Is My Copy of My Struggle: Book 1 (A Death in the Family) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first English-language edition is the UK Harvill Secker hardcover of 2012, titled A Death in the Family, translated by Don Bartlett, with a full number line down to 1
• It was a hardcover original
• The US Archipelago edition, titled My Struggle: Book One, did not appear until 2014 and is a separate first-American printing

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The absolute first is the Norwegian original, Min kamp 1 (Forlaget Oktober, 2009). The UK Harvill Secker 2012 is the first edition in English; the US Archipelago 2014 is a distinct first American edition with a different title. Distinguish all three: Norwegian original, UK first English, US first American.P-017492

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is a factor. The key identity point is the differing title: UK A Death in the Family versus US My Struggle: Book One. The UK 2012 precedes the US 2014 in English.P-017493

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of My Struggle: Book 1 (A Death in the Family) a first edition?

A first edition of My Struggle: Book 1 (A Death in the Family) by Karl Ove Knausgaard (trans. Don Bartlett) (Harvill Secker) is identified by: The first English-language edition is the UK Harvill Secker hardcover of 2012, titled A Death in the Family, translated by Don Bartlett, with a full number line down to 1.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The absolute first is the Norwegian original, Min kamp 1 (Forlaget Oktober, 2009).

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition is a factor. The key identity point is the differing title: UK A Death in the Family versus US My Struggle: Book One. The UK 2012 precedes the US 2014 in English.

I have a first edition of My Struggle: Book 1 (A Death in the Family) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.