# Is "Esther Waters" by George Moore a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Esther Waters by George Moore (Walter Scott, Ltd., 1894) is identified by: First published in March 1894 by the Walter Scott Publishing Co. No American edition appeared in 1894: Moore's preface recounts that the novel was declined by three American publishers, and the first American edition did not appear until 1899 (Herbert S.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published in March 1894 by the Walter Scott Publishing Co
- (headquartered in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with London offices); the novel was refused by Mudie's and W. H. Smith's circulating libraries on moral grounds
- A first-impression copy is bound in green cloth with gilt lettering on the spine and front cover only, with no further cover decoration, and collates [vi], 377, [1 blank], [2 ads for Moore's other books] pp. plus a further 16-page publisher's catalogue at the rear
- A second impression, issued about two months later and recorded in Gilcher's bibliography of Moore (A19), added a small gilt floral spray to the front board and has blue-coated endpapers; that floral, blue-endpapered state should not be mistaken for the true first
- Publisher imprint reads Walter Scott, Ltd.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Moore |
| Publisher | Walter Scott, Ltd. |
| Year | 1894 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published in March 1894 by the Walter Scott Publishing Co |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published in March 1894 by the Walter Scott Publishing Co. (headquartered in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with London offices); the novel was refused by Mudie's and W. H. Smith's circulating libraries on moral grounds. A first-impression copy is bound in green cloth with gilt lettering on the spine and front cover only, with no further cover decoration, and collates [vi], 377, [1 blank], [2 ads for Moore's other books] pp. plus a further 16-page publisher's catalogue at the rear. A second impression, issued about two months later and recorded in Gilcher's bibliography of Moore (A19), added a small gilt floral spray to the front board and has blue-coated endpapers; that floral, blue-endpapered state should not be mistaken for the true first.

## Is this the true first?
No American edition appeared in 1894: Moore's preface recounts that the novel was declined by three American publishers, and the first American edition did not appear until 1899 (Herbert S. Stone & Co., Chicago), by which time Moore had revised the text; no US printing has priority over the 1894 Walter Scott London edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Moore revised the text repeatedly after 1894, beginning with the 1899 American printing; later reprints follow the revised wording, not the original 1894 Walter Scott text.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Esther Waters* by George Moore a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/esther-waters
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.