HARDY, Thomas.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Tess of the d'Urbervilles. First edition in book form, volumes I and III from the first impression of 1,000 copies printed in November 1891. Volume II is a sophisticated copy, with a first impression title page, but the revised second impression text (500 copies). When Tess of the d'Urbervilles was initially serialized in The Graphic from July to December 1891, the editor removed two episodes: the seduction of Tess and the baptism and death of her baby. "This temporary dismemberment of the novel necessitated changes in plot, such as the introduction of a mock marriage and the omission of the encounter with the painter of texts, and there were numerous scattered bowdlerizations and omissions. When the novel was published in book form the original text was, of course, restored, and Hardy was able to piece the trunk and limbs of the novel together, as originally written" (Purdy).

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