The Works of Thomas Hardy in Prose and Verse 1917

This set of books by Thomas Hardy is called the Wessex Edition, it was first published by MacMillan and Co. Limited in 1912, and this is a reprint edition from 1917. It contains 20 volumes, and more volumes were published by Macmillan after 1917 to bring the total to 24 or 25 volumes printed all the way up to 1930, and this is the definitive collection of Hardy’s writings. 

Each book has five raised bands, a gilt decorated spine, a frontispiece and protective tissue guard, and the titles include Vol I Tess of the d’Urbervilles, with its critical essay outlining his fictional Wessex geography and literary philosophy, Vol II Far From the Madding Crowd, Vol III Jude the Obscure, Vol IV The Return of the Native, Vol V The Mayor of Casterbridge, Vol VI The Woodlanders, Vol VII Under the Greenwood Tree, Vol III Life’s Little Ironies, and Vol IX Wessex Tales. 

Romances and Fantasies include Vol X A Pair of Blue Eyes, Vol XI The Trumpet Major, Vol XII Two on a Tower, Vol XIII The Well-Beloved, Vol XIV A Group of Noble Dames. Novels of Ingenuity and Experiment include Vol XV Desperate Remedies, Vol XVI The Hand of Ethelberta, Vol XVII A Laodicean, Vol XVII A Changed Man, and Poetry And Drama include Vol XIX Wessex Poems, Vol XX The Dynasts Parts I and II, and Vol XXI The Dynasts Part III. 

(Books which came after this series include Vol XXII Satires of Circumstance and Moments of Vision, Vol XXIII Late Lyrics and Earlier and The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall, and Vol XXIV Human Shows and Winter Words in Various Moods and Metres.)

There are Roman numerals at the bottoms of the spines, all the frontispieces  and tissue guards are present and the bindings are tight, and the pages are rather clean, but there are condition issues with some of the books. Vol I is missing two spine labels and Vol II has loss in one compartment, some have wear at the crown and heel, Vol III and XII have loss at the crown, some have detached covers (Vol IX, X), there’s faded gilt on the spines, rubbing at the edges and on some the bands, light splits at the bottom edges of a few spines, wear at the tips, and Volume VI is missing. 

Complete original sets from 1912 are rare and complete original 24/25 volume sets that go up to 1930 are rare and generally command high prices on the antiquarian market, often ranging from $1,600 to $1,800 or more, depending on condition, and partial runs (such as 13-volume selections) frequently go for $500 to $600.   Vols 1-21 missing vol 6.

Size: 9 x 6  x 1 in. 

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