# Is "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2005) is identified by: The first printing is identified by the complete descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; any line whose lowest digit is higher than 1 is a later printing. The US Little, Brown and Company edition (New York, June 2005) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is identified by the complete descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; any line whose lowest digit is higher than 1 is a later printing
- This matches Little, Brown's documented practice, which since the late 1970s has used a number line with "1" present, alongside a "First Edition" or "First Printing" statement
- Bound in pink and black cloth over boards
- 642 pages
- ISBN 0-316-01177-0
- Jacket should be present, unclipped, with the price present at the flap
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown and Company, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth Kostova |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company, New York |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is identified by the complete descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; any line whose lowest… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing is identified by the complete descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; any line whose lowest digit is higher than 1 is a later printing. This matches Little, Brown's documented practice, which since the late 1970s has used a number line with "1" present, alongside a "First Edition" or "First Printing" statement. Bound in pink and black cloth over boards; 642 pages; ISBN 0-316-01177-0. Jacket should be present, unclipped, with the price present at the flap. Caution: dealers routinely advertise a "colorful first state dustjacket," but no second jacket state for this title is documented in any bibliographic source consulted — treat that phrase as sales copy, not a point of issue.

## Is this the true first?
The US Little, Brown and Company edition (New York, June 2005) is the true first. Kostova is American and the book originated with Little, Brown in New York, which then sold rights into 28 countries. A UK hardback from Little, Brown (London) appeared later in 2005; it is a genuine first UK edition but not the true first, and the census description of the two as simultaneous overstates the case — the US on-sale date precedes.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted. General-purpose book-club tells for a US trade hardcover of this period apply if a suspect copy appears: reduced trim size, lighter board bulk, a blind-stamped dot or square at the lower rear board, absence of an ISBN or number line on the copyright page, and a jacket with no price at the flap. The Back Bay trade paperback is a reprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Historian* by Elizabeth Kostova a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-historian
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.