Hi there, I am confused. The Chronicles of Narnia ISBN 0-06-059824-7. Everywhere I look I see this as 2004 first edition. This copy says 1982, see pics. Can someone help me out here?? Thanks in advance.
This particular compilation of Lewis' writings came out in 2004. 1982 is the copyright date for the essay that is included with the stories, which all have their own dates of first publication.
I understand your confusion. But here's what appears to be going on. This volume is apparently the first time all of the books AND the essay were published in one volume. Having them call it a "First Edition" in 2004 is technically correct, but could mislead those who think they have found a First Edition of each of the individual works.
The Essay on writing for children is from 1982, I cant see the publishing info of your edition on the page you show, only the first publication dates for all books and the order they should be read. Must have taken me very long to write that
I went to the URL listed above the ISBN number and found that it's got a lot of editions listed, where it's possible to browse in and look up details. Here is the page for the one you have: http://www.narnia.com/us/books/hardcover/the-chronicles-of-narnia/9780060598242/ Down in the Product Details at the bottom you have verification of the date. Unfortunately, this appears to be one of those times that the publisher did not print the publication date on the item itself. However, to make sure you should carefully look for other pages, even in the back of the book, that might show the date. Also the dust jacket might have it even though the actual book doesn't. ( I bought a book from a university press several years ago that did the same thing... the date was only on the dust jacket.) I think from all of the evidence, you can trust the 2004 publication date on this.
As this book is a compilation of previously published and copyrighted material, there is no legal obligation to print the actual year of publication in this edition. It would be called a "First Edition Thus" - meaning first time printed in this form. Harper Collins for some reason chose not to print 2004 on the page - but it is associated with this ISBN. There might be a copyright date somewhere on the dust jacket, as the artwork might have been new for this edition.
