# Is "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë (as 'Currer Bell') a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (as 'Currer Bell') (Smith, Elder & Co., 1847) is identified by: Three volumes, published 19 October 1847 in a small edition. The UK three-decker is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Three volumes, published 19 October 1847 in a small edition
- The title page reads 'Jane Eyre
- An Autobiography
- Edited by Currer Bell' (this wording appears in the first and subsequent early editions, so it is not itself a distinguishing point)
- The genuine first-issue points are physical and textual: half-titles present in each volume, and the ABSENCE of both the preface and the dedication to W. M. Thackeray
- The first edition had no preface (Brontë stated a preface was unnecessary) and no dedication; the preface and the Thackeray dedication were added only in the second edition of January 1848
- Publisher imprint reads Smith, Elder & Co.

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charlotte Brontë (as 'Currer Bell') |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder & Co. |
| Year | 1847 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Three volumes, published 19 October 1847 in a small edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Three volumes, published 19 October 1847 in a small edition. The title page reads 'Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. Edited by Currer Bell' (this wording appears in the first and subsequent early editions, so it is not itself a distinguishing point). The genuine first-issue points are physical and textual: half-titles present in each volume, and the ABSENCE of both the preface and the dedication to W. M. Thackeray. The first edition had no preface (Brontë stated a preface was unnecessary) and no dedication; the preface and the Thackeray dedication were added only in the second edition of January 1848.

## Is this the true first?
The UK three-decker is the true first. The clearest distinguishing point from the second edition is the absence of any preface and of the dedication to Thackeray, both of which were added in the second edition (1848). Presence of the half-titles is also expected in a clean first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later single-volume editions, and any copy carrying the Thackeray dedication or the 1848 preface, are not the 1847 first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Jane Eyre* by Charlotte Brontë (as 'Currer Bell') a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/jane-eyre
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.