# Is "In a Lonely Place" by Dorothy B. Hughes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes (Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1947) is identified by: Duell, Sloan and Pearce marked first printings on the copyright page with either a stated 'First Edition' or the Roman numeral 'I'; later printings are marked 'II' and so on, so a copy showing any higher numeral or printing statement is a reprint. The Duell, Sloan and Pearce (New York, 1947) edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Duell, Sloan and Pearce marked first printings on the copyright page with either a stated 'First Edition' or the Roman numeral 'I'; later printings are marked 'II' and so on, so a copy showing any higher numeral or printing statement is a reprint
- The first edition is bound with a beige cloth spine over black pebble-grain boards (217 pages), and the first-issue dust jacket is priced, with the price present at the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Duell, Sloan and Pearce
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dorothy B. Hughes |
| Publisher | Duell, Sloan and Pearce |
| Year | 1947 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Duell, Sloan and Pearce marked first printings on the copyright page with either a stated 'First Edition' or the Roman numeral 'I'; later… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Duell, Sloan and Pearce marked first printings on the copyright page with either a stated 'First Edition' or the Roman numeral 'I'; later printings are marked 'II' and so on, so a copy showing any higher numeral or printing statement is a reprint. The first edition is bound with a beige cloth spine over black pebble-grain boards (217 pages), and the first-issue dust jacket is priced, with the price present at the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The Duell, Sloan and Pearce (New York, 1947) edition is the true first. The first UK edition did not appear until 1950, from Nicholson and Watson (London); American editions of Hughes precede the English in all cases. A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone, and the basis of the 1950 Nicholas Ray film.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No contemporary book-club issue is documented; the trap is later Duell, Sloan and Pearce printings, which are marked on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In a Lonely Place* by Dorothy B. Hughes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-a-lonely-place
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.