# Is "The Hills Beyond" by Thomas Wolfe a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Hills Beyond by Thomas Wolfe (Harper & Brothers, New York, 1941) is identified by: First printing has the words First Edition on the copyright page together with the Harper month-year letter code H-Q (H equals August, Q equals the year 1941). True US first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing has the words First Edition on the copyright page together with the Harper month-year letter code H-Q (H equals August, Q equals the year 1941)
- First state has lines 5 and 6 from the foot of page 220 transposed
- Dark blue cloth, gilt lettering on front board and spine; posthumous collection with a note on Wolfe by Edward C. Aswell
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Wolfe |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers, New York |
| Year | 1941 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing has the words First Edition on the copyright page together with the Harper month-year letter code H-Q (H equals August, Q… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing has the words First Edition on the copyright page together with the Harper month-year letter code H-Q (H equals August, Q equals the year 1941). First state has lines 5 and 6 from the foot of page 220 transposed. Dark blue cloth, gilt lettering on front board and spine; posthumous collection with a note on Wolfe by Edward C. Aswell.

## Is this the true first?
True US first. The H-Q code, the First Edition statement, and the transposed lines on page 220 mark the first printing, first state.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club issue for the first. Later printings carry a different code-letter pair and correct the page 220 transposition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Hills Beyond* by Thomas Wolfe a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-hills-beyond
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.