# Is "The Honourable Schoolboy" by John le Carré a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré (Hodder & Stoughton, 1977) is identified by: Hodder & Stoughton first edition, London, 1977, with 'First printed 1977' stated on the copyright page and no later impression lines. UK Hodder & Stoughton (1977) precedes the US Knopf edition (1977); the UK Hodder printing is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Hodder & Stoughton first edition, London, 1977, with 'First printed 1977' stated on the copyright page and no later impression lines
- The UK trade issue is bound in blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and map endpapers, in a first-issue jacket carrying its original printed price on the front flap
- A simultaneous export issue was bound in black boards with plain white endpapers and a jacket bearing no printed price
- Publisher imprint reads Hodder & Stoughton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John le Carré |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton |
| Year | 1977 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Hodder & Stoughton first edition, London, 1977, with 'First printed 1977' stated on the copyright page and no later impression lines |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Hodder & Stoughton first edition, London, 1977, with 'First printed 1977' stated on the copyright page and no later impression lines. The UK trade issue is bound in blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and map endpapers, in a first-issue jacket carrying its original printed price on the front flap. A simultaneous export issue was bound in black boards with plain white endpapers and a jacket bearing no printed price.

## Is this the true first?
UK Hodder & Stoughton (1977) precedes the US Knopf edition (1977); the UK Hodder printing is the true first. The second Karla novel; won the 1977 CWA Gold Dagger and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Distinguish the priced UK trade issue (blue cloth, map endpapers) from the simultaneously printed export issue (black boards, plain endpapers, unpriced jacket) — the unpriced export jacket is not a defect or clip. Later impressions add printing lines beneath 'First printed 1977'.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Honourable Schoolboy* by John le Carré a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-honourable-schoolboy
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.