NMLP P-038769 · True-first precedence · minted 2026-07-19
The Stealer of Souls
Michael Moorcock · Neville Spearman (London) · 1963
Census claim confirmed. This is a UK-only hardcover first: the first Elric book published and the first full-length book to appear under Moorcock's name, collecting the first five of the nine Elric novellas from Science Fantasy (June 1961 – April 1964). There is no competing US hardcover. The first American appearance is the Lancer paperback of 1967 (190pp, cover by Jack Gaughan) — a reprint, not a paperback original — and the first UK paperback is Mayflower, December 1968 (173pp, Bob Haberfield cover, reprinted 1969). Only the Spearman 1963 hardcover is the first edition.
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New Mexico Literacy Project — True-first precedence NMLP P-038769 for "The Stealer of Souls" by Michael Moorcock (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/id/point/p-038769, CC BY 4.0, dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21184548).