# Is "The Land of Green Plums" by Herta Müller a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Land of Green Plums by Herta Müller (Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1994) is identified by: The German original, Herztier, was published by Rowohlt Verlag at Reinbek bei Hamburg in 1994, ISBN 3-498-04366-8 — the 3-498 prefix is Rowohlt's hardcover imprint and is the quickest way to separate the first from the rororo paperback (ISBN 3-499-13709-7, 1996). The German Rowohlt 1994 edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The German original, Herztier, was published by Rowohlt Verlag at Reinbek bei Hamburg in 1994, ISBN 3-498-04366-8 — the 3-498 prefix is Rowohlt's hardcover imprint and is the quickest way to separate the first from the rororo paperback (ISBN 3-499-13709-7, 1996)
- The first edition in English is Michael Hofmann's translation, The Land of Green Plums, Metropolitan Books (Henry Holt), New York, published 15 November 1996; a dealer describes the first as quarter-bound blue cloth over mauve paper-covered boards, lettered in gilt to the spine, in a dust jacket using an image from Jan Saudek's 1991 series 'Life, Love, Death & Other Such Trifles', with the price present at the front flap
- No number line or copyright-page printing statement was reported by the dealers consulted, so we do not state one
- Publisher imprint reads Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Herta Müller |
| Publisher | Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg |
| Year | 1994 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The German original, Herztier, was published by Rowohlt Verlag at Reinbek bei Hamburg in 1994, ISBN 3-498-04366-8 — the 3-498 prefix is… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The German original, Herztier, was published by Rowohlt Verlag at Reinbek bei Hamburg in 1994, ISBN 3-498-04366-8 — the 3-498 prefix is Rowohlt's hardcover imprint and is the quickest way to separate the first from the rororo paperback (ISBN 3-499-13709-7, 1996). The first edition in English is Michael Hofmann's translation, The Land of Green Plums, Metropolitan Books (Henry Holt), New York, published 15 November 1996; a dealer describes the first as quarter-bound blue cloth over mauve paper-covered boards, lettered in gilt to the spine, in a dust jacket using an image from Jan Saudek's 1991 series 'Life, Love, Death & Other Such Trifles', with the price present at the front flap. No number line or copyright-page printing statement was reported by the dealers consulted, so we do not state one.

## Is this the true first?
The German Rowohlt 1994 edition is the true first. For English the census claim holds — the US precedes the UK: Metropolitan Books, New York, November 1996 is the first edition in English, ahead of the first UK edition, Granta Books, London, 1998 (paperback); a Hydra Books/Northwestern University Press issue also appeared in November 1998 and is later. The book took the 1998 International Dublin (IMPAC) Literary Award and Müller's 2009 Nobel drove renewed demand, which is what put both the Rowohlt and the Metropolitan firsts in play.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition documented. Reprint and first-thus tells: the rororo paperback (1996) and Fischer paperbacks (2007, 2010) are later German issues; the Granta 1998 and Picador UK 2010 editions are 'first thus' in Britain, not firsts; the 2011 Hörbuch Hamburg audiobook is unrelated to the printed first. Beware post-Nobel (2009-onward) reissues bearing the 1994 text but modern imprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Land of Green Plums* by Herta Müller a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-land-of-green-plums
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.