive Barker a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker (Collins, 1989) is identified by: First book of the Art trilogy. Both the UK Collins and the US Harper & Row editions are dated 1989 and are commonly treated as effectively simultaneous; the original record's confident assertion that the UK clearly precedes is not well supported, so collectors should treat either national first as a true first of its market rather than assuming UK priority.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First book of the Art trilogy
- The UK Collins hardcover (ISBN 0-00-223453-X) and the US Harper & Row hardcover (ISBN 0-06-016276-7) both appeared in 1989 with priced jackets
- Confirm the imprint and the original (unclipped) jacket price against the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Clive Barker |
| Publisher | Collins |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First book of the Art trilogy |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First book of the Art trilogy. The UK Collins hardcover (ISBN 0-00-223453-X) and the US Harper & Row hardcover (ISBN 0-06-016276-7) both appeared in 1989 with priced jackets. Confirm the imprint and the original (unclipped) jacket price against the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
Both the UK Collins and the US Harper & Row editions are dated 1989 and are commonly treated as effectively simultaneous; the original record's confident assertion that the UK clearly precedes is not well supported, so collectors should treat either national first as a true first of its market rather than assuming UK priority.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book club editions and later printings lack the original priced jacket; verify the unclipped jacket price and absence of a later-printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Great and Secret Show* by Clive Barker a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-great-and-secret-show
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.