In my library I have a Dickens first edition.

It is not of one of the novels published in his lifetime or it could be worth quite a bit.

The first edition that I have is one of his least known works. The book was written during 1846 to 1849, but was not published until after the death of his children.

The Life of Our Lord was written by Charles Dickens for his children. During his lifetime he did not allow the book to be published.

His last surviving child was Sir Henry Fielding Dickens who in his will gave his heirs the permission to publish the book if they desired.

Sir Henry died in 1933 and in 1934 the book was published both in England and in the United States. The copy that I have is the first American edition and was published by Simon and Schuster.

The book is only 128 pages long and is a simple narrative of the life of Christ.

The book was one of the top sellers in 1934, so there are a lot of copies available. I looked online and found that you can buy copies like mine for less than $50.

To me, it is special for a couple of reasons.

First, it is a Dickens first edition!

Second, it brings back memories of where I bought it. I found it at a used book store in Kansas City that specialized in religious books. The store had a fiction section where they had books that they picked up in the process of buying the libraries of preachers. That same day I found and purchased a complete set of The Oxford Illustrated Dickens in the original box. It was a good day for book finds.

Do you have any first editions of your favorite authors?

Steven