# Is "The Daisy Chain; or, Aspirations: A Family Chronicle" by Charlotte M. Yonge a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Daisy Chain; or, Aspirations: A Family Chronicle by Charlotte M. Yonge (John W. Parker and Son, 1856) is identified by: First edition, published as a single continuous work but bound and sold in two parts, the text having been divided into two nominal volumes only after the fact rather than composed as a two-volume novel from the outset.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, published as a single continuous work but bound and sold in two parts, the text having been divided into two nominal volumes only after the fact rather than composed as a two-volume novel from the outset
- As a result, the title leaf of the second part is in fact the half-title pressed into service as a substitute title page, since no true second-volume title page was ever printed
- This 'half-title doing duty as title-page' in the second volume is the specific collation point bibliographer Robert Lee Wolff used to identify a genuine first edition (Wolff 7360)
- Publisher imprint reads John W. Parker and Son
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charlotte M. Yonge |
| Publisher | John W. Parker and Son |
| Year | 1856 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, published as a single continuous work but bound and sold in two parts, the text having been divided into two nominal volumes… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, published as a single continuous work but bound and sold in two parts, the text having been divided into two nominal volumes only after the fact rather than composed as a two-volume novel from the outset. As a result, the title leaf of the second part is in fact the half-title pressed into service as a substitute title page, since no true second-volume title page was ever printed. This 'half-title doing duty as title-page' in the second volume is the specific collation point bibliographer Robert Lee Wolff used to identify a genuine first edition (Wolff 7360).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Daisy Chain; or, Aspirations: A Family Chronicle* by Charlotte M. Yonge a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-daisy-chain-or-aspirations-a-family-chronicle
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.