# Is "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Chapman & Hall, 1861) is identified by: Three volumes, the first book edition, with no illustrations (unlike later editions) and issued in plum/purple cloth. The UK three-decker is the true first in book form, preceding any illustrated edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Three volumes, the first book edition, with no illustrations (unlike later editions) and issued in plum/purple cloth
- The story first ran serially in 'All the Year Round' (December 1860 to August 1861); the three-volume book followed in 1861
- The first issue is identified by its first-state title pages: the same setting of type was bound up and reissued five times in 1861 with altered title-page dating to suggest brisk demand, with persistent misprints carried throughout
- The first-issue title page (first of the five) is the recognized point
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman & Hall
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Dickens |
| Publisher | Chapman & Hall |
| Year | 1861 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Three volumes, the first book edition, with no illustrations (unlike later editions) and issued in plum/purple cloth |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Three volumes, the first book edition, with no illustrations (unlike later editions) and issued in plum/purple cloth. The story first ran serially in 'All the Year Round' (December 1860 to August 1861); the three-volume book followed in 1861. The first issue is identified by its first-state title pages: the same setting of type was bound up and reissued five times in 1861 with altered title-page dating to suggest brisk demand, with persistent misprints carried throughout. The first-issue title page (first of the five) is the recognized point.

## Is this the true first?
The UK three-decker is the true first in book form, preceding any illustrated edition. It was largely absorbed by the circulating libraries, contributing to the scarcity of clean first-issue sets.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later illustrated single-volume editions are not the first; later title-page states within 1861 are subsequent issues of the same edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Great Expectations* by Charles Dickens a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/great-expectations
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.