# Is "The Purple Cloud" by M. P. Shiel a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel (Chatto & Windus, London, 1901) is identified by: [1-4] [1] 2-463 [464: blank] [1] 2-4: advertisements, with a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated 'May, 1901' inserted at the rear. The true first is the London edition: Chatto & Windus, September 1901 — the census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Octavo, collating pp. [1-4] [1] 2-463 [464: blank] [1] 2-4: advertisements, with a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated 'May, 1901' inserted at the rear
- The title page is printed in red and black and, on the first printing, carries NO statement of printing — the second printing is marked 'SECOND EDITION' on the title page, which is the decisive point
- Bound in original pictorial green cloth, front panel stamped in purple, black and white, spine panel stamped in purple, black and gold, top edges gilt, bottom edge untrimmed
- The book was published in September 1901; the rear catalogue dated May 1901 predates publication and is consistent with the first issue
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | M. P. Shiel |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus, London |
| Year | 1901 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Octavo, collating pp. [1-4] [1] 2-463 [464: blank] [1] 2-4: advertisements, with a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated 'May, 1901' inserted… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Octavo, collating pp. [1-4] [1] 2-463 [464: blank] [1] 2-4: advertisements, with a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated 'May, 1901' inserted at the rear. The title page is printed in red and black and, on the first printing, carries NO statement of printing — the second printing is marked 'SECOND EDITION' on the title page, which is the decisive point. Bound in original pictorial green cloth, front panel stamped in purple, black and white, spine panel stamped in purple, black and gold, top edges gilt, bottom edge untrimmed. The book was published in September 1901; the rear catalogue dated May 1901 predates publication and is consistent with the first issue.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the London edition: Chatto & Windus, September 1901 — the census claim is confirmed. The novel had appeared earlier in serial form, illustrated by J. J. Cameron, in The Royal Magazine, Vol. V, nos. 27-30 and Vol. VI, nos. 31-32, January-June 1901; the serial precedes the book but is a magazine appearance, not an edition. The 1901 Chatto text runs to 463 pages and is the longest version, preferred by many readers. Shiel drafted three versions between 1901 and 1929; the Victor Gollancz, London, 1929 edition is a substantially revised and condensed text of 288 pages. Both the 1901 original text and the 1929 revision are collected, but the Gollancz is a 'first thus' — first edition of the revised text — and never the first edition of the novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue documented for the 1901 Chatto & Windus printing. The in-house trap is the Chatto second printing, distinguished by 'SECOND EDITION' stated on the title page where the first printing states nothing. The other standing trap is the 1929 Victor Gollancz revision, which is a different text at 288 pages against the original's 463 and must not be catalogued as the first edition; later paperback and small-press editions reprinting the 1901 text are likewise reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Purple Cloud* by M. P. Shiel a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-purple-cloud
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.