# Is "Testaments Betrayed" by Milan Kundera a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Testaments Betrayed by Milan Kundera (HarperCollins, 1995) is identified by: First American edition, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995, subtitled 'An Essay in Nine Parts', translated from the French by Linda Asher; ISBN 0-06-017145-6. First English-language edition of the essay Les testaments trahis (1993).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First American edition, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995, subtitled 'An Essay in Nine Parts', translated from the French by Linda Asher
- ISBN 0-06-017145-6
- Issued in cloth with dust jacket; confirm the stated first edition on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads HarperCollins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Milan Kundera |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Year | 1995 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First American edition, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995, subtitled 'An Essay in Nine Parts', translated from the French by Linda… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First American edition, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995, subtitled 'An Essay in Nine Parts', translated from the French by Linda Asher; ISBN 0-06-017145-6. Issued in cloth with dust jacket; confirm the stated first edition on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
First English-language edition of the essay Les testaments trahis (1993). A Faber and Faber (London) edition, ISBN 0-571-17337-2, also appeared in 1995; the US HarperCollins printing is treated as the first English edition, though exact US/UK precedence within 1995 is not firmly settled.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No specific later-printing point documented; verify the first printing statement and full number line on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Testaments Betrayed* by Milan Kundera a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/testaments-betrayed
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.