# Is "Rookwood: A Romance" by William Harrison Ainsworth a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Rookwood: A Romance by William Harrison Ainsworth (Richard Bentley, 1834) is identified by: First edition (Sadleir 26), three volumes, octavo, published by Richard Bentley in April 1834.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition (Sadleir 26), three volumes, octavo, published by Richard Bentley in April 1834
- Its only illustration was a portrait frontispiece of Ainsworth, engraved by Finden after a design by Daniel Maclise -- not the Cruikshank illustrations the novel later became known for
- The first edition's collation calls for no half-titles but an initial blank leaf in volume I, a point recorded in Sadleir's description and echoed in dealer catalogues
- This was Ainsworth's first full-length novel, written in deliberate imitation of the Gothic 'bygone' romance style of Ann Radcliffe
- Publisher imprint reads Richard Bentley
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Harrison Ainsworth |
| Publisher | Richard Bentley |
| Year | 1834 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition (Sadleir 26), three volumes, octavo, published by Richard Bentley in April 1834 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition (Sadleir 26), three volumes, octavo, published by Richard Bentley in April 1834. Its only illustration was a portrait frontispiece of Ainsworth, engraved by Finden after a design by Daniel Maclise -- not the Cruikshank illustrations the novel later became known for. The first edition's collation calls for no half-titles but an initial blank leaf in volume I, a point recorded in Sadleir's description and echoed in dealer catalogues. This was Ainsworth's first full-length novel, written in deliberate imitation of the Gothic 'bygone' romance style of Ann Radcliffe.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The celebrated program of Cruikshank copper-plate illustrations was not part of the 1834 first edition; it was first added in the fourth edition, issued in one volume by William Macrone and Richard Bentley in 1836. A copy carrying a full run of Cruikshank plates, or lacking the Maclise/Finden portrait frontispiece, is therefore a later printing rather than the true 1834 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Rookwood: A Romance* by William Harrison Ainsworth a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/rookwood-a-romance
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.