# Is "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" by Muriel Spark a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (Macmillan, 1961) is identified by: London: Macmillan, 1961. The UK Macmillan edition (1961) is the true first, preceding the US Lippincott edition (1962).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- London: Macmillan, 1961
- Publisher's green cloth with gilt spine titles; dust jacket illustrated by Victor Reinganum, with its printed price (the printed price), unclipped
- Copyright page states 'First published 1961'
- Publisher imprint reads Macmillan
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Muriel Spark |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
| Year | 1961 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | London: Macmillan, 1961 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
London: Macmillan, 1961. Publisher's green cloth with gilt spine titles; dust jacket illustrated by Victor Reinganum, with its printed price (the printed price), unclipped. Copyright page states 'First published 1961'.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Macmillan edition (1961) is the true first, preceding the US Lippincott edition (1962). The novel also appeared, slightly abridged, as essentially the entire 14 October 1961 issue of The New Yorker, but that magazine appearance is not a book edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Macmillan impressions add a printing statement; the US edition is a separate setting. No significant book-club issue precedes the UK first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie* by Muriel Spark a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-prime-of-miss-jean-brodie
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.