# Is "Troubles" by J.G. Farrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Troubles by J.G. Farrell (Jonathan Cape, 1970) is identified by: First published by Jonathan Cape, London, in 1970; the first impression is an octavo of 446 pages, approximately 197 x 128mm, bound in publisher's grey cloth boards with the spine lettered in gilt, and carries ISBN 0224619004. Jonathan Cape (London), 1970, is the true first and the first volume of the Empire Trilogy; it took the Faber Memorial Prize and, retrospectively, the 2010 'Lost Man Booker Prize' for 1970.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by Jonathan Cape, London, in 1970; the first impression is an octavo of 446 pages, approximately 197 x 128mm, bound in publisher's grey cloth boards with the spine lettered in gilt, and carries ISBN 0224619004
- Renaissance Books records the top edges as dyed red — this is single-sourced among the catalogues consulted, and the dye is fugitive and very commonly faded to near-invisible, so a faded top edge does not disqualify a copy
- The pictorial dust jacket is credited to Bill Bottem (catalogued by Shapero as 'Botton'; the two spellings refer to the same designer) and carries the price present at the flap, unclipped on many copies
- The text opens 'In those days the Majestic was still standing in Kilnalough...'
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | J.G. Farrell |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by Jonathan Cape, London, in 1970; the first impression is an octavo of 446 pages, approximately 197 x 128mm, bound in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First published by Jonathan Cape, London, in 1970; the first impression is an octavo of 446 pages, approximately 197 x 128mm, bound in publisher's grey cloth boards with the spine lettered in gilt, and carries ISBN 0224619004. Renaissance Books records the top edges as dyed red — this is single-sourced among the catalogues consulted, and the dye is fugitive and very commonly faded to near-invisible, so a faded top edge does not disqualify a copy. The pictorial dust jacket is credited to Bill Bottem (catalogued by Shapero as 'Botton'; the two spellings refer to the same designer) and carries the price present at the flap, unclipped on many copies. The text opens 'In those days the Majestic was still standing in Kilnalough...'.

## Is this the true first?
Jonathan Cape (London), 1970, is the true first and the first volume of the Empire Trilogy; it took the Faber Memorial Prize and, retrospectively, the 2010 'Lost Man Booker Prize' for 1970. Alfred A. Knopf issued the first American edition in New York, with a jacket designed and illustrated by Wendell Minor. The American date is genuinely muddled and the census claim of 'US Knopf 1971' is not established: dealers list Knopf copies as both 1970 and 1971, and one describes a copy whose title page states 1970 while the preliminaries state 1971 and the jacket flap is coded 8/71. The Cape precedence is not in doubt either way.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of the Cape first is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint tell to watch is a later Cape impression retaining the same 1970 title-page date — a stated impression line on the verso separates these from the first. Copies offered under the Cape imprint with later dates on the title page are subsequent printings, not the first, regardless of a 'the printed pricet Edition' label in the listing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Troubles* by J.G. Farrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/troubles
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.