# Is "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen (anonymous, 'By a Lady') a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (anonymous, 'By a Lady') (Thomas Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1811) is identified by: Three volumes, Austen's debut, published anonymously 'By a Lady' in 1811; advertisements first appeared 30 October 1811. The UK Egerton 1811 three-decker is the true first, Austen's first published novel and her scarcest first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Three volumes, Austen's debut, published anonymously 'By a Lady' in 1811; advertisements first appeared 30 October 1811
- The title-page imprint reads printed for the author by C. Roworth, Bell-yard, Temple-bar, and published by T. Egerton, Whitehall
- Title pages dated 1811
- Half-titles are a point of completeness and vary among surviving copies; the most complete sets retain half-titles to all three volumes
- The edition was small, about 1000 copies
- A corrected second edition followed in 1813
- Publisher imprint reads Thomas Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jane Austen (anonymous, 'By a Lady') |
| Publisher | Thomas Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall |
| Year | 1811 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Three volumes, Austen's debut, published anonymously 'By a Lady' in 1811; advertisements first appeared 30 October 1811 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Three volumes, Austen's debut, published anonymously 'By a Lady' in 1811; advertisements first appeared 30 October 1811. The title-page imprint reads printed for the author by C. Roworth, Bell-yard, Temple-bar, and published by T. Egerton, Whitehall. Title pages dated 1811. Half-titles are a point of completeness and vary among surviving copies; the most complete sets retain half-titles to all three volumes. The edition was small, about 1000 copies. A corrected second edition followed in 1813.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Egerton 1811 three-decker is the true first, Austen's first published novel and her scarcest first edition. The 1811 title-page imprint and the presence of half-titles are key points.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Bentley and later one-volume editions are reprints; the corrected 1813 second edition is not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sense and Sensibility* by Jane Austen (anonymous, 'By a Lady') a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sense-and-sensibility
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.