# Is "The Blunderer" by Patricia Highsmith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Blunderer by Patricia Highsmith (Coward-McCann, 1954) is identified by: Coward-McCann, Inc., New York, 1954. The census claim stands: US Coward-McCann 1954 is the true first, preceding the first UK edition by two years.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Coward-McCann, Inc., New York, 1954
- Because the book was first published in the United States, Coward-McCann applied NO edition statement at all — the first printing is identified by the ABSENCE of any later-printing notice on the copyright page
- The firm reserved the "First American Edition" statement for books first published abroad, so its presence would indicate a different book, not a later state of this one
- Coward-McCann was not wholly consistent, but later printings are generally noted
- Bound in black cloth (described by one dealer as black cloth-grain paper over boards) lettered on the spine in red, which a second dealer describes as magenta
- 277, [1] pp, approximately 8 x 5.25 inches
- Publisher imprint reads Coward-McCann

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Patricia Highsmith |
| Publisher | Coward-McCann |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Coward-McCann, Inc., New York, 1954 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Coward-McCann, Inc., New York, 1954. Because the book was first published in the United States, Coward-McCann applied NO edition statement at all — the first printing is identified by the ABSENCE of any later-printing notice on the copyright page. The firm reserved the "First American Edition" statement for books first published abroad, so its presence would indicate a different book, not a later state of this one; Coward-McCann was not wholly consistent, but later printings are generally noted. Bound in black cloth (described by one dealer as black cloth-grain paper over boards) lettered on the spine in red, which a second dealer describes as magenta; 277, [1] pp, approximately 8 x 5.25 inches. Dust jacket designed by Rus Anderson; a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim stands: US Coward-McCann 1954 is the true first, preceding the first UK edition by two years. The first British edition is The Cresset Press, London, 1956 — red textured paper boards, 284 pp, with an uncredited dust jacket — and is separately collected as the first UK appearance. Important "first thus" trap: the retitled Lament for a Lover is the 1956 Popular Library US paperback, NOT the British edition. Goodreads and several secondary sources wrongly state that the title was changed to Lament for a Lover "in England"; the Cresset Press UK first retained the title The Blunderer, as confirmed by dealer listings and a collector census of the British first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No dedicated book-club printing of the 1954 Coward-McCann issue was documented in the sources consulted, so no title-specific club tells can be given. Apply the generic tells only: no price present at the jacket flap, a blind stamp or small dot to the rear board, lighter bulk, and cheaper paper.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Blunderer* by Patricia Highsmith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-blunderer
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.