Is My Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Four volumes, small octavo — Austen's only four-volume publication
• Northanger Abbey occupies volumes I-II and Persuasion volumes III-IV. The title pages are dated 1818, but the set was published in December 1817, five months after Austen's death, and advertised that month; a title-page date of 1818 with no edition statement is correct for the first, and the 1817/1818 discrepancy is not a defect
• Volume I opens with Henry Austen's "Biographical Notice of the Author" — the first printing of Jane Austen's name in any of her books, and a required point; a set lacking it is defective or later
• Half-titles are present in each of the four volumes as issued, with two terminal blanks in volume IV. Pagination: I: xxiv, 300
• II: [iv], 331
• III: [iv], 280

How John Murray, London marked a first edition

• No formal edition statement on most 19th-century Murray firsts: identify by the title-page date with no 'New Edition' / 'Second Edition' / number-of-thousand line, the correct imprint ('John Murray, Albemarle Street'), a…

Full John Murray, London first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The Murray London set (titles dated 1818, issued December 1817) is the true first for BOTH novels; neither was published separately in Austen's lifetime and no earlier printing of either text exists. Murray had bought back the manuscript of Northanger Abbey, written years earlier as "Susan" and long suppressed. The census claim is confirmed. Later editions of Northanger Abbey alone or Persuasion alone, however early they look, are reprints — the first appearance of both texts is inside this four-volume unit.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Not applicable — the book predates book-club publishing. The recurring trap is a broken set sold as a two-volume "Northanger Abbey" or "Persuasion": the first edition is a four-volume unit, and any two-volume run of a single novel is either a broken set or a later edition. Absence of the Biographical Notice in volume I likewise rules out a complete first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion a first edition?

A first edition of Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion by Jane Austen (John Murray, London) is identified by: Four volumes, small octavo — Austen's only four-volume publication.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The Murray London set (titles dated 1818, issued December 1817) is the true first for BOTH novels; neither was published separately in Austen's lifetime and no earlier printing of either text exists.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Not applicable — the book predates book-club publishing. The recurring trap is a broken set sold as a two-volume "Northanger Abbey" or "Persuasion": the first edition is a four-volume unit, and any two-volume run of a single novel is either a broken set or a later edition. Absence of the Biographical Notice in volume I likewise rules out a complete first.

I have a first edition of Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.