# Is "The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman" by Angela Carter a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter (Hart-Davis, 1972) is identified by: First edition, London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1972, octavo, roughly 220 pages, the copyright page stating 'First published 1972'. UK Hart-Davis (1972) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1972, octavo, roughly 220 pages, the copyright page stating 'First published 1972'
- Bound in brown cloth titled in gilt to the spine, in the publisher's pictorial dust jacket, which carries its printed price (present on unclipped copies)
- The US issue appeared under the different title 'The War of Dreams' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974)
- Publisher imprint reads Hart-Davis
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Angela Carter |
| Publisher | Hart-Davis |
| Year | 1972 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1972, octavo, roughly 220 pages, the copyright page stating 'First published 1972' |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1972, octavo, roughly 220 pages, the copyright page stating 'First published 1972'. Bound in brown cloth titled in gilt to the spine, in the publisher's pictorial dust jacket, which carries its printed price (present on unclipped copies). The US issue appeared under the different title 'The War of Dreams' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974).

## Is this the true first?
UK Hart-Davis (1972) is the true first. The retitled US edition 'The War of Dreams' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974) is a later issue of the same text, not a first of the work.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition; the US retitling is not a true first of the work.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman* by Angela Carter a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-infernal-desire-machines-of-doctor-hoffman
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.