# Is "The Hard Problem" by Tom Stoppard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Hard Problem by Tom Stoppard (Faber and Faber, 2015) is identified by: Faber and Faber, London, 2015. The UK Faber first (2015) precedes the US Grove Press edition, which appeared in October 2015.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Faber and Faber, London, 2015
- The standard trade first is issued in original printed wrappers as a Faber Drama playscript; confirm the Faber imprint, the 2015 date, and a copyright/impression line showing no later printing
- The play premiered at the National Theatre, London, in January 2015, which fixes the earliest possible publication
- A separate signed limited issue of one hundred copies was also produced in cloth-backed boards with a gilt-lettered spine; that is a distinct limited state rather than the trade first
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tom Stoppard |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Year | 2015 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Faber and Faber, London, 2015 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Faber and Faber, London, 2015. The standard trade first is issued in original printed wrappers as a Faber Drama playscript; confirm the Faber imprint, the 2015 date, and a copyright/impression line showing no later printing. The play premiered at the National Theatre, London, in January 2015, which fixes the earliest possible publication. A separate signed limited issue of one hundred copies was also produced in cloth-backed boards with a gilt-lettered spine; that is a distinct limited state rather than the trade first.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Faber first (2015) precedes the US Grove Press edition, which appeared in October 2015.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition traced for this title. Distinguish the ordinary trade playscript in wrappers from the signed limited hardcover issue of one hundred copies.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Hard Problem* by Tom Stoppard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-hard-problem
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.