Jude the Obscure. By Thomas Hardy. Illustrated by Agnes Miller Parker. Illustrated Edition. Heritage Press. New York, 1969.

Thomas Hardy is among the most important Victorian novelists, alongside Charles Dickens and George Eliot. His work influenced generations of authors after him, including JD Salinger, DH Lawrence, and Ezra Pound, to name just a few. His brand of realism investigated fate against the backdrop of a socially stratified Britain. Some of his most influential works include The Return of the Native and Tess of the d’Ubervilles, and also Jude the Obscure–Hardy’s last novel and probably his most controversial. It is the story of Jude Fawley, a working class man with dreams of social elevation, romance, and marriage. The work was scandalous in the 1890s for its candid portrayals of marriage and sex. Throughout the narrative, the characters marry, divorce, struggle with sexual intimacy, and have children out of wedlock. For all these reasons, Jude the Obscure received harsh criticism but also a titulated readership. Despite their moral posturing, late Victorian readers delved into Hardy’s work, making it one of his most famous novels.

This illustrated edition is in near-fine condition. In the original pictorial cloth, near-fine with only slightly faded spine. Text block fine. In the original slipcase, near-fine with only minor soiling. Publisher’s original Sandglass pamphlet laid in.

A near-fine illustrated edition of Jude the Obscure.