# Is "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (Coward-McCann, 1955) is identified by: US Coward-McCann, New York, 1955 — the true first edition of the first Ripley novel (Highsmith's third novel overall). Precedence: the US Coward-McCann first (1955) PRECEDES the UK Cresset Press first (1957) by two years and is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Coward-McCann, New York, 1955 — the true first edition of the first Ripley novel (Highsmith's third novel overall)
- The copyright page shows 1955 with no statement of a later printing
- The correct first-issue dust jacket is priced at the front flap (unclipped copies retain the printed price present on the flap)
- The 1955 Coward-McCann imprint together with the priced first-issue jacket identifies the first
- Publisher imprint reads Coward-McCann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Patricia Highsmith |
| Publisher | Coward-McCann |
| Year | 1955 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Coward-McCann, New York, 1955 — the true first edition of the first Ripley novel (Highsmith's third novel overall) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Coward-McCann, New York, 1955 — the true first edition of the first Ripley novel (Highsmith's third novel overall). The copyright page shows 1955 with no statement of a later printing. The correct first-issue dust jacket is priced at the front flap (unclipped copies retain the printed price present on the flap). The 1955 Coward-McCann imprint together with the priced first-issue jacket identifies the first.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence: the US Coward-McCann first (1955) PRECEDES the UK Cresset Press first (1957) by two years and is the true first. Both editions are separately collected — the Cresset Press 1957 is the first UK edition, not the world first. Note: this is the first Ripley novel and should not be confused with Ripley's Game, a separate, later title (US Knopf, 1974).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and the UK Cresset Press edition are not the true first. Confirm by the 1955 Coward-McCann imprint and the priced first-issue jacket (price present at the flap).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Talented Mr. Ripley* by Patricia Highsmith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-talented-mr-ripley
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.