# Is "Two on a Tower" by Thomas Hardy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Two on a Tower by Thomas Hardy (Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1882) is identified by: First published in three volumes by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington in October 1882, in an edition of 1,000 copies, following serialization in the Atlantic Monthly (May-December 1882). American editions from Henry Holt and John W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published in three volumes by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington in October 1882, in an edition of 1,000 copies, following serialization in the Atlantic Monthly (May-December 1882)
- The first-edition binding is green diagonal fine-ribbed cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine and blocked in blind on both boards within a three-rule border, with pale-yellow endpapers
- Reviewers attacked the novel as irreligious and immoral for its plot involving a bishop's marriage to the pregnant widowed heroine, and Hardy toned down the offending passages beginning with the second edition of 1883
- Sadleir ranked the book the seventh scarcest of Hardy's first editions
- Publisher imprint reads Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Hardy |
| Publisher | Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington |
| Year | 1882 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published in three volumes by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington in October 1882, in an edition of 1,000 copies, following… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published in three volumes by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington in October 1882, in an edition of 1,000 copies, following serialization in the Atlantic Monthly (May-December 1882). The first-edition binding is green diagonal fine-ribbed cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine and blocked in blind on both boards within a three-rule border, with pale-yellow endpapers. Reviewers attacked the novel as irreligious and immoral for its plot involving a bishop's marriage to the pregnant widowed heroine, and Hardy toned down the offending passages beginning with the second edition of 1883. Sadleir ranked the book the seventh scarcest of Hardy's first editions.

## Is this the true first?
American editions from Henry Holt and John W. Lovell followed the same year; the three-volume Sampson Low London edition of October 1882 is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Sampson Low or collected-edition printings carry Hardy's toned-down 1883 revisions; only the 1882 three-volume set has the original unrevised text.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Two on a Tower* by Thomas Hardy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/two-on-a-tower
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.