Is My Copy of Septology (Septologien) — beginning with The Other Name (Det andre namnet: Septologien I–II) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first of Fosse's magnum opus is the original Nynorsk (New Norwegian) edition, "Det andre namnet: Septologien I–II," published by Det Norske Samlaget in autumn 2019 (ISBN 9788252196177)
• It was issued innbundet (hardcover) — Samlaget's standard format for its literary first editions — running 516 pages; multiple primary Norwegian records (the Goodreads editions register, ARK Bokhandel) confirm the 2019 hardcover at 516 pp. Do NOT confuse it with the later, separate 2020 heftet (paperback/pocket) issue of the same title, ISBN 9788234002199, which runs 513 pp. and was published 14 February 2020, nor with the 2022 combined one-volume hardcover of all seven parts (ISBN 9788234009846, ~895 pp.)
• Because Norwegian trade houses do not carry Anglo-American granular issue points, identification rests on the Samlaget imprint, the 2019 date, the hardcover format, the 516-page count, and the ISBN 9788252196177 taken together; a "1. utgåve / 1. opplag" line, if present on the verso, supports first-printing status but should be treated as confirmation rather than a documented, title-specific point of issue

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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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 true first edition is the 2019 Norwegian "Det andre namnet: Septologien I–II" (Det Norske Samlaget), with the two later Norwegian volumes "Eg er ein annan: Septologien III–V" (2020) and "Eit nytt namn: Septologien VI–VII" (2021) completing the sequence — collectors of Fosse pursue the 2019 first volume as the key book. The first English-language edition is "The Other Name: Septology I–II," translated by Damion Searls and published by Fitzcarraldo Editions (London) on 10 October 2019 in their signature blue French-flapped paperback (352 pp., print ISBN 9781910695913; 9781910695920 is the ebook) — this UK Fitzcarraldo printing precedes all other English editions and carried the work onto the 2020 International Booker longlist. The US edition (Transit Books, Oakland) followed on 7 April 2020 (336 pp., ISBN 9781945492402) using the same Searls translation, and is a later, separate issue that does not precede the Fitzcarraldo first.P-016464

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No mass-market book-club issue defines the collectible first here — Bokklubben and other Norwegian retail channels simply distribute the Samlaget trade hardcover under the same ISBN 9788252196177, so a "Bokklubben" listing is not automatically a distinct book-club edition. The traps are format, printing, and translation state rather than a book club: (1) the 2022 Samlaget one-volume collected "Septologien" (all seven parts, ISBN 9788234009846, ~895 pp.) is frequently mistaken for the first — it is not; (2) the 2020 heftet/pocket paperback (ISBN 9788234002199, 513 pp., 14 Feb 2020) is a later issue, not the 2019 hardcover first; and (3) on the English side, Transit Books' 7 April 2020 US printing and any post-Nobel (late 2023 onward) reprints/reissues of the Fitzcarraldo edition are later states, not the 10 October 2019 first English printing.P-016465

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Septology (Septologien) — beginning with The Other Name (Det andre namnet: Septologien I–II) a first edition?

A first edition of Septology (Septologien) — beginning with The Other Name (Det andre namnet: Septologien I–II) by Jon Fosse (Det Norske Samlaget) is identified by: The true first of Fosse's magnum opus is the original Nynorsk (New Norwegian) edition, "Det andre namnet: Septologien I–II," published by Det Norske Samlaget in autumn 2019 (ISBN 9788252196177).

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. The true first edition is the 2019 Norwegian "Det andre namnet: Septologien I–II" (Det Norske Samlaget), with the two later Norwegian volumes "Eg er ein annan: Septologien III–V" (2020) and "Eit nytt namn: Septologien VI–VII" (2021) completing the sequence — collectors of Fosse pursue the 2019 first volume as the key book.

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

No mass-market book-club issue defines the collectible first here — Bokklubben and other Norwegian retail channels simply distribute the Samlaget trade hardcover under the same ISBN 9788252196177, so a "Bokklubben" listing is not automatically a distinct book-club edition.

I have a first edition of Septology (Septologien) — beginning with The Other Name (Det andre namnet: Septologien I–II) — 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.