# Is "To Bedlam and Part Way Back" by Anne Sexton a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of To Bedlam and Part Way Back by Anne Sexton (Houghton Mifflin, 1960) is identified by: Houghton Mifflin Boston first printing, identified by the 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page with no later-printing line. US true first; precedes the later UK Oxford University Press appearance.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Sexton's first book
- Houghton Mifflin Boston first printing, identified by the 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page with no later-printing line
- Slim octavo in quarter cloth with the white pictorial dust jacket; jacket priced on the front flap
- The collection carries a blurb by Robert Lowell
- A confessional debut that was a National Book Award finalist
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anne Sexton |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1960 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Sexton's first book |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Sexton's first book. Houghton Mifflin Boston first printing, identified by the 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page with no later-printing line. Slim octavo in quarter cloth with the white pictorial dust jacket; jacket priced on the front flap. The collection carries a blurb by Robert Lowell. A confessional debut that was a National Book Award finalist.

## Is this the true first?
US true first; precedes the later UK Oxford University Press appearance. Signed copies are scarce given Sexton's 1974 death.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The trap is later Houghton Mifflin printings, which add a printing line on the copyright page in place of the clean 'First Printing' statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *To Bedlam and Part Way Back* by Anne Sexton a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/to-bedlam-and-part-way-back
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.