# Is "A Room with a View" by E.M. Forster a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (Edward Arnold, 1908) is identified by: First edition, first printing, 1908, one of 2,000 copies (Kirkpatrick A3a); 324 pp. Edward Arnold, London, 1908 is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, 1908, one of 2,000 copies (Kirkpatrick A3a)
- 324 pp. followed by an 8-page publisher's catalogue at the rear
- Bound in publisher's original ribbed maroon (burgundy) cloth
- The first printing carries no impression statement on the title page — this is the operative point, since the second impression, published the following year, states 'Second Impression' on the title page and carries 12 pages of advertisements at the rear rather than 8
- No jacket points are documented for this title
- Publisher imprint reads Edward Arnold
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E.M. Forster |
| Publisher | Edward Arnold |
| Year | 1908 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, 1908, one of 2,000 copies (Kirkpatrick A3a) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, 1908, one of 2,000 copies (Kirkpatrick A3a); 324 pp. followed by an 8-page publisher's catalogue at the rear. Bound in publisher's original ribbed maroon (burgundy) cloth. The first printing carries no impression statement on the title page — this is the operative point, since the second impression, published the following year, states 'Second Impression' on the title page and carries 12 pages of advertisements at the rear rather than 8. No jacket points are documented for this title.

## Is this the true first?
Edward Arnold, London, 1908 is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed. The first American edition is G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1911 — a separate later setting of roughly 364 pp. with publisher's advertisements at the end; it is collected as the first American edition but is not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The second impression is self-identifying: 'Second Impression' on the title page plus a 12-page advertisement catalogue. No contemporaneous book-club edition is documented; later Arnold printings carry impression statements.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Room with a View* by E.M. Forster a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-room-with-a-view
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.