# Is "The Longest Journey" by E.M. Forster a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Longest Journey by E.M. Forster (William Blackwood & Sons, 1907) is identified by: First edition, first impression, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1907, in an edition of approximately 1,587 copies; octavo. UK true first: William Blackwood & Sons (Edinburgh/London), 1907, Forster's scarce second novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1907, in an edition of approximately 1,587 copies; octavo
- Bound in dark green cloth, stamped in gilt on the spine and the upper cover
- Cited as Kirkpatrick A2a and Connolly, The Modern Movement, 19; the first impression is identified by the 1907 title-page imprint with no later-printing statement
- Publisher imprint reads William Blackwood & Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E.M. Forster |
| Publisher | William Blackwood & Sons |
| Year | 1907 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1907, in an edition of approximately 1,587 copies; octavo |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1907, in an edition of approximately 1,587 copies; octavo. Bound in dark green cloth, stamped in gilt on the spine and the upper cover. Cited as Kirkpatrick A2a and Connolly, The Modern Movement, 19; the first impression is identified by the 1907 title-page imprint with no later-printing statement.

## Is this the true first?
UK true first: William Blackwood & Sons (Edinburgh/London), 1907, Forster's scarce second novel. There was no contemporary American edition; the first American edition did not appear until Alfred A. Knopf (New York), 1922 — a later first American, not a precedence rival to the 1907 Blackwood.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Longest Journey* by E.M. Forster a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-longest-journey
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.