# Is "Whitney, My Love" by Judith McNaught a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught (Pocket Books, 1985) is identified by: Pocket Books mass-market paperback original, 1985; a landmark of the 1980s historical-romance revival. The 1985 paperback original is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Pocket Books mass-market paperback original, 1985; a landmark of the 1980s historical-romance revival
- The first printing shows the original cover price and a clean copyright page with no later-printing line
- The 1985 paperback original precedes the substantially revised later edition
- Publisher imprint reads Pocket Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Judith McNaught |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
| Year | 1985 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Pocket Books mass-market paperback original, 1985; a landmark of the 1980s historical-romance revival |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Pocket Books mass-market paperback original, 1985; a landmark of the 1980s historical-romance revival. The first printing shows the original cover price and a clean copyright page with no later-printing line. The 1985 paperback original precedes the substantially revised later edition.

## Is this the true first?
The 1985 paperback original is the true first. The 1999 reissue was revised by the author with a new ending and added material, making it a textually distinct edition; the 1985 first is the true first of the original text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Distinguish the 1985 paperback first from the 1999 revised reissue (first issued in hardcover) by date, by the original lower cover price, and by the first-printing copyright line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Whitney, My Love* by Judith McNaught a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/whitney-my-love
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.