# Is "The Innocent" by Ian McEwan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Innocent by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, 1990) is identified by: Octavo, 231 pp.; cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering; copyright page states 'First published 1990' with the printer's key descending to 1. First published by Jonathan Cape in London in May 1990; the US Doubleday edition (274 pp., a reset and longer typesetting) also appeared in 1990.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Octavo, 231 pp.; cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering; copyright page states 'First published 1990' with the printer's key descending to 1
- First-issue dust jacket carries the original UK price and is not price-clipped
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ian McEwan |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Octavo, 231 pp.; cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering; copyright page states 'First published 1990' with the printer's key… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Octavo, 231 pp.; cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering; copyright page states 'First published 1990' with the printer's key descending to 1. First-issue dust jacket carries the original UK price and is not price-clipped.

## Is this the true first?
First published by Jonathan Cape in London in May 1990; the US Doubleday edition (274 pp., a reset and longer typesetting) also appeared in 1990. The two were effectively simultaneous, so the Cape printing is the British first rather than a demonstrable global precedent.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Cape impressions revise the printer's key (lowest digit no longer 1). The US Doubleday text is a separate setting and stands as its own first US edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Innocent* by Ian McEwan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-innocent
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.