# Is "The Battle of Life: A Love Story" by Charles Dickens a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Battle of Life: A Love Story by Charles Dickens (Bradbury and Evans, 1846) is identified by: First edition, existing in four sequential engraved-title-page states within the same 1846 printing, catalogued by Smith.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, existing in four sequential engraved-title-page states within the same 1846 printing, catalogued by Smith
- The first state has the words 'A Love Story' simply printed with no embellishment; the second state adds a banner or scroll around the lettering; the third state elaborates further with the banner carried by an angel/cupid figure; the fourth state repeats the third state's design but lacks the printed imprint
- Additional textual points recorded by Smith include a faint dot over the 'i' in 'into' on page 20 line 6, a faint 'd' in 'sealed' on page 40 line 8, and several other faint-letter and spacing points through page 132 -- none of which affect all copies equally, so their presence should be checked against a full copy of Smith's list rather than treated as universal
- Publisher imprint reads Bradbury and Evans
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Dickens |
| Publisher | Bradbury and Evans |
| Year | 1846 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, existing in four sequential engraved-title-page states within the same 1846 printing, catalogued by Smith |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, existing in four sequential engraved-title-page states within the same 1846 printing, catalogued by Smith. The first state has the words 'A Love Story' simply printed with no embellishment; the second state adds a banner or scroll around the lettering; the third state elaborates further with the banner carried by an angel/cupid figure; the fourth state repeats the third state's design but lacks the printed imprint. Additional textual points recorded by Smith include a faint dot over the 'i' in 'into' on page 20 line 6, a faint 'd' in 'sealed' on page 40 line 8, and several other faint-letter and spacing points through page 132 -- none of which affect all copies equally, so their presence should be checked against a full copy of Smith's list rather than treated as universal.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Battle of Life: A Love Story* by Charles Dickens a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-battle-of-life-a-love-story
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.