# Is "The Spire" by William Golding a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Spire by William Golding (Faber & Faber, 1964) is identified by: London: Faber & Faber, 1964. The UK Faber edition (1964) is the true first, preceding the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition (1964).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- London: Faber & Faber, 1964
- Published 10 April 1964
- Publisher's purple cloth, gilt titles to spine; first-issue dust jacket with a four-colour pictorial design by John Piper, with its printed price to the front flap, unclipped
- Copyright page reads 'First published in 1964' by Faber and Faber, printed by R. MacLehose and Company at the University Press, Glasgow
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Golding |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | London: Faber & Faber, 1964 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
London: Faber & Faber, 1964. Published 10 April 1964. Publisher's purple cloth, gilt titles to spine; first-issue dust jacket with a four-colour pictorial design by John Piper, with its printed price to the front flap, unclipped. Copyright page reads 'First published in 1964' by Faber and Faber, printed by R. MacLehose and Company at the University Press, Glasgow.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Faber edition (1964) is the true first, preceding the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition (1964).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions add a printing statement to the copyright page; price-clipped or later jackets are not first-issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Spire* by William Golding a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-spire
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.