# Is "The Virgin in the Garden" by A.S. Byatt a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt (Chatto & Windus, 1978) is identified by: First published 1978 by Chatto & Windus, London; the first volume of the Frederica Potter quartet. The UK Chatto & Windus edition (1978) is the true world first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published 1978 by Chatto & Windus, London; the first volume of the Frederica Potter quartet
- The UK first is issued in publisher's cloth, gilt-lettered on the spine, in the original laminated pictorial dustwrapper
- The jacket should be present and unclipped, with the printed price intact at the lower flap
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | A.S. Byatt |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published 1978 by Chatto & Windus, London; the first volume of the Frederica Potter quartet |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First published 1978 by Chatto & Windus, London; the first volume of the Frederica Potter quartet. The UK first is issued in publisher's cloth, gilt-lettered on the spine, in the original laminated pictorial dustwrapper. The jacket should be present and unclipped, with the printed price intact at the lower flap.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Chatto & Windus edition (1978) is the true world first. The first American edition followed from Alfred A. Knopf in 1979; the Knopf issue is distinguishable by its blue-gray paper-covered boards with a navy cloth spine and silver lettering, versus the gilt-lettered UK cloth. UK precedes.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Virgin in the Garden* by A.S. Byatt a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-virgin-in-the-garden
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.