# Is "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Vizetelly & Co., 1886) is identified by: The first English-language edition was published by Vizetelly & Co., London, in April 1886, as number XIII in Vizetelly's 'One-Volume Novels' series, translated (via Victor Derely's 1884 French version rather than directly from the Russian) in a translation usually credited to Frederick Whishaw, although bibliographer Maurice B. The Vizetelly London edition (April 1886) precedes the Crowell New York edition (October 1886), which reprints the same English text.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first English-language edition was published by Vizetelly & Co., London, in April 1886, as number XIII in Vizetelly's 'One-Volume Novels' series, translated (via Victor Derely's 1884 French version rather than directly from the Russian) in a translation usually credited to Frederick Whishaw, although bibliographer Maurice B. Line has argued that attribution originates from an error in the 1911 Everyman's Library edition rather than the 1886 book itself
- The genuine first-issue point is a publisher's advertisement printed on the verso of the half-title page, present only on the earliest sheets
- An American edition from Thomas Y. Crowell followed later the same year, in October 1886, using the same translation
- Publisher imprint reads Vizetelly & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Fyodor Dostoevsky |
| Publisher | Vizetelly & Co. |
| Year | 1886 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first English-language edition was published by Vizetelly & Co., London, in April 1886, as number XIII in Vizetelly's 'One-Volume… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The first English-language edition was published by Vizetelly & Co., London, in April 1886, as number XIII in Vizetelly's 'One-Volume Novels' series, translated (via Victor Derely's 1884 French version rather than directly from the Russian) in a translation usually credited to Frederick Whishaw, although bibliographer Maurice B. Line has argued that attribution originates from an error in the 1911 Everyman's Library edition rather than the 1886 book itself. The genuine first-issue point is a publisher's advertisement printed on the verso of the half-title page, present only on the earliest sheets. An American edition from Thomas Y. Crowell followed later the same year, in October 1886, using the same translation.

## Is this the true first?
The Vizetelly London edition (April 1886) precedes the Crowell New York edition (October 1886), which reprints the same English text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Most surviving Vizetelly-imprint copies are later issues without the verso-of-half-title advertisement of the true first; twentieth-century Everyman's Library, Modern Library, and Penguin editions use entirely different, direct-from-Russian translations (by Garnett, Coulson, Pevear and Volokhonsky, and others) unconnected to the 1886 first edition's text.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Crime and Punishment* by Fyodor Dostoevsky a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/crime-and-punishment
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.