# Is "Miss Lonelyhearts" by Nathanael West a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West (Liveright, 1933) is identified by: First edition: Liveright, New York, 1933 (published 8 April 1933). The Liveright 1933 issue is the true first; the Harcourt, Brace 1933 reissue (Liveright sheets under the Harcourt imprint) is the second issue, and the Greenberg 1934 remainder is the third.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition: Liveright, New York, 1933 (published 8 April 1933)
- Notorious issue history tied to Liveright's bankruptcy: about 2,200 copies were printed but only roughly 800 were shipped to bookshops before the collapse; copies bearing the Liveright imprint and 1933 date are the first issue
- The withheld sheets (about 1,400 copies) were reissued in June 1933 by Harcourt, Brace under their own imprint as the second issue, and the title was remaindered by Greenberg in 1934 as the third issue
- Publisher imprint reads Liveright
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nathanael West |
| Publisher | Liveright |
| Year | 1933 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition: Liveright, New York, 1933 (published 8 April 1933) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition: Liveright, New York, 1933 (published 8 April 1933). Notorious issue history tied to Liveright's bankruptcy: about 2,200 copies were printed but only roughly 800 were shipped to bookshops before the collapse; copies bearing the Liveright imprint and 1933 date are the first issue. The withheld sheets (about 1,400 copies) were reissued in June 1933 by Harcourt, Brace under their own imprint as the second issue, and the title was remaindered by Greenberg in 1934 as the third issue.

## Is this the true first?
The Liveright 1933 issue is the true first; the Harcourt, Brace 1933 reissue (Liveright sheets under the Harcourt imprint) is the second issue, and the Greenberg 1934 remainder is the third. A genuine Liveright-imprint copy is far scarcer.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Check the title-page imprint: Liveright equals first issue; Harcourt, Brace equals second issue; Greenberg equals third. Later editions are obvious reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Miss Lonelyhearts* by Nathanael West a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/miss-lonelyhearts
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.