# Is "Identity" by Milan Kundera a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Identity by Milan Kundera (HarperFlamingo, 1998) is identified by: First US edition, HarperFlamingo (a HarperCollins imprint), New York, 1998, translated from the French by Linda Asher; the first printing carries the full descending number line on the copyright page. First English-language translation of L'identité, which Gallimard issued in French in its Blanche collection in January 1998 (printing completed December 1997); the French Gallimard edition is the true world first, the HarperFlamingo the first US/English printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, HarperFlamingo (a HarperCollins imprint), New York, 1998, translated from the French by Linda Asher; the first printing carries the full descending number line on the copyright page
- The first-issue dust jacket reproduces a jacket painting by Kristjan Davidsson and carries the printed price on the front flap (price-clipping alone does not unmake a first)
- Publisher imprint reads HarperFlamingo
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Milan Kundera |
| Publisher | HarperFlamingo |
| Year | 1998 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition, HarperFlamingo (a HarperCollins imprint), New York, 1998, translated… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First US edition, HarperFlamingo (a HarperCollins imprint), New York, 1998, translated from the French by Linda Asher; the first printing carries the full descending number line on the copyright page. The first-issue dust jacket reproduces a jacket painting by Kristjan Davidsson and carries the printed price on the front flap (price-clipping alone does not unmake a first).

## Is this the true first?
First English-language translation of L'identité, which Gallimard issued in French in its Blanche collection in January 1998 (printing completed December 1997); the French Gallimard edition is the true world first, the HarperFlamingo the first US/English printing. A Faber & Faber London edition also appeared in 1998 as the first UK printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Identity* by Milan Kundera a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/identity
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.