# Is "The Valley of Fear" by Arthur Conan Doyle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (George H. Doran, 1915) is identified by: Doran Company, New York, published 27 February 1915 (copyright page dated 1914), in red cloth lettered in gilt, with seven full-page illustrations by Arthur I. The US-first Holmes novel: the Doran New York edition (27 February 1915) precedes the Smith, Elder London edition (3 June 1915) by over three months.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: George H. Doran Company, New York, published 27 February 1915 (copyright page dated 1914), in red cloth lettered in gilt, with seven full-page illustrations by Arthur I. Keller including the frontispiece
- First English edition: Smith, Elder & Co., London, 3 June 1915 — first-issue copies carry 34 of Doyle's titles listed on the verso of the half-title and a 6-page publisher's list at the end, with a frontispiece by Frank Wiles
- Publisher imprint reads George H. Doran
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Publisher | George H. Doran |
| Year | 1915 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: George H. Doran Company, New York, published 27 February 1915 (copyright page dated 1914), in red cloth lettered in gilt, with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first: George H. Doran Company, New York, published 27 February 1915 (copyright page dated 1914), in red cloth lettered in gilt, with seven full-page illustrations by Arthur I. Keller including the frontispiece; 320 pp. First English edition: Smith, Elder & Co., London, 3 June 1915 — first-issue copies carry 34 of Doyle's titles listed on the verso of the half-title and a 6-page publisher's list at the end, with a frontispiece by Frank Wiles; 306 pp.

## Is this the true first?
The US-first Holmes novel: the Doran New York edition (27 February 1915) precedes the Smith, Elder London edition (3 June 1915) by over three months. Both are collected — the Doran as the true first, the Smith, Elder as the first English edition; UK copies are often mislabeled as the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Smith, Elder copies lacking the 34-title half-title verso list and the terminal 6-page catalogue should be treated as possible later issues. The 1914 copyright date on the Doran edition leads some catalogs to misdate it 1914; publication was February 1915.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Valley of Fear* by Arthur Conan Doyle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-valley-of-fear
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.