# Is "The White Castle (Beyaz Kale)" by Orhan Pamuk a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The White Castle (Beyaz Kale) by Orhan Pamuk (Carcanet Press, 1990) is identified by: First English edition, translated by Victoria Holbrook, Carcanet Press, Manchester, 1990 (ISBN 0-85635-882-7). The Carcanet UK 1990 issue is the true first English edition; the George Braziller US edition of 1991 follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English edition, translated by Victoria Holbrook, Carcanet Press, Manchester, 1990 (ISBN 0-85635-882-7)
- Boards with dust jacket; this was Pamuk's first book to appear in English
- The US edition (George Braziller, New York) followed in 1991
- The Turkish original appeared in 1985
- Publisher imprint reads Carcanet Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Orhan Pamuk |
| Publisher | Carcanet Press |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English edition, translated by Victoria Holbrook, Carcanet Press, Manchester, 1990 (ISBN 0-85635-882-7) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First English edition, translated by Victoria Holbrook, Carcanet Press, Manchester, 1990 (ISBN 0-85635-882-7). Boards with dust jacket; this was Pamuk's first book to appear in English. The US edition (George Braziller, New York) followed in 1991. The Turkish original appeared in 1985.

## Is this the true first?
The Carcanet UK 1990 issue is the true first English edition; the George Braziller US edition of 1991 follows. Not Gollancz or Faber — Carcanet was the first English-language publisher.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Braziller US 1991, later Faber, and Vintage paperbacks are subsequent. Do not cite Gollancz.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The White Castle (Beyaz Kale)* by Orhan Pamuk a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-white-castle-beyaz-kale
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.