# Is "The Last Days of Pompeii" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (Richard Bentley, 1834) is identified by: First edition (Sadleir 414, Wolff 940), three volumes, published by Richard Bentley in 1834.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition (Sadleir 414, Wolff 940), three volumes, published by Richard Bentley in 1834
- Half-titles appear only in volumes II and III, with none issued for volume I; a set with a half-title present in volume I would not conform to the recorded first-edition pattern
- Recorded first-edition bindings vary between copies in half cloth over boards with printed paper spine labels and copies in full cloth with printed labels, both accepted as first-edition states
- The novel carries Bulwer-Lytton's own 1834 preface, in which he describes being moved to write the book by his visit to the excavated ruins of Pompeii
- Publisher imprint reads Richard Bentley
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Edward Bulwer-Lytton |
| Publisher | Richard Bentley |
| Year | 1834 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition (Sadleir 414, Wolff 940), three volumes, published by Richard Bentley in 1834 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition (Sadleir 414, Wolff 940), three volumes, published by Richard Bentley in 1834. Half-titles appear only in volumes II and III, with none issued for volume I; a set with a half-title present in volume I would not conform to the recorded first-edition pattern. Recorded first-edition bindings vary between copies in half cloth over boards with printed paper spine labels and copies in full cloth with printed labels, both accepted as first-edition states. The novel carries Bulwer-Lytton's own 1834 preface, in which he describes being moved to write the book by his visit to the excavated ruins of Pompeii.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Last Days of Pompeii* by Edward Bulwer-Lytton a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-last-days-of-pompeii
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.