# Is "Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel" by Truman Capote a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel by Truman Capote (Random House, 1987) is identified by: US edition states "First Edition" with a number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. The true first is the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, 1986), which precedes the US Random House edition (1987).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US edition states "First Edition" with a number line descending to 1 on the copyright page
- Posthumous; assembled from the surviving chapters
- The US edition uniquely includes a multi-page editor's note by Joseph M. Fox not present in the UK edition
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Truman Capote |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US edition states "First Edition" with a number line descending to 1 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US edition states "First Edition" with a number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. Posthumous; assembled from the surviving chapters. The US edition uniquely includes a multi-page editor's note by Joseph M. Fox not present in the UK edition.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, 1986), which precedes the US Random House edition (1987). The US edition is a later printing chronologically but adds the Fox editor's note.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later US printings advance the number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel* by Truman Capote a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/answered-prayers-the-unfinished-novel
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.