# Is "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Houghton Mifflin, 2003) is identified by: First printing carries the full number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page, with no later-printing statement. The US Houghton Mifflin hardcover of 2003 is the true first; the UK Flamingo edition followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing carries the full number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page, with no later-printing statement
- Roughly 291 pages
- Bound in cream paper-covered boards with a tan cloth backstrip, issued in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain the printed price on the front flap
- Lahiri's first novel, following her Pulitzer-winning story collection Interpreter of Maladies
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jhumpa Lahiri |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 2003 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing carries the full number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page, with no later-printing statement |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing carries the full number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page, with no later-printing statement. Roughly 291 pages. Bound in cream paper-covered boards with a tan cloth backstrip, issued in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain the printed price on the front flap. Lahiri's first novel, following her Pulitzer-winning story collection Interpreter of Maladies.

## Is this the true first?
The US Houghton Mifflin hardcover of 2003 is the true first; the UK Flamingo edition followed. The hardcover precedes all later Mariner trade paperbacks.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of consequence. Later printings drop the 1 from the number line, and reprints appear under the Mariner paperback imprint; a number line that does not end in 1 indicates a later printing, not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Namesake* by Jhumpa Lahiri a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-namesake
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.