Is My The Song of Achilles a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is Bloomsbury, London, 20 September 2011 (ISBN 9781408816035): black cloth boards with lettering to the spine, 352 pp., first printing identified by a complete publisher's number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
• The first American edition is Ecco (HarperCollins), New York, 6 March 2012 (ISBN 9780062060617): white boards with gilt spine lettering and rough-cut (deckle) edges, again with a full number line ending in 1 on a first printing
• Jackets should be present and unclipped, with the price present at the flap
• Chronology check (a dating aid, not a publisher's point): the Orange Prize was awarded in 2012, so any Bloomsbury jacket carrying Orange Prize / Women's Prize winner wording postdates the September 2011 first printing
• A Bloomsbury signed limited issue of 500 copies, hand-numbered with a gold signature, is separately reported

How Bloomsbury marked a first edition

• First printings carry a full descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; the lowest number (1) present = first printing

Full Bloomsbury first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

UK precedes: Bloomsbury London, September 2011, is the true first; Ecco US, March 2012, is the first American edition and is separately collected — both editions are collected and should be named. Be alert to a widely-propagated error: Wikipedia's infobox credits "Ecco Press (HarperCollins)" with a 20 September 2011 US publication, conflating the Bloomsbury UK date with the Ecco imprint. That is not supported by the trade record — the Ecco hardcover is 2012. The novel's 2012 Orange Prize win is itself consistent with UK-first publication in September 2011, within the prize's eligibility window.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented in the dealer census consulted. The reprint tells are the number line (lowest digit above 1) and later jacket states carrying prize wording. "First thus" traps: the 2021 10th Anniversary edition (so marked), and the 2025 Deluxe Edition with sprayed/stenciled edges and endpapers featuring a map of Homer's Greece — neither is a first edition of the text.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Song of Achilles a first edition?

A first edition of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Bloomsbury) is identified by: True first is Bloomsbury, London, 20 September 2011 (ISBN 9781408816035): black cloth boards with lettering to the spine, 352 pp., first printing identified by a complete publisher's number line ending in 1 on the copyright page.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). UK precedes: Bloomsbury London, September 2011, is the true first; Ecco US, March 2012, is the first American edition and is separately collected — both editions are collected and should be named.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition documented in the dealer census consulted. The reprint tells are the number line (lowest digit above 1) and later jacket states carrying prize wording. "First thus" traps: the 2021 10th Anniversary edition (so marked), and the 2025 Deluxe Edition with sprayed/stenciled edges and endpapers featuring a map of Homer's Greece — neither is a first edition of the text.

I have a first edition of The Song of Achilles — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.