# Is "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (John Day Company, 1931) is identified by: First issue has the misprint flees for fleas on page 100, line 17, present in the earliest printings before correction. US John Day 1931 is the true first; the flees typo on page 100, line 17 is the defining first-issue point, corrected in later states.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First issue has the misprint flees for fleas on page 100, line 17, present in the earliest printings before correction
- Copyright page carries the John Day Company imprint with no later-printing reference, in a first-issue jacket
- Publisher imprint reads John Day Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Pearl S. Buck |
| Publisher | John Day Company |
| Year | 1931 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First issue has the misprint flees for fleas on page 100, line 17, present in the earliest printings before correction |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First issue has the misprint flees for fleas on page 100, line 17, present in the earliest printings before correction. Copyright page carries the John Day Company imprint with no later-printing reference, in a first-issue jacket.

## Is this the true first?
US John Day 1931 is the true first; the flees typo on page 100, line 17 is the defining first-issue point, corrected in later states. The UK Methuen edition followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Heavily reprinted; book-club and later printings correct the typo and add printing statements. Corrected text plus a printing line means it is not a true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Good Earth* by Pearl S. Buck a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-good-earth
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.