# Is "She: A History of Adventure" by H. Rider Haggard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard (Longmans, Green, and Co., 1887) is identified by: Published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London, on 1 January 1887.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London, on 1 January 1887
- The uncorrected first-issue text carries the misprint 'Godness' (for 'Goodness') on the penultimate line of page 269, with further first-issue points at pages 59, 126, and 258
- The first edition is bound in original dark blue cloth with beveled boards, titling and decoration in gilt on the spine and front cover, and two pages of publisher's advertisements at the rear
- Publisher imprint reads Longmans, Green, and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | H. Rider Haggard |
| Publisher | Longmans, Green, and Co. |
| Year | 1887 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London, on 1 January 1887 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Published by Longmans, Green, and Co., London, on 1 January 1887. The uncorrected first-issue text carries the misprint 'Godness' (for 'Goodness') on the penultimate line of page 269, with further first-issue points at pages 59, 126, and 258. The first edition is bound in original dark blue cloth with beveled boards, titling and decoration in gilt on the spine and front cover, and two pages of publisher's advertisements at the rear.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Longmans' later 'New Edition' printings and colonial reprints correct the page-269 misprint and use plainer, non-beveled blue cloth boards; cheap illustrated reprint-house editions (Grosset & Dunlap and similar) postdate 1887 by decades.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *She: A History of Adventure* by H. Rider Haggard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/she-a-history-of-adventure
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.