[3]: 13  The book was published by David Nutt of London in 1913, with a dedication to Frost's wife Elinor,[1]: 52  who had assisted in choosing the poems and arranging the order for publication.

[5]: 119 As it was being published, Frost met with fellow writer Ezra Pound, who insisted they immediately go to Nutt to see a copy of the book in print.

"[8]: 54 F. S. Flint was particularly pleased with the individual poems using one specific theme each, allowing "direct observation of the object and immediate correlation with the emotion—spontaneity, subtlety in the evocation of moods, humor" and praised Frost's "ear for silences.

"[8]: 66  William Morton Payne also noted there was further complexity within the seeming simplicity of the book, writing for The Dial in 1913, "A dream world of elusive shapes and tremulous imaginings is half revealed to our vision by the subdued lyrics which Mr. Robert Frost entitles 'A Boy's Will'.

"[9] The youth of the author, however, was apparent to at least one anonymous critic who wrote in a September 20, 1913, review, "We do not need to be told that the poet is a young man: the dew and the ecstasy — the audacity, too — of pristine vision are here.

[3]: 14 Following the success of North of Boston in 1914, Henry Holt and Company republished A Boy's Will in 1915, becoming the first edition of the book published in the United States.