# Is "Smilla's Sense of Snow" by Peter Høeg a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1993) is identified by: World true first is the Danish original, Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne (Rosinante, Copenhagen, 1992). Precedence: the Danish original (Rosinante, 1992) is the world first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- World true first is the Danish original, Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne (Rosinante, Copenhagen, 1992)
- The English firsts diverge by title AND by text
- The US first is Smilla's Sense of Snow (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1993), translated by Tiina Nunnally under her own name; the FSG first printing is identified by FSG's 'First edition' statement with a number line ending in 1
- The UK first is Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (Harvill, London, 1993), whose translation is credited to 'F. David' — a pseudonym of Tiina Nunnally, who disowned the UK credit because Harvill's editing (restoring Høeg's deliberately awkward style that her US text had smoothed) departed from her preferred version
- So the two English editions differ in title, credited translator, and readable text
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Peter Høeg |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1993 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | World true first is the Danish original, Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne (Rosinante, Copenhagen, 1992) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
World true first is the Danish original, Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne (Rosinante, Copenhagen, 1992). The English firsts diverge by title AND by text. The US first is Smilla's Sense of Snow (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1993), translated by Tiina Nunnally under her own name; the FSG first printing is identified by FSG's 'First edition' statement with a number line ending in 1. The UK first is Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (Harvill, London, 1993), whose translation is credited to 'F. David' — a pseudonym of Tiina Nunnally, who disowned the UK credit because Harvill's editing (restoring Høeg's deliberately awkward style that her US text had smoothed) departed from her preferred version. So the two English editions differ in title, credited translator, and readable text.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence: the Danish original (Rosinante, 1992) is the world first. The US (FSG) and UK (Harvill) English firsts are both 1993 and carry DIFFERENT TITLES and different translation credits — each is the first for its own market. The sources consulted do not establish which of the two 1993 English editions physically appeared first, so neither is asserted to precede the other.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Confirm each market's first by imprint, title, translator credit, and first-printing statement: US = Smilla's Sense of Snow / FSG / Tiina Nunnally; UK = Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow / Harvill / 'F. David.' Club editions lack the priced jacket and carry club indicia.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Smilla's Sense of Snow* by Peter Høeg a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/smillas-sense-of-snow
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.