First book edition, first of two states

Hardy, Thomas

Jude the Obscure (Wessex Novels Volume VIII [8])

London: Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., 1896. Macbeth-Raeburn, H. First Thus. Hard Cover. Very Good / No Jacket. Item #2328432

First book edition, following Harper's New Monthly Magazine serialization 1894-5 (Purdy 86-87), first of two states, with pagination on partially blank pages in signatures A-H. Lacks Wessex Map. Hinges just beginning to weaken, spine leans forward, newspaper clipping laid in with associated toning to adjacent pages.

vii, [1], 515, [1] pp. 8vo. Frontispiece etching by H. MacBeth-Raeburn. Hardy's last completed novel. Its protagonist, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man, a stonemason, who dreams of becoming a scholar. The other main character is his cousin, Sue Bridehead, who is also his central love interest. The novel is concerned in particular with issues of class, education, religion, morality and marriage.

Price: $175.00