# Is "The Voyage of the Narwhal" by Andrea Barrett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett (W.W. Norton & Company, 1998) is identified by: Norton first edition, first printing, with a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the original price present on the front jacket flap. US W.W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Norton first edition, first printing, with a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the original price present on the front jacket flap
- Hardcover, ISBN 0-393-04632-X. A novel of a 19th-century Arctic expedition
- Publisher imprint reads W.W. Norton & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Andrea Barrett |
| Publisher | W.W. Norton & Company |
| Year | 1998 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Norton first edition, first printing, with a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the original price present on… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Norton first edition, first printing, with a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the original price present on the front jacket flap. Hardcover, ISBN 0-393-04632-X. A novel of a 19th-century Arctic expedition.

## Is this the true first?
US W.W. Norton, 1998 is the true first; the hardcover precedes the later trade paperback.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Paperback and later printings carry reprint statements; book-club issues lack the flap price and the full number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Voyage of the Narwhal* by Andrea Barrett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-voyage-of-the-narwhal
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.