# Is "Letters Home" by Sylvia Plath a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Letters Home by Sylvia Plath (Harper & Row, 1975) is identified by: Subtitled 'Correspondence 1950-1963', selected and edited with commentary by Aurelia Schober Plath (Plath's mother). The Harper & Row US edition (1975) precedes the Faber & Faber UK edition (1976).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Subtitled 'Correspondence 1950-1963', selected and edited with commentary by Aurelia Schober Plath (Plath's mother)
- First edition, Harper & Row, cloth with dust jacket
- By 1975 Harper & Row identified firsts with a stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page together with a number line; the first printing shows no later-printing indication
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Row
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sylvia Plath |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Subtitled 'Correspondence 1950-1963', selected and edited with commentary by Aurelia… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Subtitled 'Correspondence 1950-1963', selected and edited with commentary by Aurelia Schober Plath (Plath's mother). First edition, Harper & Row, cloth with dust jacket. By 1975 Harper & Row identified firsts with a stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page together with a number line; the first printing shows no later-printing indication.

## Is this the true first?
The Harper & Row US edition (1975) precedes the Faber & Faber UK edition (1976).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Letters Home* by Sylvia Plath a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/letters-home
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.