# Is "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" by Shirley Jackson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (The Viking Press, New York, 1962) is identified by: The first printing copyright page reads "Published in 1962 by The Viking Press, Inc." with no mention of any later printing; dealers rely on that absence, as Viking added a printing statement to subsequent printings. The US Viking Press edition of 1962 is the true first and precedes the first British edition, published by Michael Joseph in London in 1963 (brown cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, 190 pp., jacket illustrated by Charles Gorham and with its printed price).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing copyright page reads "Published in 1962 by The Viking Press, Inc." with no mention of any later printing; dealers rely on that absence, as Viking added a printing statement to subsequent printings
- The book collates [x], 214 pp., bound in publisher's crimson and cream cloth — cream/white cloth quarter-binding over crimson boards — with crimson spine lettering and a crimson topstain
- The dust jacket should be present and priced at the flap, with five reviews of Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House printed on the rear panel
- This was Jackson's last novel published in her lifetime
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Shirley Jackson |
| Publisher | The Viking Press, New York |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing copyright page reads "Published in 1962 by The Viking Press, Inc." with no mention of any later printing; dealers rely… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing copyright page reads "Published in 1962 by The Viking Press, Inc." with no mention of any later printing; dealers rely on that absence, as Viking added a printing statement to subsequent printings. The book collates [x], 214 pp., bound in publisher's crimson and cream cloth — cream/white cloth quarter-binding over crimson boards — with crimson spine lettering and a crimson topstain. The dust jacket should be present and priced at the flap, with five reviews of Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House printed on the rear panel. This was Jackson's last novel published in her lifetime.

## Is this the true first?
The US Viking Press edition of 1962 is the true first and precedes the first British edition, published by Michael Joseph in London in 1963 (brown cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, 190 pp., jacket illustrated by Charles Gorham and with its printed price). Both are collected, but Viking holds precedence; the Michael Joseph issue is a first British edition only, not a true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No distinct book-club issue point is documented in the sources consulted for this title. The reliable checks remain the copyright-page wording with no later-printing statement, the crimson topstain and crimson/cream cloth, and a priced jacket with the Hill House review panel at the rear.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *We Have Always Lived in the Castle* by Shirley Jackson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle
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.