# Is "Burnt Offerings" by Robert Marasco a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco (Delacorte Press, New York, 1973) is identified by: Delacorte Press first printings of this period state "First printing" on the copyright page with no later printing noted; that statement is the operative test, and its absence — or the presence of any subsequent printing line — rules out a first. The true first is the US edition: Delacorte Press, New York, 1973 — the census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Delacorte Press first printings of this period state "First printing" on the copyright page with no later printing noted; that statement is the operative test, and its absence — or the presence of any subsequent printing line — rules out a first
- Delacorte did not adopt a number line until later, so no number line should be expected on the 1973 issue
- Hardcover, 246 pages, in dust jacket; the jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap
- This was Marasco's first novel
- An uncorrected proof precedes the trade first and is separately recorded by an ABAA dealer (Royal Books)
- CAUTION: granular binding and jacket points for this title are poorly documented — one retail listing gives a 381-page collation and an "ivory spine" binding that conflicts with the established 246-page collation and should not be relied on
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Marasco |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press, New York |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Delacorte Press first printings of this period state "First printing" on the copyright page with no later printing noted; that statement is… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Delacorte Press first printings of this period state "First printing" on the copyright page with no later printing noted; that statement is the operative test, and its absence — or the presence of any subsequent printing line — rules out a first. Delacorte did not adopt a number line until later, so no number line should be expected on the 1973 issue. Hardcover, 246 pages, in dust jacket; the jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap. This was Marasco's first novel. An uncorrected proof precedes the trade first and is separately recorded by an ABAA dealer (Royal Books). CAUTION: granular binding and jacket points for this title are poorly documented — one retail listing gives a 381-page collation and an "ivory spine" binding that conflicts with the established 246-page collation and should not be relied on. No first-state textual error is documented; do not assert cloth colour or jacket points beyond the priced-jacket test without examining a confirmed copy.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the US edition: Delacorte Press, New York, 1973 — the census claim is confirmed. A UK edition followed from Hodder & Stoughton, London, catalogued as 1973, with a Coronet paperback in 1974; because the Hodder issue may fall in the same year, the US Delacorte issue is the one conventionally treated as the true first and is the edition collected as such, but the exact UK release date is not firmly pinned by the sources consulted. Later Dell printings — including the 1976 film tie-in for the Karen Black / Oliver Reed adaptation — and the Valancourt reissue are "first thus" traps, not firsts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No distinct Book Club Edition tells are documented for this title in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tells are the Dell mass-market printings and the 1976 Dell film tie-in, which are plainly identified by the Dell imprint and tie-in cover art rather than the Delacorte hardcover imprint. Absence of a documented BCE is not proof one was never issued — treat any Delacorte-imprint copy lacking the "First printing" statement as a later printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Burnt Offerings* by Robert Marasco a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/burnt-offerings
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.