# Is "The Tremor of Forgery" by Patricia Highsmith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith (Heinemann, 1969) is identified by: Both the UK Heinemann and the US Doubleday editions appeared in 1969. Priority between the two 1969 editions is not reliably established.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Both the UK Heinemann and the US Doubleday editions appeared in 1969
- The Doubleday US edition is documented with a March 1969 release
- A first printing of either carries the jacket price on the flap and no later-printing statement
- Collect the edition whose priority you can establish for your copy rather than assuming one nation precedes
- Publisher imprint reads Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Patricia Highsmith |
| Publisher | Heinemann |
| Year | 1969 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Both the UK Heinemann and the US Doubleday editions appeared in 1969 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Both the UK Heinemann and the US Doubleday editions appeared in 1969. The Doubleday US edition is documented with a March 1969 release. A first printing of either carries the jacket price on the flap and no later-printing statement. Collect the edition whose priority you can establish for your copy rather than assuming one nation precedes.

## Is this the true first?
Priority between the two 1969 editions is not reliably established. The record's assertion that UK Heinemann precedes US Doubleday could not be confirmed; the documented March 1969 Doubleday date may in fact precede or run concurrent with Heinemann. Treat US-versus-UK precedence as unresolved and verify against a standard Highsmith bibliography for the specific copy.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A US book-club edition is common (blind-stamp to the board, no price on the jacket).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Tremor of Forgery* by Patricia Highsmith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-tremor-of-forgery
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.