# Is "The Company She Keeps" by Mary McCarthy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Company She Keeps by Mary McCarthy (Simon & Schuster, 1942) is identified by: The US Simon & Schuster (New York, 1942) hardcover is the true first and McCarthy's first book. US Simon & Schuster 1942 is unambiguously the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The US Simon & Schuster (New York, 1942) hardcover is the true first and McCarthy's first book
- Simon & Schuster did not adopt a 'First Edition'/'First Printing' statement until about 1952, so the 1942 first is identified by the '1942' date and the ABSENCE of any later-printing or additional-impression statement on the copyright page rather than by a printed first-edition line
- It is bound in gray cloth with a printed paper spine label; roughly 304 pp
- Publisher imprint reads Simon & Schuster
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary McCarthy |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year | 1942 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The US Simon & Schuster (New York, 1942) hardcover is the true first and McCarthy's first book |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The US Simon & Schuster (New York, 1942) hardcover is the true first and McCarthy's first book. Simon & Schuster did not adopt a 'First Edition'/'First Printing' statement until about 1952, so the 1942 first is identified by the '1942' date and the ABSENCE of any later-printing or additional-impression statement on the copyright page rather than by a printed first-edition line. It is bound in gray cloth with a printed paper spine label; roughly 304 pp.

## Is this the true first?
US Simon & Schuster 1942 is unambiguously the true first. UK/British printings are all later; the census 'Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1957' is at most one later UK issue (an earlier UK edition may exist but is not corroborated here), so collectors should treat the US 1942 as the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Company She Keeps* by Mary McCarthy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-company-she-keeps
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.