# Is "The Perfect Wagnerite" by George Bernard Shaw a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Perfect Wagnerite by George Bernard Shaw (Grant Richards, 1898) is identified by: First edition, small octavo, 140 pp., titled "The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring" on the title page.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, small octavo, 140 pp., titled "The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring" on the title page
- Bound in green cloth-covered boards with the title printed on a pasted paper label on the spine rather than stamped in gilt
- Shaw wrote the commentary as a guide for admirers of Wagner's Ring cycle who found the mythological plot difficult to follow, treating the operas' political and economic allegory directly rather than focusing on the music
- Publisher imprint reads Grant Richards
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Bernard Shaw |
| Publisher | Grant Richards |
| Year | 1898 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, small octavo, 140 pp., titled "The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring" on the title page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, small octavo, 140 pp., titled "The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring" on the title page. Bound in green cloth-covered boards with the title printed on a pasted paper label on the spine rather than stamped in gilt. Shaw wrote the commentary as a guide for admirers of Wagner's Ring cycle who found the mythological plot difficult to follow, treating the operas' political and economic allegory directly rather than focusing on the music.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Perfect Wagnerite* by George Bernard Shaw a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-perfect-wagnerite
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.