# Is "A Dangerous Fortune" by Ken Follett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett (Delacorte Press, 1993) is identified by: US first: Delacorte Press, New York, 1993. Both a UK Macmillan and a US Delacorte edition appeared in 1993.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US first: Delacorte Press, New York, 1993
- The copyright page of the first printing carries the notation 'November 1993' with a full number line descending to 1
- Bound in black quarter cloth over charcoal-gray boards, with gilt lettering to the spine and the author's initials stamped in gilt on the front board; dark pictorial endpapers depict shadowy figures standing among marble columns, and a frontispiece presents the Pilaster family tree (collation running to xiv + 533 pages plus a leaf of Acknowledgements)
- The pictorial dust jacket sets bold black lettering over a photo-montage of Greek marble columns; a first-issue jacket retains the printed price to the flap (price unclipped)
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ken Follett |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
| Year | 1993 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US first: Delacorte Press, New York, 1993 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US first: Delacorte Press, New York, 1993. The copyright page of the first printing carries the notation 'November 1993' with a full number line descending to 1. Bound in black quarter cloth over charcoal-gray boards, with gilt lettering to the spine and the author's initials stamped in gilt on the front board; dark pictorial endpapers depict shadowy figures standing among marble columns, and a frontispiece presents the Pilaster family tree (collation running to xiv + 533 pages plus a leaf of Acknowledgements). The pictorial dust jacket sets bold black lettering over a photo-montage of Greek marble columns; a first-issue jacket retains the printed price to the flap (price unclipped).

## Is this the true first?
Both a UK Macmillan and a US Delacorte edition appeared in 1993. For a British author like Follett the UK Macmillan hardcover is the likely true first; precise precedence between the two is not firmly established, so the Delacorte record here identifies the US first only.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions carry a blind-stamped dot to the rear board, lack the 'November 1993' first-printing notation and full number line, and are typically smaller and more cheaply bound.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Dangerous Fortune* by Ken Follett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-dangerous-fortune
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.