# Is "The Porcupine" by Julian Barnes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Porcupine by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape, 1992) is identified by: Short novel issued by Cape in cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering, in a dust jacket, with the Cape number line reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page and First published 1992. The English-language first edition is the UK Cape (1992); a US Alfred A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Short novel issued by Cape in cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering, in a dust jacket, with the Cape number line reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page and First published 1992
- Published in early November 1992
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Julian Barnes |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1992 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Short novel issued by Cape in cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering, in a dust jacket, with the Cape number line reading 1 3 5 7 9… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Short novel issued by Cape in cloth-backed boards with gilt spine lettering, in a dust jacket, with the Cape number line reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page and First published 1992. Published in early November 1992.

## Is this the true first?
The English-language first edition is the UK Cape (1992); a US Alfred A. Knopf edition followed in 1992. A Bulgarian translation (Bodlivo svinche, Obsidian, Sofia) appeared in 1992 before the English text, so the English-language first remains the Cape printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions remove the 1 from the number line; book-club and reprint copies state their impression or carry a higher low digit.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Porcupine* by Julian Barnes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-porcupine
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.