Rare Books Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy Circa 1950's Modern Library Classic Literature Gift Books Victorian England Novels Literary Gift

This is a very good hardcover NO dust jacket, jacket missing. 1950's Modern Library. This copy is very good and solid inside and out. The pages inside are clean with no foxing seen and only light natural tanning from age. Grey hardcover boards are also very good with only light shelf wear. Crown octavo book size or 5.5" x 8" with 632 pages. Front and back endpapers feature the Modern Library logo.



Modern Library began publishing series of books in 1917. they were extremely popular, especially with students, as they were copies of great literature and topics that were priced for the general public. The publishing firm of Boni Liveright started the series, as the idea stemmed from Albert Boni. The first title published was The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde. Early editions were published in "pocket book" size for easy carrying to read anywhere and they were bound in leatherette. In 1927, Random House was borne out of Modern Library and pictorial dust jackets were introduced to the series, along with hardcover boards. As publishing changed, Modern Library fell to the wayside but was "reintroduced" in the 1970's. Early editions are collectibles and later titles remain favorites as many collect Modern Library editions of all ages.

Originally Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy was a magazine serial published in 1894. The following year it was published in book form. It was Hardy's last completed novel. It is the story of a working class man dreaming of becoming a scholar. Themes of social class, education and morality are present. In particular, social problems and life in Victorian England, especially the institution of marriage and religion are prominent.

Thank you for visiting Bobbis Bookstore !!