Newby published the first edition in 1848, followed by the second edition with a number of the first edition errors corrected. Smith, Elder sought Charlotte Brontë's permission for them to take the copyright and be the publisher of all the Brontës' mature work. Charlotte declined. She wrote (5th September 1850) to W S Williams at Smith, Elder, stating that the subject matter had been totally wrong for her gentle sister to use. Quite separately, Thomas Hodgson, having acquired the copyright from Newby, published his own edited edition, the third edition in 1854. Smith, Elder waited until 1859 - after Charlotte's death - to acquire the copyright and publish the firm's first edition . This first thus edition is in uniform binding as that for all the Brontë titles at that time published by Smith, Elder.