# Is "The Homecoming" by Harold Pinter a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Homecoming by Harold Pinter (Methuen, 1965) is identified by: First edition Methuen & Co., London, 1965. UK Methuen 1965 is the true first and precedes the US Grove Press edition (1966).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition Methuen & Co., London, 1965
- Copyright page states 'First published 1965' (later impressions add impression lines)
- Issued in black cloth with gilt spine titles in a pictorial dust jacket, and also in the Methuen Modern Plays wrappers; the cloth in jacket is the preferred state
- Publisher imprint reads Methuen
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Harold Pinter |
| Publisher | Methuen |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition Methuen & Co., London, 1965 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition Methuen & Co., London, 1965. Copyright page states 'First published 1965' (later impressions add impression lines). Issued in black cloth with gilt spine titles in a pictorial dust jacket, and also in the Methuen Modern Plays wrappers; the cloth in jacket is the preferred state. 83 pp.

## Is this the true first?
UK Methuen 1965 is the true first and precedes the US Grove Press edition (1966). The Methuen imprint is the precedence point for Pinter's British firsts. Signed copies are inscribed trade copies.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. First impression identified by 'First published 1965' with no later-impression statement; Grove (US) 1966 is a separate later first thus.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Homecoming* by Harold Pinter a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-homecoming
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.