# Is "Desperate Characters" by Paula Fox a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Desperate Characters by Paula Fox (Harcourt, Brace & World, 1970) is identified by: The true first is the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition of 1970 (156 pp.), quarter-bound in orange/rust cloth spine over black paper-covered boards, the spine lettered in black and stamped/decorated in yellow, with the dust jacket present and priced at the front flap. US Harcourt, Brace & World (1970) precedes the UK edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition of 1970 (156 pp.), quarter-bound in orange/rust cloth spine over black paper-covered boards, the spine lettered in black and stamped/decorated in yellow, with the dust jacket present and priced at the front flap
- The first printing states 'First edition' on the copyright page with no number line — the Harcourt, Brace & World house point in force before the firm became Harcourt Brace Jovanovich later in 1970 (HBJ books switch to a number line)
- Dealer catalog descriptions differ slightly on the spine-cloth color (orange/rust vs. red) but agree on the black paper boards and the black-and-yellow spine lettering
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt, Brace & World
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Paula Fox |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace & World |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition of 1970 (156 pp.), quarter-bound in orange/rust cloth spine over black… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The true first is the US Harcourt, Brace & World edition of 1970 (156 pp.), quarter-bound in orange/rust cloth spine over black paper-covered boards, the spine lettered in black and stamped/decorated in yellow, with the dust jacket present and priced at the front flap. The first printing states 'First edition' on the copyright page with no number line — the Harcourt, Brace & World house point in force before the firm became Harcourt Brace Jovanovich later in 1970 (HBJ books switch to a number line). Dealer catalog descriptions differ slightly on the spine-cloth color (orange/rust vs. red) but agree on the black paper boards and the black-and-yellow spine lettering.

## Is this the true first?
US Harcourt, Brace & World (1970) precedes the UK edition. A UK issue followed under Macmillan, London (ISBN 0-333-12072-8); the US Harcourt printing is the collected true first. The 1999 W. W. Norton reissue carrying a Jonathan Franzen introduction is a later 'first thus,' not the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club printing is documented for the first here. Later reprints include a Harcourt Brace Jovanovich paperback and the 1999 Norton edition (new introduction) — reprints / 'first thus,' not firsts.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Desperate Characters* by Paula Fox a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/desperate-characters
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.