# Is "The Dog of the Marriage" by Amy Hempel a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Dog of the Marriage by Amy Hempel (Scribner, 2005) is identified by: Scribner first edition, ISBN 0-7432-6451-7, with a number line descending to 1; Scribner colophon. The US Scribner hardcover (2005) is the true first edition of this collection.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Scribner first edition, ISBN 0-7432-6451-7, with a number line descending to 1
- Scribner colophon
- Hempel's fourth collection (nine stories, 160 pp), bound in tan cloth and boards
- Verify the jacket price is present and unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads Scribner
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Amy Hempel |
| Publisher | Scribner |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Scribner first edition, ISBN 0-7432-6451-7, with a number line descending to 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Scribner first edition, ISBN 0-7432-6451-7, with a number line descending to 1; Scribner colophon. Hempel's fourth collection (nine stories, 160 pp), bound in tan cloth and boards. Verify the jacket price is present and unclipped.

## Is this the true first?
The US Scribner hardcover (2005) is the true first edition of this collection.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later paperbacks and the 2006 Collected Stories omnibus are not the first book appearance of this collection. Note that The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel (Scribner, 2006) is a separate first-thus omnibus and is not the first book appearance of the stories from her earlier three collections.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Dog of the Marriage* by Amy Hempel a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-dog-of-the-marriage
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.