NMLP P-039181 · True-first precedence · minted 2026-07-19
Play It As It Lays
Joan Didion · Farrar, Straus and Giroux (New York) · 1970
The census claim is confirmed. The US Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1970 edition is the true first. The first UK edition is Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1971, preceded by the American issue by roughly a year; the UK edition is collected separately but has no precedence claim. Didion's second novel, following Run, River (1963).
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New Mexico Literacy Project — True-first precedence NMLP P-039181 for "Play It As It Lays" by Joan Didion (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/id/point/p-039181, CC BY 4.0, dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21184548).