Is My 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.

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.

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. 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

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 — 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.