# Is "Guy Livingstone; or, 'Thorough'" by George Alfred Lawrence a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Guy Livingstone; or, 'Thorough' by George Alfred Lawrence (John W. Parker and Son, 1857) is identified by: First edition, Lawrence's first and most successful novel, published anonymously. The London Parker edition of 1857 precedes the Harper & Brothers American edition of the same year and is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Lawrence's first and most successful novel, published anonymously
- Bound in blind-stamped blue diagonal ripple-grained cloth with a gilt-lettered spine, collating 375pp. of text plus 4pp. of integral advertisements at the rear; some first-edition copies lack a half-title, which the trade records as a known variant rather than a defect
- Not listed in Sadleir but cited as Wolff 3973
- The first American edition (Harper & Brothers, 1857) is a distinct 12mo issue in blue cloth with 329pp. plus 2pp. of ads, bearing a different advertisement catalogue on the reverse
- Publisher imprint reads John W. Parker and Son
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Alfred Lawrence |
| Publisher | John W. Parker and Son |
| Year | 1857 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Lawrence's first and most successful novel, published anonymously |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, Lawrence's first and most successful novel, published anonymously. Bound in blind-stamped blue diagonal ripple-grained cloth with a gilt-lettered spine, collating 375pp. of text plus 4pp. of integral advertisements at the rear; some first-edition copies lack a half-title, which the trade records as a known variant rather than a defect. Not listed in Sadleir but cited as Wolff 3973. The first American edition (Harper & Brothers, 1857) is a distinct 12mo issue in blue cloth with 329pp. plus 2pp. of ads, bearing a different advertisement catalogue on the reverse.

## Is this the true first?
The London Parker edition of 1857 precedes the Harper & Brothers American edition of the same year and is the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Guy Livingstone; or, 'Thorough'* by George Alfred Lawrence a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/guy-livingstone-or-thorough
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.