# Is "The Edge of Sadness" by Edwin O'Connor a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor (Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown and Company, 1961) is identified by: First trade edition under the Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown imprint: copyright page carries the publisher's first-printing statement with the 'Published [month] 1961' line and no later-printing notice. US Atlantic-Little, Brown 1961 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First trade edition under the Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown imprint: copyright page carries the publisher's first-printing statement with the 'Published [month] 1961' line and no later-printing notice
- Gray cloth, octavo of about 460 pages, in a first-issue jacket
- Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962
- Publisher imprint reads Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Edwin O'Connor |
| Publisher | Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown and Company |
| Year | 1961 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First trade edition under the Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown imprint: copyright page carries the publisher's first-printing… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First trade edition under the Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown imprint: copyright page carries the publisher's first-printing statement with the 'Published [month] 1961' line and no later-printing notice. Gray cloth, octavo of about 460 pages, in a first-issue jacket. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962.

## Is this the true first?
US Atlantic-Little, Brown 1961 is the true first. This title was issued under the Atlantic Monthly Press imprint distributed by Little, Brown, so the imprint reads Atlantic Monthly Press / Little, Brown rather than Little, Brown alone.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club copies show a blind-stamp on the rear board and carry an unpriced jacket; later printings add a printing notice to the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Edge of Sadness* by Edwin O'Connor a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-edge-of-sadness
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.