# Is "The Doll Who Ate His Mother" by Ramsey Campbell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Doll Who Ate His Mother by Ramsey Campbell (Bobbs-Merrill, 1976) is identified by: US Bobbs-Merrill first hardcover, published in Indianapolis and New York in 1976 (Campbell's first novel), issued in boards with a priced dust jacket bearing the subtitle 'A Novel of Modern Terror.' The first-state jacket on this title is prone to lamination curl at the edges, so the printed price should be present on the flap but the flaps often show short closed tears from that curl. The US Bobbs-Merrill 1976 hardcover is the true first edition; the UK Millington hardcover is the UK first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Bobbs-Merrill first hardcover, published in Indianapolis and New York in 1976 (Campbell's first novel), issued in boards with a priced dust jacket bearing the subtitle 'A Novel of Modern Terror.' The first-state jacket on this title is prone to lamination curl at the edges, so the printed price should be present on the flap but the flaps often show short closed tears from that curl
- No later-printing line should appear on the copyright page
- The UK Millington hardcover followed in 1977
- Publisher imprint reads Bobbs-Merrill
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ramsey Campbell |
| Publisher | Bobbs-Merrill |
| Year | 1976 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Bobbs-Merrill first hardcover, published in Indianapolis and New York in 1976 (Campbell's first novel), issued in boards with a priced… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
US Bobbs-Merrill first hardcover, published in Indianapolis and New York in 1976 (Campbell's first novel), issued in boards with a priced dust jacket bearing the subtitle 'A Novel of Modern Terror.' The first-state jacket on this title is prone to lamination curl at the edges, so the printed price should be present on the flap but the flaps often show short closed tears from that curl. No later-printing line should appear on the copyright page. The UK Millington hardcover followed in 1977.

## Is this the true first?
The US Bobbs-Merrill 1976 hardcover is the true first edition; the UK Millington hardcover is the UK first. Campbell's debut novel, preceded only by his short-fiction collections.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book-club edition; the trap is the later paperback issues (UK Star, 1978, and subsequent US mass-market). Verify the Bobbs-Merrill imprint, the 1976 date, and the 'A Novel of Modern Terror' subtitle on the jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Doll Who Ate His Mother* by Ramsey Campbell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-doll-who-ate-his-mother
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.