Madeleine L'Engle First Editions

• The Small Rain — 1945 · Vanguard PressVanguard Press first, 1945, dated on the title page with no later-printing statement; blue cloth over boards with silver stencil-style spine lettering; first-issue dust jacket bears the original price. L'Engle's first published novel (adult). US Vanguard Press first edition. Scarce early title; reissued 1984 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Later editions and the 1984 FSG reissue are not the first; book-club and reprint copies lack the original 1945 jacket.
• Ilsa — 1946 · Vanguard PressVanguard Press first, 1946, with the title page and copyright page stating 1946 and no additional years or later-printing notice, consistent with Vanguard's first-edition practice of the period; roughly 416 pages. The first-issue dust jacket carries a portrait of Ilsa signed 'leslie' and should retain its printed price on the flap. An early adult novel and her scarcest book. US Vanguard Press first edition, issued simultaneously in Canada by Copp Clark; the US Vanguard printing is the recognized first. Notoriously hard to find, as the book went out of print for decades and was effectively never reprinted after publication. No common book-club issue; be wary of ex-library copies and later facsimile scans, which are not the first edition.
• And Both Were Young — 1949 · Lothrop, Lee & ShepardLothrop, Lee & Shepard first, New York, 1949, dated on the title page; issued in a pictorial dust jacket whose rear flap identifies the intended audience as 'Older Girls' and which should retain its original printed price. Early YA novel, later revised and reissued. US Lothrop, Lee & Shepard first edition. The 1949 text differs from the revised 1983 Delacorte edition, which restored material the original editors had removed. The 1983 Delacorte edition is a later, altered text, not the first; book-club and reprint copies lack the original 1949 jacket.
• Camilla Dickinson — 1951 · Simon & SchusterSimon & Schuster (New York) first edition, 1951, octavo, 245 pages, in a pictorial dust jacket; scarce in jacket. A true first is not a book-club edition, so confirm the printing statement and the presence of the printed price on the jacket flap before assuming first state. This early novel by the author of 'A Wrinkle in Time' concerns the first romance of two New York teenagers from troubled families. US Simon & Schuster (New York) is the true first edition; the 1951 'Camilla Dickinson' text precedes both the 1952 UK Secker & Warburg edition and the later revised, retitled 'Camilla' of 1965. Book-club reprints are physically lighter, lack a printed price on the jacket, and carry no first-printing indicators. The retitled and revised 'Camilla' (1965) is a later edition with an altered text, not this first.
• A Winter's Love — 1957 · J. B. LippincottJ. B. Lippincott first edition dated 1957, in dust jacket; one of L'Engle's early adult novels and among her scarcer titles. Confirm the absence of later-printing statements. US J. B. Lippincott (Philadelphia and New York) is the true first edition. Book-club reprints generally lack a jacket price and first-printing indicators.
• Meet the Austins — 1960 · Vanguard PressVanguard Press first edition dated 1960 with no later-printing statement, in dust jacket. First Austin Family book. Verify no numbered-printing statement (later printings state the printing, e.g. 'ninth printing'). US Vanguard Press (New York) is the true first edition. Book-club and later Vanguard printings state their printing and/or lack a jacket price.
• A Wrinkle in Time — 1962 · Ariel Books / Farrar, Straus and CudahyFirst edition: Ariel Books (Farrar, Straus & Cudahy), 1962; first-issue dust jacket WITHOUT the Newbery Medal (won 1963), with its printed price, art by Ellen Raskin. Copyright page states 'First printing' / no later-printing line; jacket carries 'Cudahy' (the firm became Farrar, Straus & Giroux shortly after). US Ariel/FSC is the true first. The pre-Newbery jacket (no medal) plus the printed price Raskin jacket and the 'Cudahy' imprint are the key first-issue markers; relaunch jackets added the Newbery Medal. Book-club editions add the Newbery Medal to the jacket, drop the price, and are smaller with a board blind-stamp; later trade printings carry the 'Giroux' imprint and a printing statement.
• A Wrinkle in Time (signed/first-printing distinction) — 1962 · Ariel Books / Farrar, Straus and CudahyThe true first is the 1962 Ariel Books edition (Ariel was the children's imprint of Farrar, Straus and Cudahy). The first printing states the 1962 date on the copyright page and is bound in quarter cloth over speckled paper boards. The defining point is the first-state dust jacket: it carries the original printed price on the front flap and does NOT bear the Newbery Medal seal. The pictorial jacket was designed…. The US Ariel Books / Farrar, Straus and Cudahy 1962 edition is the true first; the book won the 1963 Newbery Medal. The base title may already be in the index; this entry documents the finer jacket-state and seal points rather than duplicating the title. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price, add the Newbery seal, carry a blind-stamp on the rear board, and frequently show the later 'Farrar, Straus & Giroux' imprint rather than the original 'Farrar, Straus and Cudahy.'.
• The Moon by Night — 1963 · Farrar, Straus and CompanyFarrar, Straus and Company first edition dated 1963, bound in publisher's blue cloth boards, in pictorial dust jacket. Second Austin Family book. Confirm the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page; a first-state jacket carries the original printed price and is not price-clipped. US Farrar, Straus and Company (New York) is the true first edition. The firm's name did not add 'Giroux' until 1964, so a genuine 1963 first correctly reads 'Farrar, Straus and Company' — a jacket or title page reading 'Farrar, Straus and Giroux' indicates a later state or reprint. Book-club reprints generally lack a printed jacket price and omit first-printing indicators.
• The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas — 1964 · Ariel BooksAriel Books first edition dated 1964, red cloth boards lettered in gilt on the spine, in an illustrated dust jacket that should retain its original printed price at the flap corner; illustrations by Inga in color and black-and-white throughout, 56 pages, small octavo. An Austin Family picture-story book, published two years after A Wrinkle in Time. US first edition under the Ariel Books imprint (Ariel was the juvenile imprint of Farrar, Straus and Company). No earlier UK or other edition precedes it. Later reprints and the modern Farrar reissue (illustrated by Jill Weber) lack the 1964 red cloth binding and the original Inga-illustrated jacket; any book-club or reissue copy lacks the original printed jacket price.
