# Is "The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice" by Wilkie Collins a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins (Rose-Belford Publishing Co., 1878) is identified by: The true first edition is the Canadian printing issued by the Rose-Belford Publishing Company of Toronto in October 1878, a single octavo volume of 225 pages bound in original green cloth gilt. The Toronto Rose-Belford edition (1878) precedes the Chatto & Windus London edition (issued November 1878, dated 1879, in two volumes with 'My Lady's Money' added) and is the true first book edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first edition is the Canadian printing issued by the Rose-Belford Publishing Company of Toronto in October 1878, a single octavo volume of 225 pages bound in original green cloth gilt
- It followed the novel's serialization in Belgravia magazine (June-November 1878) and preceded the Chatto & Windus London edition, which did not appear until November 1878 in an issue dated 1879
- The London edition was published in two volumes paired with the shorter novella 'My Lady's Money' to fill out a sellable length, with six wood engravings by Arthur Hopkins
- Standard bibliographies (Parrish & Miller, pp
- Wolff 1355c
- Bleiler p
- Publisher imprint reads Rose-Belford Publishing Co.

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wilkie Collins |
| Publisher | Rose-Belford Publishing Co. |
| Year | 1878 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition is the Canadian printing issued by the Rose-Belford Publishing Company of Toronto in October 1878, a single octavo… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first edition is the Canadian printing issued by the Rose-Belford Publishing Company of Toronto in October 1878, a single octavo volume of 225 pages bound in original green cloth gilt. It followed the novel's serialization in Belgravia magazine (June-November 1878) and preceded the Chatto & Windus London edition, which did not appear until November 1878 in an issue dated 1879. The London edition was published in two volumes paired with the shorter novella 'My Lady's Money' to fill out a sellable length, with six wood engravings by Arthur Hopkins. Standard bibliographies (Parrish & Miller, pp. 106-8; Wolff 1355c; Bleiler p. 47) list the Rose-Belford Toronto printing ahead of the London edition.

## Is this the true first?
The Toronto Rose-Belford edition (1878) precedes the Chatto & Windus London edition (issued November 1878, dated 1879, in two volumes with 'My Lady's Money' added) and is the true first book edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints from Chatto & Windus's later 'New Edition' series and cheap one-volume Collins reissues drop the Rose-Belford Toronto imprint and rebind in uniform publisher's cloth; any copy dated 1879 or later, or lacking the Toronto imprint, is not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice* by Wilkie Collins a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-haunted-hotel-a-mystery-of-modern-venice
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.