By 1993, John Grisham’s name had become synonymous with the legal thriller and he had published four of his most popular books: “A Time to Kill” (1989); “The Firm” (1991); “The Pelican Brief” (1992); and “The Client” (1993). This same year Doubleday bought the rights from Wynwood press to reissue “A Time to Kill” in hardback. Meanwhile, “The Firm” and “The Pelican Brief” were box office hits in the movie theater, expanding Grisham’s fan base even further.
The true first edition of “A Time to Kill,” the Wynwood Press edition, was difficult to find signed, and Grisham’s other early books were becoming too expensive or difficult for collectors to find. In 1993 Doubleday began publishing Grisham’s books in limited edition for collectors. It was a prime time to lay the foundations for collecting the author’s work, but Doubleday had to make up for lost time and released “A Time to Kill,” “The Firm,” “The Pelican Brief,” and “The Client” in limited editions of 350 or 300 copies all in that same year.
A signed limited edition of “A Time to Kill” was very appealing because it could be bought for $250 on the release date as opposed to a signed Wynwood edition which would sell in fine condition for around $1,500 in 1993. For those who hold a limited edition of “A Time to Kill,” its value has increased to around $2,000 today.
Every year since “The Client,” Doubleday has issued a limited edition of each of John Grisham’s novels. The legal thrillers are leather-bound, signed and numbered, have decorated end papers, gold stamping, a ribbon marker and are housed in a slipcase. The nonlegal thrillers like “Ford County,” “Skipping Christmas” and “A Painted House” are issued cloth bound and as a group are not always uniform in size as the legal thrillers are. An entire limited edition collection in fine condition—from “A Time to Kill” to the latest book—is valued at around $15,000.
Written by Lisa Newman, A version of this column was published in The Clarion-Ledger’s Sunday Mississippi Books page.
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