• The Arm of the Starfish — 1965 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxFarrar, Straus and Giroux (Ariel imprint) first edition dated 1965, with the first printing stated on the copyright page. Bound in quarter teal cloth over light blue boards, with gilt titling to the spine and a blindstamped starfish device to the front board. First O'Keefe Family novel, introducing Adam Eddington and Poly (Polly) O'Keefe. The first-state dust jacket should retain its printed price to the front…. The US Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition (New York), under the Ariel juvenile imprint, is the true first edition; the firm adopted the 'Giroux' name in 1964, so a 1965 first correctly reads FSG. Book-club reprints lack the stated first printing and generally carry no printed jacket price.
• The Love Letters — 1966 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxTrue first is the FSG hardcover with the copyright page dated 1966 and a stated first printing, in the first-issue dust jacket bearing the original printed price. An adult novel, not a childrens book. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition. Later book-club printings are typically unpriced on the jacket flap and can be reprinted from the first-edition plates; treat an unpriced jacket as a caution flag.
• The Young Unicorns — 1968 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxTrue first is the Farrar, Straus and Giroux hardcover octavo with the copyright page dated 1968 and a stated first printing. The binding is purple cloth with a red topstain and the spine lettering stamped in silver, over beige endpapers. The first-issue dust jacket carries art by Ellen Raskin and should retain the printed price on the front flap. Third book in the Austin Family series. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition is the true first. Later book-club printings are typically issued in an unpriced jacket; an unpriced or price-clipped jacket is a caution flag, not proof of a first, so confirm the purple cloth, silver spine stamping, and red topstain of the trade binding.
• The Other Side of the Sun — 1971 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxTrue first is the Farrar, Straus and Giroux hardcover with the copyright page dated 1971 and a stated first printing, bound in grey cloth and issued in the first-issue priced dust jacket. An adult novel. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition, 1971. Later book-club printings are typically unpriced on the jacket and may lack the stated first-printing notation; treat an unpriced jacket as a caution flag and confirm the grey-cloth binding.
• A Wind in the Door — 1973 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxTrue first is the FSG hardcover with a stated first printing on the copyright page (no later-printing statement), bound in emerald green cloth with the first-issue priced dust jacket (art by Richard Cuffari). Second book of the Time Quintet, sequel to A Wrinkle in Time. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition; sequel to A Wrinkle in Time. Later book-club printings are usually unpriced on the jacket; an unpriced or price-clipped jacket is a caution flag.
• Dragons in the Waters — 1976 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxTrue first is the FSG hardcover with the copyright page dated 1976 and a stated first printing, bound in red cloth with silver spine lettering, in the first-issue priced dust jacket. Second Poly O'Keefe book. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition. Later book-club printings are usually unpriced on the jacket; treat an unpriced jacket as a caution flag.
• A Swiftly Tilting Planet — 1978 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxTrue first is the FSG hardcover with a stated first printing on the copyright page (FSG stated its printings in words in this era rather than using a number line), bound in black cloth with green endpapers, in the first-issue priced dust jacket. Third book of the Time Quintet. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition. Later book-club printings are usually unpriced on the jacket; an unpriced or price-clipped jacket is a caution flag.
• A Ring of Endless Light — 1980 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxUS Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition. First printing carries the FSG first-printing designation on the copyright page (first-edition statement and number line reading down to 1). Fourth Austin Family book; a 1981 Newbery Honor. First-issue jacket is unclipped and carries the original price; dust-jacket art by Fred Marcellino. US FSG first edition is the true first. Later book-club printings are typically smaller and lighter, lack the number line to 1, and their jackets omit the original trade price.
• A Severed Wasp — 1982 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxUS Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition, first printing, designated on the copyright page (FSG first-edition statement with number line to 1). Adult novel; a sequel of sorts to The Small Rain. First-issue jacket is unclipped with the original price. US FSG first edition is the true first. Later book-club printings lack the first-printing number line and their jackets omit the original trade price.
• Many Waters — 1986 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxUS Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition. First printing shows the FSG first-edition statement with a number line reading down to 1 on the copyright page. Fourth Time Quintet book, in lavender boards. First-issue jacket is unclipped with the original price. US FSG first edition is the true first. Later book-club printings lack the number line to 1 and their jackets omit the original trade price.
• An Acceptable Time — 1989 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxUS Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition. First printing is identified by the copyright-page statement First edition, 1989 (rather than by a number line). Fifth and final Time Quintet book; jacket art by Charles Mikolaycak. First-issue jacket is unclipped with the original price. US FSG first edition is the true first. Later book-club printings lack the First edition, 1989 statement and their jackets omit the original trade price.

More Children's & YA shelves: Margaret Wise Brown (illus. Clement Hurd), Marguerite Henry, Maurice Sendak, Mo Willems, Paula Fox, Philip Pullman.

← All authors · All genres · part of the First-Edition Identification resource.