# Is "The Charm School" by Nelson DeMille a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Charm School by Nelson DeMille (Warner Books, 1988) is identified by: The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1988 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51305-9), octavo, 533 pp., whose copyright page states 'First Printing: April 1988' above a complete number line; the 1 must be present, since Warner retained the dated statement on later printings while stepping the line. The census claim is correct: the true first is Warner Books, New York, April 1988.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1988 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51305-9), octavo, 533 pp., whose copyright page states 'First Printing: April 1988' above a complete number line; the 1 must be present, since Warner retained the dated statement on later printings while stepping the line
- This matches documented Warner Books practice for the period, evidenced on DeMille's own Word of Honor (Warner, 1985), which states 'First Printing November 1985' above a full number line
- Binding is quarter cloth spine — dealers describe the spine cloth as blue, though at least one describes it as black, so the shade should be treated as unconfirmed — over red paper-covered boards, with the spine lettered in gilt
- The jacket is printed in red, blue, yellow and gold on a white ground; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the front flap
- No first-state text error is documented for this title
- Publisher imprint reads Warner Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nelson DeMille |
| Publisher | Warner Books |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1988 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51305-9), octavo, 533 pp., whose copyright page states 'First… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1988 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51305-9), octavo, 533 pp., whose copyright page states 'First Printing: April 1988' above a complete number line; the 1 must be present, since Warner retained the dated statement on later printings while stepping the line. This matches documented Warner Books practice for the period, evidenced on DeMille's own Word of Honor (Warner, 1985), which states 'First Printing November 1985' above a full number line. Binding is quarter cloth spine — dealers describe the spine cloth as blue, though at least one describes it as black, so the shade should be treated as unconfirmed — over red paper-covered boards, with the spine lettered in gilt. The jacket is printed in red, blue, yellow and gold on a white ground; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the front flap. No first-state text error is documented for this title.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is correct: the true first is Warner Books, New York, April 1988. The first UK edition is Grafton Books (London), 1988, issued after the Warner and collected as the first British edition only; a Guild Publishing (UK book club) issue also carries a 1988/1989 date and is not a first. Later Time Warner / Little, Brown UK and Grand Central reissues, and the G. K. Hall large-print, are reprints — descriptions of them as 'first thus' should be disregarded. Page counts differ between the Warner (533 pp.) and later UK settings (687 pp.), which is a useful sanity check against a UK reprint being offered as the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Guild Publishing (London) is the documented UK book-club issue; US club issues (Literary Guild / Doubleday clubs) also circulate. Tells: no 'First Printing: April 1988' statement and no number line on the copyright page, a blind-stamped colophon (dot, square, circle or triangle) impressed into the rear board near the spine, no price at the jacket flap, no barcode on the jacket rear, smaller trim size and lower-bulk paper.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Charm School* by Nelson DeMille a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-charm-school
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.