# Is "The Noise of Time" by Julian Barnes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape, 2016) is identified by: Novel, bound in black cloth boards with red lettering to the spine and black endpapers, issued in a dust jacket designed by Suzanne Dean with illustration by Vladimir Zimokov and an author photograph by Alan Edwards to the rear flap; the jacket should retain its printed price. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (2016, ISBN 9781910702604) is the true first, preceding the US Alfred A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Novel, bound in black cloth boards with red lettering to the spine and black endpapers, issued in a dust jacket designed by Suzanne Dean with illustration by Vladimir Zimokov and an author photograph by Alan Edwards to the rear flap; the jacket should retain its printed price
- First printing carries the number line 1 3 5 7 9 20 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Julian Barnes |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 2016 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Novel, bound in black cloth boards with red lettering to the spine and black endpapers, issued in a dust jacket designed by Suzanne Dean… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Novel, bound in black cloth boards with red lettering to the spine and black endpapers, issued in a dust jacket designed by Suzanne Dean with illustration by Vladimir Zimokov and an author photograph by Alan Edwards to the rear flap; the jacket should retain its printed price. First printing carries the number line 1 3 5 7 9 20 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Jonathan Cape edition (2016, ISBN 9781910702604) is the true first, preceding the US Alfred A. Knopf edition of 10 May 2016.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A very small quantity of first-edition jackets were issued with a printing error in which the red lettering was not applied; later impressions adjust the number line or add an impression statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Noise of Time* by Julian Barnes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-noise-of-time
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.