# Is "The House of Doctor Dee" by Peter Ackroyd a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The House of Doctor Dee by Peter Ackroyd (Hamish Hamilton, 1993) is identified by: First edition, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1993, bound in black boards with the spine lettered in silver, in a dust jacket with the price present on the flap. The UK Hamish Hamilton edition of 1993 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1993, bound in black boards with the spine lettered in silver, in a dust jacket with the price present on the flap
- The first impression shows a full descending number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Hamish Hamilton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Peter Ackroyd |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton |
| Year | 1993 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1993, bound in black boards with the spine lettered in silver, in a dust jacket with the price… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1993, bound in black boards with the spine lettered in silver, in a dust jacket with the price present on the flap. The first impression shows a full descending number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Hamish Hamilton edition of 1993 is the true first. The US Penguin edition followed and is not the originating edition; the exact US imprint and year of issue should not be relied on without further confirmation.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions break the number line (the 1 is absent) or state a higher impression on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The House of Doctor Dee* by Peter Ackroyd a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-house-of-doctor-dee
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.