A Time to Kill - A Novel of Retribution
By John Grisham 
Identifying First Edition Points of Issue

First trade edition front cover       

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A Time to Kill by John Grisham - First edition points of issue.

First Trade Edition

Year Published: 1989

ISBN: 0922066035

Publisher: Wynwood Press

Pages: 425

Price: $18.95

Total first printing published: 5,000 copies.

A very uncommon and hard to find book, there are many copies of the book club edition that are confused with true first editions.

Key first edition points: The book printing must be 1989 and not mention on the front flap or back cover Grisham's later books such as The Firm.  There must be a subtitle "A Novel of Retribution" and the price on the front flap must be $18.95. The first edition was published by Wynwood, later editions were published by Random House.

Book club edition has Tarrytown NY on the title page.

Signed Limited Special Edition

Year Published: 1993

ISBN: 0385471122

Publisher: Doubleday

Pages: If you have a copy of this book please let us know how many pages it has. Contact us.

Price: $250

Total publication: 350 copies signed by Grisham and numbered

General Story Description: This is John Grisham's first book, it is rumored that Grisham sold this book out of the trunk of his car after it was rejected by many publishers, eventually Wynwood Press accepted it for publication.

A Time to Kill is a legal suspense thriller authored by John Grisham in 1989. Grisham's first novel, it was rejected by many publishers before Wynwood Press eventually gave it a modest 5,000-copy printing. After The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Client became bestsellers, interest in A Time to Kill grew, the book was republished by Doubleday in hardcover and then by Dell Publishing in paperback.

In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence... as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town...

Clanton, Mississippi. The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young man. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle -- and takes justice into his own outraged hands.

For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life... and then his own...

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