# Is "Daniel Deronda" by George Eliot a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (William Blackwood and Sons, 1876) is identified by: Issued in eight monthly parts (the eight 'Books') in printed wrappers, February to September 1876, by William Blackwood and Sons; the four-volume cloth edition followed. The UK Blackwood 1876 issue is the true first; the eight original parts in wrappers are the primary form and precede the four-volume cloth edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Issued in eight monthly parts (the eight 'Books') in printed wrappers, February to September 1876, by William Blackwood and Sons; the four-volume cloth edition followed
- In the parts: four half-titles and eight section titles as issued, advertisements to the parts, and errata slips present in the relevant parts
- In the cloth issue, recorded first-issue points include the Volume I misprint 'reponsive' at page 83, line 2, and a tipped-in errata leaf following the title of the volume containing Book III
- Publisher imprint reads William Blackwood and Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Eliot |
| Publisher | William Blackwood and Sons |
| Year | 1876 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Issued in eight monthly parts (the eight 'Books') in printed wrappers, February to September 1876, by William Blackwood and Sons; the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Issued in eight monthly parts (the eight 'Books') in printed wrappers, February to September 1876, by William Blackwood and Sons; the four-volume cloth edition followed. In the parts: four half-titles and eight section titles as issued, advertisements to the parts, and errata slips present in the relevant parts. In the cloth issue, recorded first-issue points include the Volume I misprint 'reponsive' at page 83, line 2, and a tipped-in errata leaf following the title of the volume containing Book III.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Blackwood 1876 issue is the true first; the eight original parts in wrappers are the primary form and precede the four-volume cloth edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and the Cabinet edition are not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Daniel Deronda* by George Eliot a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/daniel-deronda
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.