8vo. Original purple-stamped yellow cloth, top edge stained purple. in unrestored unclipped dust jacket (a few tiny chips and tears, spine panel slightly faded, otherwise bright). Provenance: Winifred Noble Gahagan (bookplate on pastedown, name crossed out).

FIRST EDITION OF HELLMAN'S FIRST BOOK, a drama set in an all-girls' boarding school, which was first staged on Broadway at the Maxine Elliott Theatre in 1934, produced and directed by Herman Shumlin. The Children's Hour was in consideration for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for 1934–35, but the award ultimately went to The Old Maid. Upset at the Pulitzer decision, the New York Drama Critics' Circle began awarding its own annual prize for drama the following year. A FINE COPY.