# Is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" by John Berendt a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (Random House, 1994) is identified by: Copyright page states First Edition; Random House first printing does NOT carry a 1 in the number line (the stated First Edition plus the absence of a 1 marks the first printing). US Random House (New York), published January 1994, is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright page states First Edition
- Random House first printing does NOT carry a 1 in the number line (the stated First Edition plus the absence of a 1 marks the first printing)
- First-state dust jacket bears the Jack Leigh Bird Girl statue photograph (from Bonaventure Cemetery) and the Ann Beattie blurb at the top of the rear panel
- Early text states show the typographical error repeated on page 11 and page 214
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Berendt |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1994 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Copyright page states First Edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Cloth-backed boards. Copyright page states First Edition; Random House first printing does NOT carry a 1 in the number line (the stated First Edition plus the absence of a 1 marks the first printing). First-state dust jacket bears the Jack Leigh Bird Girl statue photograph (from Bonaventure Cemetery) and the Ann Beattie blurb at the top of the rear panel. Early text states show the typographical error repeated on page 11 and page 214.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House (New York), published January 1994, is the true first. Pulitzer finalist and a major bestseller.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-of-the-Month Club issues omit the First Edition statement and the jacket price and carry a blind-stamp to the rear board; the BOMC printing is extremely common.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil* by John Berendt a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/midnight-in-the-garden-of-good-and-evil
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.