# Is "Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems" by John Keats a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems by John Keats (Taylor and Hessey, 1820) is identified by: Keats's third and last book published in his lifetime, issued on or about 1 July 1820 in the original publisher's drab boards with a printed paper spine label.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Keats's third and last book published in his lifetime, issued on or about 1 July 1820 in the original publisher's drab boards with a printed paper spine label
- Collates [11], 4-199, [9]pp, 12mo, with a half-title for "Lamia" on the first leaf, a table of contents, a prose "Advertisement" from the publishers explaining that "Hyperion" is printed only as a fragment against the author's wishes, and separate half-titles at the openings of "Isabella" (p.[47]) and "The Eve of St
- Agnes" (p.[81])
- First-issue copies in original boards retaining the half-title leaf and the publisher's advertisement leaves at the rear represent the earliest, complete state of the book as issued
- Publisher imprint reads Taylor and Hessey
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Keats |
| Publisher | Taylor and Hessey |
| Year | 1820 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Keats's third and last book published in his lifetime, issued on or about 1 July 1820 in the original publisher's drab boards with a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Keats's third and last book published in his lifetime, issued on or about 1 July 1820 in the original publisher's drab boards with a printed paper spine label. Collates [11], 4-199, [9]pp, 12mo, with a half-title for "Lamia" on the first leaf, a table of contents, a prose "Advertisement" from the publishers explaining that "Hyperion" is printed only as a fragment against the author's wishes, and separate half-titles at the openings of "Isabella" (p.[47]) and "The Eve of St. Agnes" (p.[81]). First-issue copies in original boards retaining the half-title leaf and the publisher's advertisement leaves at the rear represent the earliest, complete state of the book as issued.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
This volume was folded into many nineteenth-century collected editions of Keats's "Poetical Works"; a first edition must be a stand-alone Taylor and Hessey 1820 volume in the original boards, not an extract bound within a later collected set.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems* by John Keats a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/lamia-isabella-the-eve-of-st-agnes-and-other-poems
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.