# Is "Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (Smith, Elder & Co., 1866) is identified by: True first in book form: Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1866, in two volumes, large octavo, with eighteen wood-engraved plates by George du Maurier (ten in Vol. The London Smith, Elder two-volume issue of 1866 is the true first; a first American edition followed the same year from Harper & Brothers, New York (1866), a separate later-in-year setting, so London holds precedence.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first in book form: Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1866, in two volumes, large octavo, with eighteen wood-engraved plates by George du Maurier (ten in Vol
- I, eight in Vol
- Sadleir 936, Wolff 2428
- Original binding is publisher's burgundy/maroon cloth, gilt; collation Vol
- I [iv], 336 pp and Vol
- II [iv], 332 pp
- Publisher imprint reads Smith, Elder & Co.

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth Gaskell |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder & Co. |
| Year | 1866 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first in book form: Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1866, in two volumes, large octavo, with eighteen wood-engraved plates by George du… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first in book form: Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1866, in two volumes, large octavo, with eighteen wood-engraved plates by George du Maurier (ten in Vol. I, eight in Vol. II); Sadleir 936, Wolff 2428. Original binding is publisher's burgundy/maroon cloth, gilt; collation Vol. I [iv], 336 pp and Vol. II [iv], 332 pp. Published posthumously — Gaskell died in November 1865 leaving the story a chapter short — with a concluding note supplied by the Cornhill editor Frederick Greenwood.

## Is this the true first?
The London Smith, Elder two-volume issue of 1866 is the true first; a first American edition followed the same year from Harper & Brothers, New York (1866), a separate later-in-year setting, so London holds precedence. The novel was serialised in the Cornhill Magazine, August 1864–January 1866.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Harper (New York) 1866 issue is the American first, not a reprint of the London sheets; later reprints and one-volume/collected settings are 'first thus,' not the 1866 two-volume first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Wives and Daughters* by Elizabeth Gaskell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/wives-and-daughters
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.