The Go-Between

Hamish Hamilton (London), 1953, is the true first; Alfred A. Knopf (New York) published the first American edition in 1954, so the London printing precedes it by a clear year. Both editions are collected, but the Hamish Hamilton is the precedence copy and the Knopf is correctly described only as the first American edition. Treat with suspicion any listing pairing a Hamish Hamilton imprint with an 'American first edition' description — the Knopf sheets carry the Knopf imprint and a 1954 date.