# Is "Ariel: The Restored Edition" by Sylvia Plath a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Ariel: The Restored Edition by Sylvia Plath (HarperCollins / Faber, 2004) is identified by: Not a first edition of Ariel. This is 'first thus' (the restored text), published decades after the original Ariel (Faber 1965 UK, Harper & Row 1966 US).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Not a first edition of Ariel
- This 2004 volume restores Plath's original manuscript selection and arrangement, with a foreword by her daughter Frieda Hughes and facsimile pages of the manuscript and the working drafts of the title poem
- Published in the US by HarperCollins (Harper hardcover, November 2004) and in the UK by Faber & Faber (November 2004)
- Catalogue strictly as 'first thus' for the restored text
- Publisher imprint reads HarperCollins / Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sylvia Plath |
| Publisher | HarperCollins / Faber |
| Year | 2004 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Not a first edition of Ariel |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Not a first edition of Ariel. This 2004 volume restores Plath's original manuscript selection and arrangement, with a foreword by her daughter Frieda Hughes and facsimile pages of the manuscript and the working drafts of the title poem. Published in the US by HarperCollins (Harper hardcover, November 2004) and in the UK by Faber & Faber (November 2004). Catalogue strictly as 'first thus' for the restored text.

## Is this the true first?
This is 'first thus' (the restored text), published decades after the original Ariel (Faber 1965 UK, Harper & Row 1966 US). Do not confuse it with the true first of Ariel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Distinguished from the 1965/1966 first by its title ('The Restored Edition'), the 2004 date, the Frieda Hughes foreword, and the facsimile manuscript contents.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Ariel: The Restored Edition* by Sylvia Plath a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/ariel-the-restored-edition
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.