# Is "Certain Women" by Erskine Caldwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Certain Women by Erskine Caldwell (Little, Brown and Company, 1957) is identified by: Little, Brown and Company first printing, Boston (and Toronto), 1957, issued in cloth in a priced dust jacket. US edition is the true first; the UK edition followed from Heinemann in 1958.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Little, Brown and Company first printing, Boston (and Toronto), 1957, issued in cloth in a priced dust jacket
- Little, Brown first printings of this period state "First Edition" or "First Printing" on the copyright page (the house convention since 1940), with later printings separately indicated
- A collection of seven linked short stories, each centered on a woman, set in the town of Claremore
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erskine Caldwell |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Little, Brown and Company first printing, Boston (and Toronto), 1957, issued in cloth in a priced dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Little, Brown and Company first printing, Boston (and Toronto), 1957, issued in cloth in a priced dust jacket. Little, Brown first printings of this period state "First Edition" or "First Printing" on the copyright page (the house convention since 1940), with later printings separately indicated. A collection of seven linked short stories, each centered on a woman, set in the town of Claremore.

## Is this the true first?
US edition is the true first; the UK edition followed from Heinemann in 1958.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings are normally indicated on the copyright page; a first printing carries the "First Edition"/"First Printing" statement with no later-printing notation.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Certain Women* by Erskine Caldwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/certain-women
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.