# Is "The Summer Tree" by Guy Gavriel Kay a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay (McClelland & Stewart, 1984) is identified by: True first is the McClelland & Stewart hardcover, Toronto, 1984 (ISBN 0-7710-4472-0), 323pp — the opening volume of the Fionavar Tapestry and Kay's first novel. Census claim confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the McClelland & Stewart hardcover, Toronto, 1984 (ISBN 0-7710-4472-0), 323pp — the opening volume of the Fionavar Tapestry and Kay's first novel
- Identified by the M&S Toronto imprint and 1984 date, bound in blue (described by some dealers as turquoise) paper-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine and matching blue endpapers; jacket art by Martin Springett
- Priced jacket: price present at the flap, unclipped
- Honest limit: the sources consulted do not document a printing statement or number line for the M&S issue — identification rests on the imprint, date and binding
- The number-line point that circulates for this title ("full number line to 1") belongs to the US Arbor House printing, not to the Canadian first; several search summaries conflate the two, and that conflation should not be repeated
- Publisher imprint reads McClelland & Stewart
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Guy Gavriel Kay |
| Publisher | McClelland & Stewart |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | Canadian edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the McClelland & Stewart hardcover, Toronto, 1984 (ISBN 0-7710-4472-0), 323pp — the opening volume of the Fionavar Tapestry… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is the McClelland & Stewart hardcover, Toronto, 1984 (ISBN 0-7710-4472-0), 323pp — the opening volume of the Fionavar Tapestry and Kay's first novel. Identified by the M&S Toronto imprint and 1984 date, bound in blue (described by some dealers as turquoise) paper-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine and matching blue endpapers; jacket art by Martin Springett. Priced jacket: price present at the flap, unclipped. Honest limit: the sources consulted do not document a printing statement or number line for the M&S issue — identification rests on the imprint, date and binding. The number-line point that circulates for this title ("full number line to 1") belongs to the US Arbor House printing, not to the Canadian first; several search summaries conflate the two, and that conflation should not be repeated.

## Is this the true first?
Census claim confirmed. The Canadian McClelland & Stewart hardcover (Toronto, 1984; catalogues and dealers give October 1984) is the true first and precedes both the first US edition — Arbor House, New York, 1985 (ISBN 0-87795-760-6, 323pp), whose first printing shows a full number line to 1 — and the first UK edition, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1985 (ISBN 0-04-823257-1). All three are collected, but dealers explicitly reserve "the true first edition" for the M&S. This is the same Canada-first precedence pattern as The Handmaid's Tale, and the trap is that US collectors routinely take the 1985 Arbor House for the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A book-club issue of the US text is recorded. Club copies are identified in the usual way — no price at the jacket flap, club blind stamp to the rear board, smaller trim and lighter boards. Later "first thus" printings include the Unwin Paperbacks and ROC issues, the 2012 Harper Weekend Canadian edition, and the Grim Oak Press limited edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Summer Tree* by Guy Gavriel Kay a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-summer-tree
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.