Is My The Stranger Beside Me a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing carries both Norton's first-edition statement and a number line beginning with 1 on the copyright page — one ABAA-tier dealer records it as 'First edition, first printing (with publisher's requisite statement for former and number line starting with "1" both upon copyright page),' and a second independently describes the first printing as having the 'full number line to "1".' The number line is the point to test rather than the statement alone: Norton's house practice was to use a first-edition statement without noting later printings, and Norton is documented as having occasionally failed to strip that statement from subsequent printings, so a stated 'First Edition' with a broken or absent low digit is not a first
• Hardcover, 350 pages, ISBN 0393013995
• A first-issue jacket is a priced jacket with the price present at the flap; copies are very commonly found clipped, and light foxing to the page block and edges is characteristic of the issue

How W. W. Norton & Company marked a first edition

• Early/statement-only era (1923 to roughly the late 1950s–early 1960s): a first printing carries the words 'First Edition' on the copyright page, and Norton simply DROPPED that line on later printings — there was no print…
• Number-line adoption (sometime in the 1960s — the guides do not pin an exact year, and it roughly coincides with the employee-ownership transition): Norton added a printing key/number row to the copyright page. From this…

Full W. W. Norton & Company first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The census claim is confirmed: the Norton hardcover (New York, 1980) is the true first, and the mass-market Signet paperback that carried the book to its mass readership is a later, separate issue — the hardcover printing was small, which is why firsts are scarce. No UK or foreign-language edition precedes. The significant trap here is not UK-vs-US but the author's own serial revisions: Rule repeatedly expanded the book with new afterwords and updates (editions dated 1986, 1989, 2000, 2008 and 2021), and every one of those is 'first thus' with added text, not the 1980 first. A stated '20th Anniversary' or 'Updated' edition is never the true first regardless of what the copyright page's number line shows.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club or reprint tells are documented for this title in the sources consulted. Do not publish a club point for it.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Stranger Beside Me a first edition?

A first edition of The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule (W. W. Norton & Company) is identified by: The first printing carries both Norton's first-edition statement and a number line beginning with 1 on the copyright page — one ABAA-tier dealer records it as 'First edition, first printing (with publisher's requisite statement for former and number line starting with "1" both upon copyright page),' and a second independently describes the first printing as having the 'full number line to "1".' The number line is the point to test rather than the statement alone: Norton's house practice was to use…

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The census claim is confirmed: the Norton hardcover (New York, 1980) is the true first, and the mass-market Signet paperback that carried the book to its mass readership is a later, separate issue — the hardcover printing was small, which is why firsts are scarce.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club or reprint tells are documented for this title in the sources consulted. Do not publish a club point for it.

I have a first edition of The Stranger Beside Me — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.