Books

FIRST EDITION of both these Victorian novels, serialized in Belgravia Magazine before the first book publication, thus containing the original unaltered First Printing of the author's work. Hardy's "Return of the Native" appears in Belgravia Volumes 34-37 for January - December,1878. Collins's "The Haunted Hotel, a Mystery of Modern Venice" appears in Volumes 35-37, for June - November, 1878. Both are complete as issued, all plates present. All 4 volumes are bound in 3/4 black leather of the period, marbled boards, spines lettered in gilt, clean and tight with very occasional light age spotting. The bindings are slightly different but very compatible [photo].

The Return of the Native is one of Thomas Hardy's novels of character and environment, first published as a serial in the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878. The novel follows the lives of people in the fictional Egdon Heath, a symbol of Hardy's vision of nature and human passions.