NMLP P-043418 · True-first precedence · minted 2026-07-19
The Fields
Conrad Richter · Alfred A. Knopf (New York) · 1946
US-only first: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, published 28 March 1946 — the census claim of a Knopf first is confirmed, and no UK edition precedes it in the records consulted (the Transworld British paperback dates only to 1958). Written in English, so no original-language precedence question arises. The census description is accurate: this is the middle volume of the Awakening Land trilogy, standing between The Trees (Knopf, 1940) and The Town (Knopf, 1950).
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New Mexico Literacy Project — True-first precedence NMLP P-043418 for "The Fields" by Conrad Richter (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/id/point/p-043418, CC BY 4.0, dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21184548).