# Is "If There Be Thorns" by V.C. Andrews a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of If There Be Thorns by V.C. Andrews (Pocket Books, 1981) is identified by: Mass-market paperback original from Pocket Books, 1981 (third Dollanganger novel). The Pocket Books mass-market paperback is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Mass-market paperback original from Pocket Books, 1981 (third Dollanganger novel)
- The true first is the First Pocket Books Printing; identify it by a complete first-printing number line descending to 1 on the copyright page
- Issued as a paperback original with no trade hardcover trade edition preceding it
- Publisher imprint reads Pocket Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | V.C. Andrews |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Mass-market paperback original from Pocket Books, 1981 (third Dollanganger novel) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Mass-market paperback original from Pocket Books, 1981 (third Dollanganger novel). The true first is the First Pocket Books Printing; identify it by a complete first-printing number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. Issued as a paperback original with no trade hardcover trade edition preceding it.

## Is this the true first?
The Pocket Books mass-market paperback is the true first. It was issued as a paperback original; no trade hardcover trade edition precedes it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A hardcover Book Club Edition exists (quarter-bound cloth, no printed price), distinguishable from the true first by its hardcover format and by a Book Club Edition statement on the inner front dust-jacket flap; later paperback printings show a shortened number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *If There Be Thorns* by V.C. Andrews a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/if-there-be-thorns
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.