# Is "A Passage to India" by E.M. Forster a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (Edward Arnold, 1924) is identified by: Edward Arnold & Co., London, 1924 (published 6 June 1924) is the true first edition, trade printing of 5,000 copies; Kirkpatrick A10. Edward Arnold London 1924 is the true first; Harcourt, Brace New York 1924 is the first US.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Edward Arnold & Co., London, 1924 (published 6 June 1924) is the true first edition, trade printing of 5,000 copies
- Kirkpatrick A10
- First-impression points: title page dated 1924, NO mention of later printings on the verso, and 3 pages of publisher's ads at rear
- BINDING: the first issue is in publisher's RED cloth (dark red/maroon) with black stamping — NOT blue
- The "blue cloth" claim is wrong and in fact backwards: blue cloth is a later REMAINDER binding (James Cummins describes it as "an unrecorded variant issue, in blue (remainder) binding, not noted by Kirkpatrick")
- NO recognized single-page misprint point identifies the first impression; the claimed misprint/textual point is unverifiable and not a standard bibliographic point (Forster's documented textual revisions belong to the later Abinger/Norton scholarly apparatus, not a first-impression identifier)
- Publisher imprint reads Edward Arnold

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E.M. Forster |
| Publisher | Edward Arnold |
| Year | 1924 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Edward Arnold & Co., London, 1924 (published 6 June 1924) is the true first edition, trade printing of 5,000 copies |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Edward Arnold & Co., London, 1924 (published 6 June 1924) is the true first edition, trade printing of 5,000 copies; Kirkpatrick A10. First-impression points: title page dated 1924, NO mention of later printings on the verso, and 3 pages of publisher's ads at rear. BINDING: the first issue is in publisher's RED cloth (dark red/maroon) with black stamping — NOT blue. The "blue cloth" claim is wrong and in fact backwards: blue cloth is a later REMAINDER binding (James Cummins describes it as "an unrecorded variant issue, in blue (remainder) binding, not noted by Kirkpatrick"). NO recognized single-page misprint point identifies the first impression; the claimed misprint/textual point is unverifiable and not a standard bibliographic point (Forster's documented textual revisions belong to the later Abinger/Norton scholarly apparatus, not a first-impression identifier). UK Edward Arnold first DOES precede the US Harcourt, Brace, New York 1924 edition — that part is correct.

## Is this the true first?
Edward Arnold London 1924 is the true first; Harcourt, Brace New York 1924 is the first US. The UK first impression precedes the US.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions noted on verso; US edition distinguished by imprint. Book club and reprint editions lack the first-issue binding and jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Passage to India* by E.M. Forster a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-passage-to-india
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.