# Is "Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin's" by Frances Hodgson Burnett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin's by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1888) is identified by: Nicholas Magazine from December 1887 through February 1888, the story was then issued in book form on 29 February 1888. Book publication on 29 February 1888 came right on the heels of the St.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Nicholas Magazine from December 1887 through February 1888, the story was then issued in book form on 29 February 1888
- The first edition collates 83 numbered pages plus a 16-page 'Scribner's Books for the Young' catalogue at the rear, illustrated with six full-page illustrations by Reginald B. Birch
- Dealers distinguish two states of this catalogue, corresponding to BAL (Bibliography of American Literature) 2067A and 2067B: the earlier state advertises Little Lord Fauntleroy at 'Fortieth Thousand' and is generally bound in gray (sometimes described as blue-grey) pictorial cloth, while the later state advertises it at 'Forty-Third Thousand' and is bound in brown pictorial cloth, both lettered and decorated in gilt, black and red
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frances Hodgson Burnett |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Year | 1888 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Nicholas Magazine from December 1887 through February 1888, the story was then issued in book form on 29 February 1888 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine from December 1887 through February 1888, the story was then issued in book form on 29 February 1888. The first edition collates 83 numbered pages plus a 16-page 'Scribner's Books for the Young' catalogue at the rear, illustrated with six full-page illustrations by Reginald B. Birch. Dealers distinguish two states of this catalogue, corresponding to BAL (Bibliography of American Literature) 2067A and 2067B: the earlier state advertises Little Lord Fauntleroy at 'Fortieth Thousand' and is generally bound in gray (sometimes described as blue-grey) pictorial cloth, while the later state advertises it at 'Forty-Third Thousand' and is bound in brown pictorial cloth, both lettered and decorated in gilt, black and red.

## Is this the true first?
Book publication on 29 February 1888 came right on the heels of the St. Nicholas Magazine serialization, which had run from December 1887 through February 1888. Burnett later expanded this novella into the full-length A Little Princess (Scribner's, 1905), a different, much longer book that should not be confused with the 1888 first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Scribner's 1889 printing is bound in green cloth and carries only 14 pages of advertisements at the rear (versus 16 in the true 1888 first edition) -- a useful quick check for separating the first edition from this early reprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin's* by Frances Hodgson Burnett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sara-crewe-or-what-happened-at-miss-minchins
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.