# Is "Where Are the Children?" by Mary Higgins Clark a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon and Schuster, 1975) is identified by: The first printing is identified by a full descending number line on the copyright page (10 down to 1), with no printing or edition notice of any other kind. US Simon and Schuster (New York, 1975) is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed — this is the originating edition of Clark's breakout suspense debut by her American publisher.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is identified by a full descending number line on the copyright page (10 down to 1), with no printing or edition notice of any other kind
- This is consistent with documented Simon & Schuster house practice: from mid-1973 to 1980 the firm used a string of numbers on the copyright page to indicate the print number, spelling out "First Printing" only as an occasional exception
- The book is an octavo of 223 pages (LCCN 74019070
- ISBN 0-671-21942-1)
- The jacket should be priced at the front flap (price present, not clipped); price-clipped copies are common on this title
- Listings styled "S&S Classic Edition" are later reprints, not the 1975 first
- Publisher imprint reads Simon and Schuster

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary Higgins Clark |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is identified by a full descending number line on the copyright page (10 down to 1), with no printing or edition notice… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The first printing is identified by a full descending number line on the copyright page (10 down to 1), with no printing or edition notice of any other kind. This is consistent with documented Simon & Schuster house practice: from mid-1973 to 1980 the firm used a string of numbers on the copyright page to indicate the print number, spelling out "First Printing" only as an occasional exception. The book is an octavo of 223 pages (LCCN 74019070; ISBN 0-671-21942-1). The jacket should be priced at the front flap (price present, not clipped); price-clipped copies are common on this title. Listings styled "S&S Classic Edition" are later reprints, not the 1975 first.

## Is this the true first?
US Simon and Schuster (New York, 1975) is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed — this is the originating edition of Clark's breakout suspense debut by her American publisher. The first UK edition is Talmy Franklin (London, 1975; ISBN 0-900-73539-2), also 223 pages, priced in sterling at the front flap; it is separately collected as the first British edition but does not precede the Simon and Schuster issue. Later Simon & Schuster, Pocket, and Fontana printings are reprints or first-thus, not firsts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A US book-club edition of the 1975 Simon and Schuster issue exists, circulates widely, and is frequently misdescribed by sellers as a first — some listings even read "Book Club Edition; the printed pricet Printing," which is not a first printing of the trade book. Club copies are identified in the usual way: no price at the jacket flap (the club jacket carries no printed price at all), a blind-stamped square or dot on the lower rear board, and a smaller, lighter book than the trade issue. Decisively, a club copy will not carry the full descending number line on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Where Are the Children?* by Mary Higgins Clark a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/where-are-the-children
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.