# Is "The Soldier's Art" by Anthony Powell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Soldier's Art by Anthony Powell (Heinemann, 1966) is identified by: First printing (Heinemann, London, 1966) of the eighth volume of A Dance to the Music of Time, the second book of the war trilogy. The Heinemann London edition of 1966 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing (Heinemann, London, 1966) of the eighth volume of A Dance to the Music of Time, the second book of the war trilogy
- Issued in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to a black label on the spine, in a dust jacket designed by Broom-Lynne that should retain its printed price (jackets are found both priced and later price-clipped)
- Publisher imprint reads Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anthony Powell |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing (Heinemann, London, 1966) of the eighth volume of A Dance to the Music of Time, the second book of the war trilogy |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing (Heinemann, London, 1966) of the eighth volume of A Dance to the Music of Time, the second book of the war trilogy. Issued in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to a black label on the spine, in a dust jacket designed by Broom-Lynne that should retain its printed price (jackets are found both priced and later price-clipped).

## Is this the true first?
The Heinemann London edition of 1966 is the true first. The US edition was published by Little, Brown in 1966 and follows the UK first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later book-club and reprint-society printings followed the trade first and are not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Soldier's Art* by Anthony Powell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-soldiers-art
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.