# Is "The Wanting Seed" by Anthony Burgess a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess (William Heinemann, 1962) is identified by: First edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1962; octavo, collating vi, 283, [1] pages. The UK Heinemann 1962 printing is the true first edition; the US W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1962; octavo, collating vi, 283, [1] pages
- Bound in green cloth with black spine titling
- Issued in a dust jacket designed by Brian Russell; a first-issue jacket carries the printed price on the front flap (its presence, clipped or not, does not by itself decide priority)
- This dystopian novel of an overpopulated future precedes the US W. W. Norton edition of 1963, which carried a different jacket by Larry Lurin
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anthony Burgess |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1962; octavo, collating vi, 283, [1] pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1962; octavo, collating vi, 283, [1] pages. Bound in green cloth with black spine titling. Issued in a dust jacket designed by Brian Russell; a first-issue jacket carries the printed price on the front flap (its presence, clipped or not, does not by itself decide priority). This dystopian novel of an overpopulated future precedes the US W. W. Norton edition of 1963, which carried a different jacket by Larry Lurin.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Heinemann 1962 printing is the true first edition; the US W. W. Norton edition followed in 1963 with a different dust-jacket design.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is recorded; identify the first by the 1962 Heinemann imprint, green cloth, and Brian Russell jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Wanting Seed* by Anthony Burgess a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-wanting-seed
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.