Hodder & Stoughton is a London publisher founded in 1868, the house of Barrie, Buchan, Blyton and Stephen King in the UK, and now a division of Hachette UK.
Hodder & Stoughton is a publisher based in London, founded in 1868. We track 988 editions it published between 1886 and 2026, 264 of them first editions across 965 books. How Hodder & Stoughton marked its first editions is set out below, with a checker for the year on your title page.
About Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a London publisher founded in 1868 by Matthew Henry Hodder and Thomas Wilberforce Stoughton, publisher of J. M. Barrie, John Buchan and Enid Blyton and today a division of Hachette UK.
The partners started out on Paternoster Row in London, with a list that mixed religious titles, such as volumes of the Expositor's Bible, with general books. Early authors included J. M. Barrie, whose Peter and Wendy the firm published in 1911, G. K. Chesterton, Winston Churchill, John Buchan, Edgar Wallace and, from 1942, Enid Blyton's Famous Five series. Hodder took over The Lancet in 1921, began the Teach Yourself books in 1938 and had a major success with Sir John Hunt's The Ascent of Everest in 1953. Its later list brought Mary Stewart, Stephen King, Jean M. Auel, John le Carré, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult, and the Sceptre literary imprint was launched in 1986.
Headline bought the company in 1993, forming Hodder Headline. W H Smith acquired Hodder Headline in 1999, and Hachette Livre, part of Lagardère, bought it in 2004 and combined its publishing into a single Hodder & Stoughton division. Its imprints include Coronet, Hodder Paperbacks, Mulholland Books, Sceptre and Yellow Kite.
Holding a copy? The first edition checker shows Hodder & Stoughton's practice for the year on your title page.
Identification
How to identify Hodder & Stoughton first editions
What to look for
Early Hodder & Stoughton books have no consistent first-edition marking, so they are identified title by title from the points recorded for each book rather than by a house rule.
Allen and Patricia Ahearn's publisher list for ILAB says that before the 1940s the firm had no consistent practice for marking first editions or later printings. Ash Rare Books, writing about H. S. Boutell's 1928 guide, records that Hodder told Boutell its methods varied with every book.
Traps
Early books with no statement. Before the 1940s a Hodder book without a reprint note is not automatically a first, because the house did not always record reprints. Check the points for the title.
Book club copies. A jacket with no printed price on the flap is usually a book club edition, not the trade first.
How do I identify a Hodder & Stoughton first edition?
Early Hodder & Stoughton books have no consistent first-edition marking, so they are identified title by title from the points recorded for each book rather than by a house rule. Allen and Patricia Ahearn's publisher list for ILAB says that before the 1940s the firm had no consistent practice for marking first editions or later printings. Ash Rare Books, writing about H. S. Boutell's 1928 guide, r
How many Hodder & Stoughton books does MyVolumes track?
We track 988 editions published by Hodder & Stoughton, 264 of them first editions, across 965 books.
Sources
Where these facts come from
First Edition Identification by Publisher, ILAB (Allen and Patricia Ahearn), 2010 (ilab.org)
Boutell's First Editions of To-Day, Ash Rare Books, 2019 (ashrarebooks.com)
Identifying Book Club Editions, Independent Online Booksellers Association (ioba.org)
When is a first edition not a first edition?, Existential Ennui, 2010 (existentialennui.com)
