Books

Frontispiece map. 3 vols. small 8vo, rebound in full green smooth calf, all edges gilt, gilt dentelles, raised bands with red & black spine labels, by Bayntun. First issue, missing a quotation mark on the title page.

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.