HARDY, Thomas.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Hand of Ethelberta. First edition, one of 1,000 copies, of Hardy's uncharacteristic early novel, elegantly bound by Rivière. In this ironic tale the "settings are more often urban or suburban than rural, its central characters either servants or their middle- and upper-class employers, and its romantic elements subordinated to the central story... Hardy doubtless intended to demonstrate that his professional range extended beyond rural settings" (ODNB). Hardy began writing the novel after Leslie Stephen, the editor of Cornhill, asked for another story following the success of Far from the Madding Crowd. The Hand of Ethelberta was published as a serial in The Cornhill Magazine and the New York Times from summer 1875 to spring 1876, with each instalment accompanied by an illustration and vignette initial by George Du Maurier. The illustrations were used again when the story was published in book form.

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