# Is "The Shadow of the Sun" by A.S. Byatt a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Shadow of the Sun by A.S. Byatt (Chatto & Windus, 1964) is identified by: The true first edition of 1964 was published under the title 'Shadow of a Sun' (singular article), not 'The Shadow of the Sun'. UK Chatto & Windus (1964), titled 'Shadow of a Sun', is the true first; the US Harcourt issue followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first edition of 1964 was published under the title 'Shadow of a Sun' (singular article), not 'The Shadow of the Sun'
- Cecil Day-Lewis, then at Chatto & Windus, persuaded Byatt to change her intended title to the more euphonious 'Shadow of a Sun' for publication
- First published 1964 by Chatto & Windus in blue cloth with a dust jacket with its printed price Scarce in jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | A.S. Byatt |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition of 1964 was published under the title 'Shadow of a Sun' (singular article), not 'The Shadow of the Sun' |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Byatt's debut novel. The true first edition of 1964 was published under the title 'Shadow of a Sun' (singular article), not 'The Shadow of the Sun'. Cecil Day-Lewis, then at Chatto & Windus, persuaded Byatt to change her intended title to the more euphonious 'Shadow of a Sun' for publication. First published 1964 by Chatto & Windus in blue cloth with a dust jacket with its printed price Scarce in jacket.

## Is this the true first?
UK Chatto & Windus (1964), titled 'Shadow of a Sun', is the true first; the US Harcourt issue followed. UK precedes.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1991 reissue restored Byatt's originally intended title 'The Shadow of the Sun' and carries a new introduction; it is a 'first thus' reprint, not the first edition. Cataloguers should note the title discrepancy: a book labelled 'The Shadow of the Sun' is the 1991 reissue, while the 1964 first reads 'Shadow of a Sun'.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Shadow of the Sun* by A.S. Byatt a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-shadow-of-the-sun
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.