# Is "Suddenly Last Summer" by Tennessee Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams (New Directions, 1958) is identified by: Slim cloth volume in dust jacket; New York, New Directions, 1958. US New Directions is the true first edition of the standalone play.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Slim cloth volume in dust jacket
- New York, New Directions, 1958
- Issued as a standalone first edition, 90 pages, in maroon cloth with white spine lettering
- The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap and lists thirteen Williams titles on the rear flap, with the jacket art keyed to the 'Garden District' staging; the printed price should be present, though publishers' file copies are sometimes found flap-clipped
- A stated second printing exists and should not be confused with the first
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tennessee Williams |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 1958 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Slim cloth volume in dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Slim cloth volume in dust jacket; New York, New Directions, 1958. Issued as a standalone first edition, 90 pages, in maroon cloth with white spine lettering. The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap and lists thirteen Williams titles on the rear flap, with the jacket art keyed to the 'Garden District' staging; the printed price should be present, though publishers' file copies are sometimes found flap-clipped. A stated second printing exists and should not be confused with the first.

## Is this the true first?
US New Directions is the true first edition of the standalone play. The play premiered off-Broadway in January 1958 within the double bill Garden District, paired with the one-act Something Unspoken; the London Garden District collection (Secker and Warburg) followed in 1959. George W. Crandell's descriptive bibliography of Williams is the standard authority for confirming first-issue points.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Suddenly Last Summer* by Tennessee Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/suddenly-last-summer
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.