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

The points of issue

• Two competing 2012 English-language firsts, both translated by Don Bartlett
• UK Harvill Secker issued the volume as 'A Death in the Family' in hardcover, published 9 April 2012
• US Archipelago Books issued it as 'My Struggle: Book One' as a trade paperback original, published 1 May 2012
• The later 2014 Archipelago hardcover is explicitly marked 'Second Edition' on its copyright page because the 2012 Archipelago paperback preceded it

How Archipelago Books marked a first edition

• 2003-present: First printings are identified by a complete descending number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page, the lowest digit indicating the printing; many translations also carry 'First Archipelago Bo…

Full Archipelago Books first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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?

On documented publication dates the UK Harvill Secker hardcover ('A Death in the Family,' 9 April 2012) actually precedes the US Archipelago paperback ('My Struggle: Book One,' 1 May 2012) by about three weeks, making the Harvill Secker the earliest English-language appearance. The two are best treated as competing firsts; collectors who require chronological priority should favour the Harvill Secker, while those who want the canonical American title and text take the Archipelago paperback.P-017482

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. The trap is the 2014 Archipelago hardcover, which is marked 'Second Edition' and is not a first; the 2012 Archipelago paperback is the US true first.P-017483

Frequently asked questions

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

A first edition of My Struggle: Book One (A Death in the Family) by Karl Ove Knausgaard (Archipelago Books) is identified by: Two competing 2012 English-language firsts, both translated by Don Bartlett.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. On documented publication dates the UK Harvill Secker hardcover ('A Death in the Family,' 9 April 2012) actually precedes the US Archipelago paperback ('My Struggle: Book One,' 1 May 2012) by about three weeks, making the Harvill Secker the earliest English-language appearance.

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

No book-club edition. The trap is the 2014 Archipelago hardcover, which is marked 'Second Edition' and is not a first; the 2012 Archipelago paperback is the US true first.

I have a first edition of My Struggle: Book One (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 — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

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.