# Is "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (William Heinemann, 1958) is identified by: The true first is the William Heinemann hardcover, London, published 17 June 1958: publisher's red cloth, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device blind-stamped to the rear board, issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the flap. The true first is the UK Heinemann 1958 hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the William Heinemann hardcover, London, published 17 June 1958: publisher's red cloth, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device blind-stamped to the rear board, issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the flap
- The first printing was small (about 2,000 copies), so a first in an unclipped jacket is genuinely scarce
- Crucially, the first printing carries NO distinguishing issue points internally — identify it by the 1958 imprint with NO later-impression statement on the verso; a stated 'second impression'
- is not the first
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Chinua Achebe |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1958 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the William Heinemann hardcover, London, published 17 June 1958: publisher's red cloth, spine lettered in gilt… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first is the William Heinemann hardcover, London, published 17 June 1958: publisher's red cloth, spine lettered in gilt, publisher's device blind-stamped to the rear board, issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the flap. The first printing was small (about 2,000 copies), so a first in an unclipped jacket is genuinely scarce. Crucially, the first printing carries NO distinguishing issue points internally — identify it by the 1958 imprint with NO later-impression statement on the verso; a stated 'second impression' (1962) is not the first.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the UK Heinemann 1958 hardcover. It predates the US first edition (McDowell, Obolensky, New York, 1959) and the 1962 African Writers Series paperback (AWS No. 1) — a celebrated but separate first-thus, not the true first. Both the UK 1958 hardcover and the US 1959 hardcover are collected; the UK precedes.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Because the first has no internal points, second impressions and ex-library rebinds are routinely sold as firsts: reject copies bearing a later-impression statement, and treat rebound or ex-library copies lacking the priced jacket with caution. The ubiquitous orange African Writers Series paperback (1962, AWS #1) is a later reprint in a new series, not the 1958 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Things Fall Apart* by Chinua Achebe a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/things-fall-apart
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.