# Is "The Heidi Chronicles" by Wendy Wasserstein a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990) is identified by: Collected first hardcover: 'The Heidi Chronicles and Other Plays' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990, ISBN 0-15-139985-9), copyright page states 'First edition' with a full descending letter/number line ending in 'A'; 249 pp.; cloth-spine boards. The 1990 HBJ collection is the first hardcover/trade book appearance of the title play.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Collected first hardcover: 'The Heidi Chronicles and Other Plays' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990, ISBN 0-15-139985-9), copyright page states 'First edition' with a full descending letter/number line ending in 'A'
- 249 pp.; cloth-spine boards
- Contains The Heidi Chronicles, Uncommon Women and Others, and Isn't It Romantic
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wendy Wasserstein |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Collected first hardcover: 'The Heidi Chronicles and Other Plays' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990, ISBN 0-15-139985-9), copyright page… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Collected first hardcover: 'The Heidi Chronicles and Other Plays' (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990, ISBN 0-15-139985-9), copyright page states 'First edition' with a full descending letter/number line ending in 'A'; 249 pp.; cloth-spine boards. Contains The Heidi Chronicles, Uncommon Women and Others, and Isn't It Romantic.

## Is this the true first?
The 1990 HBJ collection is the first hardcover/trade book appearance of the title play. A Dramatists Play Service acting edition of the play alone also exists as a separate softcover reference text. Collect the stated-first HBJ hardcover for the title play.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later HBJ/Harvest paperback printings drop the 'A' first-state line. No widely seen book-club hardcover.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Heidi Chronicles* by Wendy Wasserstein a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-heidi-chronicles
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.