# Is "The Monk: A Romance" by Matthew Gregory Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Monk: A Romance by Matthew Gregory Lewis (J. Bell, 1796) is identified by: Bell, London, and published anonymously in three volumes, with the preface signed only 'M.G.L.' Collation is Volume I: v,[3],232 pages; Volume II: [2],287,[1] pages; Volume III: [2],315,[1] pages. Older scholarship favored an 1795 date, but because no 1795-dated copy is known and no contemporary notice predates March 1796, the anonymous 1796 J.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Printed for J. Bell, London, and published anonymously in three volumes, with the preface signed only 'M.G.L.' Collation is Volume I: v,[3],232 pages
- Volume II: [2],287,[1] pages
- Volume III: [2],315,[1] pages
- Contemporary references to the novel do not begin until March 1796, which is why modern scholarship prefers 1796 over the older, unsupported claim of an 1795 date - no copy dated 1795 has ever surfaced
- Emboldened by the novel's succes de scandale, Lewis put his name to a second edition later the same year, before public outcry over its content pushed him toward expurgating the text in subsequent editions
- Publisher imprint reads J. Bell
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Matthew Gregory Lewis |
| Publisher | J. Bell |
| Year | 1796 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Printed for J. Bell, London, and published anonymously in three volumes, with the preface signed only 'M.G.L.' Collation is Volume I… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Printed for J. Bell, London, and published anonymously in three volumes, with the preface signed only 'M.G.L.' Collation is Volume I: v,[3],232 pages; Volume II: [2],287,[1] pages; Volume III: [2],315,[1] pages. Contemporary references to the novel do not begin until March 1796, which is why modern scholarship prefers 1796 over the older, unsupported claim of an 1795 date - no copy dated 1795 has ever surfaced. Emboldened by the novel's succes de scandale, Lewis put his name to a second edition later the same year, before public outcry over its content pushed him toward expurgating the text in subsequent editions.

## Is this the true first?
Older scholarship favored an 1795 date, but because no 1795-dated copy is known and no contemporary notice predates March 1796, the anonymous 1796 J. Bell printing is now accepted as the true first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The expurgated fourth edition (1798) and all reprints descended from it soften or omit passages that provoked the original prosecution threat; only the unexpurgated 1796 first and second editions carry Lewis's original, uncensored text.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Monk: A Romance* by Matthew Gregory Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-monk-a-romance
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.