4 Ruth Rendell first editions are documented on this shelf, from From Doon with Death (1964) to A Judgement in Stone (1977) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Ruth Rendell title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Ruth Rendell copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- From Doon with Death — 1964 · John LongJohn Long (Hutchinson group) first, 1964; publisher's green cloth boards lettered in gilt; first-issue dust jacket designed by William Randell and with its printed price on the front flap (unclipped). Copyright page carries a single first-published statement with no later impression line. UK John Long (1964) is the true first; the US Doubleday edition (1965) followed. Rendell's debut novel and the first Inspector Wexford book. Many copies went into UK lending libraries, so unmarked copies in jacket are genuinely scarce. Later John Long impressions add a printing statement; price-clipped jackets lose the original the printed price flap price. The US Doubleday first is later.
- A New Lease of Death (US: Sins of the Fathers) — 1967 · John LongJohn Long first, 1967, under the UK title 'A New Lease of Death'; publisher's boards with gilt spine titles; first-issue dust jacket illustrated by William Randell and with its printed price. Copyright page carries a single first-published statement. UK John Long (1967) is the true first under the UK title. The US Doubleday edition (1967) used the title 'The Sins of the Fathers.' Second Inspector Wexford novel; the UK title is the original. US-titled copies are a separate issue; price-clipped jackets lose the printed price. Later John Long impressions add a printing line.
- A Demon in My View — 1976 · HutchinsonHutchinson first, 1976, in publisher's black cloth with gilt spine titles, 183 pages; the first-issue dust jacket is priced on the front flap and the copyright page carries a single first-published statement with no later impression line. Won the CWA Gold Dagger. UK Hutchinson (1976) precedes the US Doubleday edition (1977). Standalone psychological thriller and Rendell's first of several CWA Dagger awards. Later impressions add a printing statement; price-clipped jackets lose the flap price.
- A Judgement in Stone — 1977 · HutchinsonUK Hutchinson first edition, 1977, in first-issue priced dust jacket; the copyright page carries a single first-published statement with no later-impression line. Opens with the celebrated line naming the murderer at the outset: Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write. UK Hutchinson (1977) precedes the US Doubleday edition (1978). One of Rendell's most acclaimed standalone novels. Later impressions add a printing line on the copyright page; book-club copies lack the stated jacket price.
More Mystery, Crime & Thriller shelves: S. S. Van Dine, Sara Paretsky, Stieg Larsson, Sue Grafton, T. Jefferson Parker, Thomas Harris.
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