# Is "The Adventures of Lucky Pierre: Director's Cut" by Robert Coover a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Adventures of Lucky Pierre: Director's Cut by Robert Coover (Grove Press, 2002) is identified by: First edition, first printing is the 2002 Grove Press hardcover (New York, ISBN 0-8021-1724-4; 9780802117243), 416 pages, identified by a stated first edition with the complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. True first is the 2002 Grove Press hardcover (New York), stated first edition with number line to 1.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing is the 2002 Grove Press hardcover (New York, ISBN 0-8021-1724-4
- 9780802117243), 416 pages, identified by a stated first edition with the complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page
- Cloth-backed boards in a priced pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed price and be present
- Note that the book's own title page and jacket render the subtitle 'Directors' Cut' (plural possessive); the record's 'Director's Cut' form is a common variant
- Publisher imprint reads Grove Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Coover |
| Publisher | Grove Press |
| Year | 2002 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing is the 2002 Grove Press hardcover (New York, ISBN 0-8021-1724-4 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing is the 2002 Grove Press hardcover (New York, ISBN 0-8021-1724-4; 9780802117243), 416 pages, identified by a stated first edition with the complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. Cloth-backed boards in a priced pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed price and be present. Note that the book's own title page and jacket render the subtitle 'Directors' Cut' (plural possessive); the record's 'Director's Cut' form is a common variant. A novel.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 2002 Grove Press hardcover (New York), stated first edition with number line to 1. The later Grove Press trade paperback (ISBN 0-8021-4041-6) is not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None notable. The tell against a later state is the stated first edition with a complete number line ending in 1 in the 2002 hardcover, as opposed to the subsequent Grove paperback.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Adventures of Lucky Pierre: Director's Cut* by Robert Coover a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-adventures-of-lucky-pierre-directors-cut
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.