# Is "The Case of the Fenced-In Woman" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case of the Fenced-In Woman by Erle Stanley Gardner (William Morrow, 1972) is identified by: William Morrow and Company, New York, 1972, first printing, bound in black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and front board, in a pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Graham Miller. The US William Morrow 1972 edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Morrow and Company, New York, 1972, first printing, bound in black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and front board, in a pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Graham Miller
- A late Perry Mason novel published posthumously two years after the author's 1970 death; the first edition includes a listing of the Perry Mason mysteries and Gardner's other works
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1972 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | William Morrow and Company, New York, 1972, first printing, bound in black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and front board, in a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
William Morrow and Company, New York, 1972, first printing, bound in black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and front board, in a pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Graham Miller. A late Perry Mason novel published posthumously two years after the author's 1970 death; the first edition includes a listing of the Perry Mason mysteries and Gardner's other works.

## Is this the true first?
The US William Morrow 1972 edition is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A Walter J. Black, Inc. book-club edition also appeared in 1972 and is the common non-first; it lacks the Morrow imprint and is the surest book-club tell. Paperback and later reprints likewise follow the Morrow first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case of the Fenced-In Woman* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-of-the-fenced-in-woman
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.