# Is "Life and Fate" by Vasily Grossman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman (L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, 1980) is identified by: The true first is the Russian-language text, Zhizn i sudba, first published by the émigré house L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1980 — the Soviet manuscript having been confiscated ('arrested') by the KGB in 1961. Russian true first: L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, 1980.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the Russian-language text, Zhizn i sudba, first published by the émigré house L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1980 — the Soviet manuscript having been confiscated ('arrested') by the KGB in 1961
- The first edition in English (Robert Chandler translation) was published by Collins Harvill, London, 1985: thick octavo of about 880 pp., black boards with gilt spine lettering (red boxed gilt panels on the spine), issued with a folding map and a priced dust jacket (price present at the flap)
- The first American edition followed from Harper & Row, New York, in 1986
- Publisher imprint reads L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Vasily Grossman |
| Publisher | L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the Russian-language text, Zhizn i sudba, first published by the émigré house L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, Switzerland, in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The true first is the Russian-language text, Zhizn i sudba, first published by the émigré house L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1980 — the Soviet manuscript having been confiscated ('arrested') by the KGB in 1961. The first edition in English (Robert Chandler translation) was published by Collins Harvill, London, 1985: thick octavo of about 880 pp., black boards with gilt spine lettering (red boxed gilt panels on the spine), issued with a folding map and a priced dust jacket (price present at the flap). The first American edition followed from Harper & Row, New York, in 1986.

## Is this the true first?
Russian true first: L'Âge d'Homme, Lausanne, 1980. First in English: Collins Harvill, London, 1985 (Chandler), which precedes the first American edition (Harper & Row, New York, 1986) by a year — so the census 'UK precedes US' holds. Both English editions are collected; the London 1985 is the first English appearance.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is documented. Later Harvill Press and NYRB Classics reissues are 'first thus,' not the 1985 Collins Harvill first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Life and Fate* by Vasily Grossman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/life-and-fate
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.