# Is "Lord of Misrule" by Jaimy Gordon a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (McPherson & Company, 2010) is identified by: Small octavo hardcover from McPherson & Company, Kingston, with the number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page. The US McPherson & Company hardcover of 2010 is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Small octavo hardcover from McPherson & Company, Kingston, with the number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page
- First-state dust jacket has no National Book Award reference and carries the original printed price on the front flap
- The pre-award first printing was very small before the award triggered reprints
- Publisher imprint reads McPherson & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jaimy Gordon |
| Publisher | McPherson & Company |
| Year | 2010 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Small octavo hardcover from McPherson & Company, Kingston, with the number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Small octavo hardcover from McPherson & Company, Kingston, with the number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page. First-state dust jacket has no National Book Award reference and carries the original printed price on the front flap. The pre-award first printing was very small before the award triggered reprints.

## Is this the true first?
The US McPherson & Company hardcover of 2010 is the true first edition. It won the 2010 National Book Award for Fiction. The original first printing is genuinely scarce, with a Vintage trade paperback following.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The scarcity lies in the small original print run. Confirm the McPherson imprint, the number line, and a first-state jacket with no award reference.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Lord of Misrule* by Jaimy Gordon a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/lord-of-misrule
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.