The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (Collector's Edition)

Easton Press Collector's edition. 1978. Beautiful, well made and designed book, written by one of the greats. Fine and genuine leather bound. Book accented in 22kt gold. Condition: Excellent. The second page has an ex libris (label) from the publisher (Easton Press) with owner's signature on the label. 989g, 16x23.5x4cm. This book is printed on archival quality paper especially milled for this collector’s edition with gilded edges made to last well into future generations. The end sheets are of moire fabric with a silk ribbon page marker. Smyth sewing and concealed muslin joints to ensure the highest quality binding. This book is in full leather with hubbed spines. Tempestuous Eustacia Vye passes her days dreaming of passionate love and the escape it may bring from the small community of Egdon Heath. Hearing that Clym Yeobright is to return from Paris, she sets her heart on marrying him, believing that through him she can leave rural life and find fulfillment elsewhere. But she is to be disappointed, for Clym has dreams of his own, and they have little in common with Eustacia’s. Their unhappy marriage causes havoc in the lives of those close to them, in particular Damon Wildeve, Eustacia’s former lover, Clym’s mother and his cousin Thomasin. The Return of the Native illustrates the tragic potential of romantic illusion and how its protagonists fail to recognize their opportunities to control their own destinies. The Return of the Native first appeared serially in 1878 in Belgravia, a British periodical, and Harper's Magazine; book publication followed, also in 1878, in a one-volume New York edition and a three-volume London edition. This Collector's Edition was published by advance reservation exclusively for subscribers to the Easton Press collection of The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written. The frontispiece portrait was specially commissioned in 1978 by The Easton Press.