# Is "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Great Santini by Pat Conroy (Houghton Mifflin, 1976) is identified by: First printing published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1976; octavo, 536 pp. US Houghton Mifflin (Boston), 1976 is the true first; there is no competing contemporary UK trade edition, so the Boston printing stands as the first edition worldwide.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1976; octavo, 536 pp
- The reliable first-printing point is a complete descending number line ending in '1' on the copyright page (dealers note an unexplained leading letter 'C'); any copy whose lowest present number is above 1 is a later printing
- Most dealers describe the binding as bright orange linen cloth with the title stamped in black on the spine, a gray top-edge stain and black endpapers, though one reputable dealer atypically reports a dark-blue binding — so cloth color is not a dependable point and the number line governs
- Priced first-issue jacket present at the front flap (identification only)
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Pat Conroy |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1976 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1976; octavo, 536 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1976; octavo, 536 pp. The reliable first-printing point is a complete descending number line ending in '1' on the copyright page (dealers note an unexplained leading letter 'C'); any copy whose lowest present number is above 1 is a later printing. Most dealers describe the binding as bright orange linen cloth with the title stamped in black on the spine, a gray top-edge stain and black endpapers, though one reputable dealer atypically reports a dark-blue binding — so cloth color is not a dependable point and the number line governs. Priced first-issue jacket present at the front flap (identification only).

## Is this the true first?
US Houghton Mifflin (Boston), 1976 is the true first; there is no competing contemporary UK trade edition, so the Boston printing stands as the first edition worldwide.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A book-club edition exists; club copies characteristically lack the copyright-page number line and carry a jacket with no flap price (often marked as a book-club issue) and sometimes a blind-stamp to the rear board. The complete number line ending in '1' together with a priced jacket separates the trade first from club and later printings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Great Santini* by Pat Conroy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-great-santini
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.