# Is "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen (anonymous, 'By the Author of Sense and Sensibility') a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (anonymous, 'By the Author of Sense and Sensibility') (T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1813) is identified by: Three volumes, published anonymously late January 1813 'By the Author of "Sense and Sensibility"'. The UK Egerton 1813 three-decker is the true first and precedes all other editions.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Three volumes, published anonymously late January 1813 'By the Author of "Sense and Sensibility"'
- Title pages dated 1813
- Half-titles present in all three volumes
- The printer imprints are a genuine authentication point: Volume I was printed by C. Roworth, Volumes II and III by G. Sidney; their imprints appear on the versos of the half-titles and at the end of the text in each volume
- A second edition followed later in 1813
- Publisher imprint reads T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jane Austen (anonymous, 'By the Author of Sense and Sensibility') |
| Publisher | T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall |
| Year | 1813 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Three volumes, published anonymously late January 1813 'By the Author of "Sense and Sensibility"' |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Three volumes, published anonymously late January 1813 'By the Author of "Sense and Sensibility"'. Title pages dated 1813. Half-titles present in all three volumes. The printer imprints are a genuine authentication point: Volume I was printed by C. Roworth, Volumes II and III by G. Sidney; their imprints appear on the versos of the half-titles and at the end of the text in each volume. A second edition followed later in 1813.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Egerton 1813 three-decker is the true first and precedes all other editions. Present half-titles in all three volumes and the Roworth (vol. I) / Sidney (vols. II and III) printer imprints are key authentication points.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later 19th-century one-volume editions (Bentley and others) are reprints, not the first. A second edition also appeared in 1813.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Pride and Prejudice* by Jane Austen (anonymous, 'By the Author of Sense and Sensibility') a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/pride-and-prejudice
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.