# Is "The Plato Papers" by Peter Ackroyd a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Plato Papers by Peter Ackroyd (Chatto & Windus, 1999) is identified by: Hardcover in boards with gilt spine lettering, in dust jacket priced accordingly. The UK Chatto & Windus edition of 1999 is the true first and precedes the US edition (Nan A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Hardcover in boards with gilt spine lettering, in dust jacket priced accordingly
- UK first issued under ISBN 1856197018
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Peter Ackroyd |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Hardcover in boards with gilt spine lettering, in dust jacket priced accordingly |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Hardcover in boards with gilt spine lettering, in dust jacket priced accordingly. UK first issued under ISBN 1856197018.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Chatto & Windus edition of 1999 is the true first and precedes the US edition (Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, 2000).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions are reprints and do not precede the Chatto & Windus first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Plato Papers* by Peter Ackroyd a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-plato-papers
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.