# Is "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (André Deutsch, 1966) is identified by: First edition, first impression: André Deutsch, London, first impression October 1966. True first is André Deutsch, London, 1966 (first impression October 1966) — the London claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression: André Deutsch, London, first impression October 1966
- Bound in the publisher's red cloth with the spine lettered in gilt; dust wrapper designed by Eric Thomas, showing Antoinette Cosway on the front panel; the text carries Francis Wyndham's introduction
- The decisive point is the copyright-page verso: a first impression reads 'First published 1966' with no reprint or impression statement
- This matters more than usual here because a second impression appeared in December 1966 and is also dated 1966 — the title-page year will not separate the two, and a dealer listing an ostensible 1966 first has been seen to be a December second impression
- On unclipped jackets the price is present at the flap
- Publisher imprint reads André Deutsch
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jean Rhys |
| Publisher | André Deutsch |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression: André Deutsch, London, first impression October 1966 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression: André Deutsch, London, first impression October 1966. Bound in the publisher's red cloth with the spine lettered in gilt; dust wrapper designed by Eric Thomas, showing Antoinette Cosway on the front panel; the text carries Francis Wyndham's introduction. The decisive point is the copyright-page verso: a first impression reads 'First published 1966' with no reprint or impression statement. This matters more than usual here because a second impression appeared in December 1966 and is also dated 1966 — the title-page year will not separate the two, and a dealer listing an ostensible 1966 first has been seen to be a December second impression. On unclipped jackets the price is present at the flap.

## Is this the true first?
True first is André Deutsch, London, 1966 (first impression October 1966) — the London claim is confirmed. The census date for the American edition is WRONG and is corrected here: the first American edition is W. W. Norton, New York, 1966, NOT 1967. Norton first printings are so stated on the copyright page and carry a jacket with art by Bill Logan; ABAA dealer descriptions consistently date the first American edition 1966. Both are collected — Deutsch London 1966 is the true first, Norton New York 1966 the first American — and because both bear the same year, the imprint rather than the date is what distinguishes them.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The commonest trap is the André Deutsch second impression of December 1966, which shares the 1966 title-page date and is separated only by the impression statement on the verso. No documented book-club issue of the Deutsch first was corroborated against two independent sources in this pass.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Wide Sargasso Sea* by Jean Rhys a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/wide-sargasso-sea
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.