# Is "The Real Inspector Hound" by Tom Stoppard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard (Faber and Faber, 1968) is identified by: Faber and Faber, London, 1968, in the Faber Plays series; 47 pages. UK Faber true first, issued simultaneously in a royal-blue-cloth hardback with dust jacket and in cream printed wrappers with French flaps; the hardback is the scarcer form.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Faber and Faber, London, 1968, in the Faber Plays series
- Issued simultaneously in two forms: a hardback in royal blue cloth-covered boards with gilt titling to the spine, in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the flap; and a paperback in glossy cream printed wrappers lettered in black with French flaps, the printed price appearing on the rear wrapper
- The hardback issue is the scarcer of the two
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tom Stoppard |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Faber and Faber, London, 1968, in the Faber Plays series |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Faber and Faber, London, 1968, in the Faber Plays series; 47 pages. Issued simultaneously in two forms: a hardback in royal blue cloth-covered boards with gilt titling to the spine, in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the flap; and a paperback in glossy cream printed wrappers lettered in black with French flaps, the printed price appearing on the rear wrapper. The hardback issue is the scarcer of the two.

## Is this the true first?
UK Faber true first, issued simultaneously in a royal-blue-cloth hardback with dust jacket and in cream printed wrappers with French flaps; the hardback is the scarcer form.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition; a later US book-club issue exists but is unrelated to the Faber first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Real Inspector Hound* by Tom Stoppard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-real-inspector-hound
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.