# Is "Falling Angel" by William Hjortsberg a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1978) is identified by: The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page accompanied by the letter line "BCDE" — the absence of the "A" is correct and is the single most important point on this book. The true first is the US edition: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1978 — the census publisher and year are confirmed, as is the book's status as the basis for the 1987 film Angel Heart.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page accompanied by the letter line "BCDE" — the absence of the "A" is correct and is the single most important point on this book
- Between 1973 and about 1983 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich dropped the "A" from its letter line and printed "First Edition / BCDE" on first printings; the line reads "CDE" for the second printing, "DE" for the third, and so on, with the "A" only reinstated in late 1982–83
- A copy showing "BCDE" is therefore a first printing, not a fifth — the reverse of the intuitive reading, and the trap that causes genuine firsts to be misdescribed as later printings
- Collation: 243 pages, octavo, with a monochrome frontispiece
- Binding: quarter red cloth spine lettered in gilt and black over paper-covered boards, rear cover lettered in black; dealers describe the board colour variously as pale green, olive, or buff, so board shade alone is not a reliable point
- Jacket: the distinctive metallic gold jacket designed by Stanislaw Zagorski; it should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Hjortsberg |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page accompanied by the letter line "BCDE" — the absence of the "A" is correct… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page accompanied by the letter line "BCDE" — the absence of the "A" is correct and is the single most important point on this book. Between 1973 and about 1983 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich dropped the "A" from its letter line and printed "First Edition / BCDE" on first printings; the line reads "CDE" for the second printing, "DE" for the third, and so on, with the "A" only reinstated in late 1982–83. A copy showing "BCDE" is therefore a first printing, not a fifth — the reverse of the intuitive reading, and the trap that causes genuine firsts to be misdescribed as later printings. Collation: 243 pages, octavo, with a monochrome frontispiece. Binding: quarter red cloth spine lettered in gilt and black over paper-covered boards, rear cover lettered in black; dealers describe the board colour variously as pale green, olive, or buff, so board shade alone is not a reliable point. Jacket: the distinctive metallic gold jacket designed by Stanislaw Zagorski; it should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap. No first-state textual error is documented.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the US edition: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1978 — the census publisher and year are confirmed, as is the book's status as the basis for the 1987 film Angel Heart. The census claim that a UK Century edition "followed much later" is UNCONFIRMED: no Century issue was located in the sources consulted, Wikipedia records no British publication, and at least one dealer copy bears a "New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978" imprint, suggesting HBJ handled any contemporaneous UK distribution itself. Treat the UK-Century assertion as unsupported until a copy is examined. The 1979 paperback release — which is what carried the book to a wide audience — and the later Open Road reissue (ISBN 9781453271131) 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 letter line itself — "CDE," "DE," or shorter marks a later printing — and the 1979 and subsequent paperback issues. Absence of documentation is not proof no club issue exists; check any copy against the "First Edition / BCDE" statement and the priced gold Zagorski jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Falling Angel* by William Hjortsberg a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/falling-angel
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.