# Is "That Affair Next Door" by Anna Katharine Green a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of That Affair Next Door by Anna Katharine Green (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1897) is identified by: Putnam's Sons in New York in 1897 and printed by the Knickerbocker Press, whose imprint appears on the copyright page.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in New York in 1897 and printed by the Knickerbocker Press, whose imprint appears on the copyright page
- The first edition is bound in blue cloth stamped in gilt, with gilt rules and decoration on the spine
- The copyright page reads 'Copyright, 1897, by Anna Katharine Rohlfs' -- Green's married name -- and also carries the notice 'Entered at Stationers' Hall, London,' recording British copyright registration
- This is the novel introducing spinster amateur detective Amelia Butterworth alongside Green's series detective Ebenezer Gryce
- Publisher imprint reads G. P. Putnam's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anna Katharine Green |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 1897 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in New York in 1897 and printed by the Knickerbocker Press, whose imprint appears on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in New York in 1897 and printed by the Knickerbocker Press, whose imprint appears on the copyright page. The first edition is bound in blue cloth stamped in gilt, with gilt rules and decoration on the spine. The copyright page reads 'Copyright, 1897, by Anna Katharine Rohlfs' -- Green's married name -- and also carries the notice 'Entered at Stationers' Hall, London,' recording British copyright registration. This is the novel introducing spinster amateur detective Amelia Butterworth alongside Green's series detective Ebenezer Gryce.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Early twentieth-century reprint-house editions (Grosset & Dunlap and similar cheap lines) use plain cloth without the gilt spine rules and typically drop the Knickerbocker Press imprint from the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *That Affair Next Door* by Anna Katharine Green a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/that-affair-next-door
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.