# Is "The Perpetual Orgy: Flaubert and Madame Bovary" by Mario Vargas Llosa a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Perpetual Orgy: Flaubert and Madame Bovary by Mario Vargas Llosa (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986) is identified by: First US edition, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1986, hardcover; translated by Helen Lane. First English translation of La orgía perpetua: Flaubert y Madame Bovary (1975), a critical essay.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1986, hardcover; translated by Helen Lane
- First English-language appearance of this book-length work of literary criticism
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mario Vargas Llosa |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1986, hardcover; translated by… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First US edition, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1986, hardcover; translated by Helen Lane. First English-language appearance of this book-length work of literary criticism.

## Is this the true first?
First English translation of La orgía perpetua: Flaubert y Madame Bovary (1975), a critical essay.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition point documented; the 1986 FSG hardcover is the first English/US appearance.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Perpetual Orgy: Flaubert and Madame Bovary* by Mario Vargas Llosa a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-perpetual-orgy-flaubert-and-madame-bovary
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.