# Is "My Struggle: Book 1 (A Death in the Family)" by Karl Ove Knausgaard (trans. Don Bartlett) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of My Struggle: Book 1 (A Death in the Family) by Karl Ove Knausgaard (trans. Don Bartlett) (Harvill Secker, 2012) 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. The absolute first is the Norwegian original, Min kamp 1 (Forlaget Oktober, 2009).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Harvill Secker
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Karl Ove Knausgaard (trans. Don Bartlett) |
| Publisher | Harvill Secker |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first English-language edition is the UK Harvill Secker hardcover of 2012, titled A Death in the Family, translated by Don Bartlett… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *My Struggle: Book 1 (A Death in the Family)* by Karl Ove Knausgaard (trans. Don Bartlett) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/my-struggle-book-1-a-death-in-the-family
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.