# Is "Where Angels Fear to Tread" by E.M. Forster a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster (William Blackwood & Sons, 1905) is identified by: First edition, October 1905, 1,050 copies (Kirkpatrick A1a); collation [iv], 319, [1] pp. The Blackwood edition (Edinburgh and London, 1905) is the true first of Forster's first novel, and the census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, October 1905, 1,050 copies (Kirkpatrick A1a); collation [iv], 319, [1] pp. followed by a 32-page publisher's catalogue
- Bound in publisher's slate-blue coarse cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine and blocked in black on the upper cover, with maroon endpapers
- The first issue is identified entirely by the state of the 32-page Blackwood catalogue bound at the rear: it is dated 5/05 at page 32, Forster is not yet mentioned on page 12, page 1 announces the third impression of 'The Edge of Circumstance', and page 3 shows the final work still in the press
- Later copies carry the catalogue dated 10/05 and mention Forster
- No jacket points are documented for this title
- Publisher imprint reads William Blackwood & Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E.M. Forster |
| Publisher | William Blackwood & Sons |
| Year | 1905 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, October 1905, 1,050 copies (Kirkpatrick A1a); collation [iv], 319, [1] pp. followed by a 32-page publisher's catalogue |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, October 1905, 1,050 copies (Kirkpatrick A1a); collation [iv], 319, [1] pp. followed by a 32-page publisher's catalogue. Bound in publisher's slate-blue coarse cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine and blocked in black on the upper cover, with maroon endpapers. The first issue is identified entirely by the state of the 32-page Blackwood catalogue bound at the rear: it is dated 5/05 at page 32, Forster is not yet mentioned on page 12, page 1 announces the third impression of 'The Edge of Circumstance', and page 3 shows the final work still in the press. Later copies carry the catalogue dated 10/05 and mention Forster. No jacket points are documented for this title.

## Is this the true first?
The Blackwood edition (Edinburgh and London, 1905) is the true first of Forster's first novel, and the census claim is confirmed. There was no American edition for roughly fifteen years: the first American is Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1920 (orange cloth stamped in black, 2,630 copies per Kirkpatrick), which is collected as the first American edition but is not a true first and should not be catalogued as one.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A second impression followed in January 1906 in a run of 526 copies; the 10/05 catalogue state marks later Blackwood issues. No contemporaneous book-club edition is documented. Later Knopf and collected-edition printings are 'first thus' at best.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Where Angels Fear to Tread* by E.M. Forster a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/where-angels-fear-to-tread
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.