# Is "The Widow Lerouge" by Émile Gaboriau a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Widow Lerouge by Émile Gaboriau (James R. Osgood and Company, 1873) is identified by: The first English-language translation of Gaboriau's L'Affaire Lerouge (Paris, 1866) was published in Boston by James R. This Boston Osgood printing is both the first American and first English-language edition; no British edition preceded it.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first English-language translation of Gaboriau's L'Affaire Lerouge (Paris, 1866) was published in Boston by James R. Osgood and Company in 1873, translated by Fred Williams and George A. O. Ernst
- It is a tall octavo of 156 pages of double-column text plus 4 pages of publisher's advertisements, bound in brick-colored (maroon) cloth, blind-embossed on the boards with gilt stamping on the upper cover and spine
- This edition introduces detective Monsieur Lecoq to English-language readers and is recognized as an early cornerstone of detective fiction in translation
- No earlier English translation of the novel is recorded; this is both the first American and first English-language edition
- Publisher imprint reads James R. Osgood and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Émile Gaboriau |
| Publisher | James R. Osgood and Company |
| Year | 1873 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first English-language translation of Gaboriau's L'Affaire Lerouge (Paris, 1866) was published in Boston by James R. Osgood and Company… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The first English-language translation of Gaboriau's L'Affaire Lerouge (Paris, 1866) was published in Boston by James R. Osgood and Company in 1873, translated by Fred Williams and George A. O. Ernst. It is a tall octavo of 156 pages of double-column text plus 4 pages of publisher's advertisements, bound in brick-colored (maroon) cloth, blind-embossed on the boards with gilt stamping on the upper cover and spine. This edition introduces detective Monsieur Lecoq to English-language readers and is recognized as an early cornerstone of detective fiction in translation. No earlier English translation of the novel is recorded; this is both the first American and first English-language edition.

## Is this the true first?
This Boston Osgood printing is both the first American and first English-language edition; no British edition preceded it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints from Vizetelly & Co. (London) and George Munro's 'Seaside Library' in the 1880s use the alternate title 'The Lerouge Case,' appear as cheap single-volume paper or plain-cloth reprints, and lack the Osgood imprint and blind-embossed maroon cloth of the 1873 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Widow Lerouge* by Émile Gaboriau a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-widow-lerouge
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.