# Is "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (MacAdam/Cage, San Francisco, 2003) is identified by: First printings carry the complete number line descending to 1 — "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" — on the copyright page. The true first is the American edition: MacAdam/Cage, San Francisco, September 2003 (ISBN 1-931561-46-X) — the census claim is confirmed, including the small-press attribution.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printings carry the complete number line descending to 1 — "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" — on the copyright page
- Later printings truncate the line, and dealers routinely catalog such copies as "First Edition
- Third Printing" and similar, so the edition statement alone does not establish a first printing; the line must run down to the 1
- The jacket should be unclipped with the price present at the front flap
- Issued in hardcover, 518 pp., ISBN 1-931561-46-X; the first printing was 15,000 copies, after which a far larger run followed the Scott Turow endorsement on The Today Show — the small first run is why pristine first printings are scarce
- Pre-publication advance reading copies exist; they are proofs, not first editions
- Publisher imprint reads MacAdam/Cage, San Francisco

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Audrey Niffenegger |
| Publisher | MacAdam/Cage, San Francisco |
| Year | 2003 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printings carry the complete number line descending to 1 — "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" — on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printings carry the complete number line descending to 1 — "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" — on the copyright page. Later printings truncate the line, and dealers routinely catalog such copies as "First Edition; Third Printing" and similar, so the edition statement alone does not establish a first printing; the line must run down to the 1. The jacket should be unclipped with the price present at the front flap. Issued in hardcover, 518 pp., ISBN 1-931561-46-X; the first printing was 15,000 copies, after which a far larger run followed the Scott Turow endorsement on The Today Show — the small first run is why pristine first printings are scarce. Pre-publication advance reading copies exist; they are proofs, not first editions.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the American edition: MacAdam/Cage, San Francisco, September 2003 (ISBN 1-931561-46-X) — the census claim is confirmed, including the small-press attribution. The first British edition followed from Jonathan Cape, London, in 2004 (ISBN 0-224-07191-2) and is collected as the first UK, but it does not precede. Niffenegger's debut was written in English; there is no original-language question. Later limited-edition and film tie-in issues are "first thus" traps.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is specifically documented in the sources consulted; dealers describing true firsts nevertheless list "no book club markings" as part of the checklist, so the absence of club tells forms part of a first-printing description. The dependable test remains the number line: any copy whose line does not run down to 1 is a later printing regardless of what the edition statement says. Later trade paperback and film tie-in issues are reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Time Traveler's Wife* by Audrey Niffenegger a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-time-travelers-wife
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.