# Is "A Long and Happy Life" by Reynolds Price a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Long and Happy Life by Reynolds Price (Atheneum, 1962) is identified by: Copyright page states First Edition per Atheneum convention. US (Atheneum, 1962) is the true first; the UK edition (Chatto & Windus, 1962) follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright page states First Edition per Atheneum convention
- First issue has a bright red top-edge stain (later issues a duller orange stain) and the names of the contributors of the jacket blurbs (including Eudora Welty, Harper Lee, and Stephen Spender) printed in yellow-green ink
- First-issue dust jacket carries the original price on the front flap
- Author's first novel; won the William Faulkner Award
- Publisher imprint reads Atheneum
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Reynolds Price |
| Publisher | Atheneum |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Copyright page states First Edition per Atheneum convention |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Copyright page states First Edition per Atheneum convention. First issue has a bright red top-edge stain (later issues a duller orange stain) and the names of the contributors of the jacket blurbs (including Eudora Welty, Harper Lee, and Stephen Spender) printed in yellow-green ink. First-issue dust jacket carries the original price on the front flap. Author's first novel; won the William Faulkner Award.

## Is this the true first?
US (Atheneum, 1962) is the true first; the UK edition (Chatto & Windus, 1962) follows. The complete short novel had appeared in Harper's Magazine shortly before book publication.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later issues and book-club copies lack the bright red top-stain and the yellow-green blurb-name ink, and the club issue is blind-stamped with no flap price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Long and Happy Life* by Reynolds Price a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-long-and-happy-life
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.