# Is "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973) is identified by: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973, the genre-blending romance/adventure 'good parts version.' The true first states 'First edition' on the copyright page together with the Harcourt letter line beginning with B (the sequence B C D E). The US HBJ first is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973, the genre-blending romance/adventure 'good parts version.' The true first states 'First edition' on the copyright page together with the Harcourt letter line beginning with B (the sequence B C D E)
- First-state dust jacket priced on the front flap; jacket art by Wendell Minor
- Octavo, gray cloth, about 308 pages
- The text is framed as an abridgement of 'S. Morgenstern.'
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Goldman |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973, the genre-blending romance/adventure 'good parts version.' The true first states 'First edition' on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973, the genre-blending romance/adventure 'good parts version.' The true first states 'First edition' on the copyright page together with the Harcourt letter line beginning with B (the sequence B C D E). First-state dust jacket priced on the front flap; jacket art by Wendell Minor. Octavo, gray cloth, about 308 pages. The text is framed as an abridgement of 'S. Morgenstern.'

## Is this the true first?
The US HBJ first is the true first. Confirm both the 'First edition' statement and the letter line beginning with B; Harcourt used a descending letter line rather than numbers, so the leading 'B' marks the first printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club copies lack the jacket price and may carry a blind stamp. Later printings advance the letter line past B or drop the first-edition statement. Confirm the 'First edition' statement plus the B-letter line and the priced first-state jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Princess Bride* by William Goldman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-princess-bride
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.