Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Hardy, Thomas. A Group of Noble Dames. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., London, 1896.
Price: US$43.61 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A Collection of short stories. Ten members of a club each tell one story about a noble dame in the 17th or 18th century. Red leather spine, red cloth covers. Small inscription on front free endpaper. Back pastedown hinge cracked. Size: 200mm Tall, 8vo
Seller: Andmeister Books, London, United Kingdom
Price: US$83.38 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First impression of the first one volume edition and first edition thus - Wessex Novels Volume VII, with a new two-page preface written by the author especially for this one-volume edition. The original three volume true first edition was published by Macmillan and Co, in 1887. Illustrated with a tissue-guarded black and white steel-engraved frontispiece etching by H. Macbeth-Raeburn, and a black and white map: 'The Wessex of the Novels' to the rear, as called for. ***Very good in dark green cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine and a gilt circular floral illustration with 'TH' monogram to front board. Top edge of text-block gilt. Fore-edge and bottom edge of text-block untrimmed (rough-cut as called for). Head and tail of spine rubbed, nicked and creased, with a small amount of loss of the green cloth at the head of the spine. Corners rubbed and creased. Boards show some wear and marks commensurate with age and handling - in particular, there is a small are of the front board showing through where the cloth has worn away. Internally the book is also very good, with no inscriptions. Some foxing to the endpapers but the pages are mostly clean - just a light splash mark to the first page of the preface. The binding is secure and not shaken. No splitting. Spine tight. with a steel-engraved frontispiece showing "The Country of 'The Woodlanders' - drawn on the spot." - lacking the tissue-guard. ***208mm x148mm. vi prelim-pages including the two-page preface by Thomas Hardy written in September 1895, plus 460 pages, and a black and white map of 'The Wessex of the Novels' at the back of the book. ***'"The Woodlanders" was serialised from May 1886 to April 1887 in Macmillan's Magazine and published in three volumes in 1887. It is one of his series of Wessex novels. The novel was later classified by Hardy for the Wessex Edition of his works in the primary group of "Novels of Character and Environment". Yet despite it being regarded as one of Hardy's major novels, the novel is 'something of an anomaly', in comparison with the tragic depth of both its predecessor "The Mayor of Casterbridge" and its successor "Tess of the D'Urbervilles." The novel reflects common Hardy themes: a rustic, evocative setting, poorly chosen marriage partners, unrequited love, social class mobility, and an unhappy, or at best equivocal, ending. As with most his other works, opportunities for fulfilment and happiness are forsaken or delayed. "The Woodlanders" was widely praised. It was declared by the Saturday Review in April 1887 to be, "the best [novel] that Hardy has written", by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, "his loveliest if not his finest book", by William Lyon Phelps, "the most beautiful and most noble of Hardy's novels", and by A. Edward Newton, "one of the best novels of the last half century". The late nineteenth century English author George Gissing read the novel in March 1888 "with much delight" but felt that the "human part is --- painfully unsatisfactory". The novel remained a personal favourite of Hardy's. Newman Flower recounted that Hardy named it to him as his "favourite novel", and 25 years after its publication, Hardy wrote that, "On taking up "The Woodlanders" and reading it after many years, I like it as a story best of all." (Wiki) ***First impression of the first one-volume edition, in its original gilt decorated cloth-covered boards, in nice condition for a book that is now 125 years old. Of interest to collectors of antiquarian literature and in particular Thomas Hardy first edition titles. Uncommon. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.
Seller: Orlando Booksellers, Lincoln, United Kingdom
Hardy, Thomas. A Group of Noble Dames. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., London, 1896.
Price: US$83.38 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Half bound leather hard cover in very good condition, no jacket. Quality rebinding in tan leather, with complementary boards. Frontispiece and Wessex map at rear etched by H. Macbeth-Raeburn. Frontispiece is loose, all other binding is secure. Light shelf and handling wear for its age; boards and gilt PB head are in fine condition, pageblock is roughcut and tanned, this leading into page edges. Light foxing and occasional blemish noted, otherwise pages within are clear and unmarked. CN
Seller: PsychoBabel & Skoob Books, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OXON, United Kingdom
Hardy, Thomas. A Group of Noble Dames. Osgood, McIlvaine, London, 1896.
Price: US$102.62 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A very good copy in the uniform Wessex Novels series, this being volume 15.Small chip at head of spine.
Seller: Beach Hut Books, Lingfield, United Kingdom
Thoimas Hardy. A GROUP OF NOBLE DAMES. Osgood McIlvaine and Co., London, 1896.
Price: US$128.28 + shipping
Condition: As New
Description: This particularly well preserved first thus edition is bound in uniform finely ribbed green cloth covered boards with bright gilt titling to the spine and similar TH cypher to the upper board. There are gilt top page edges and others untrimmed. The stock is tight, bright and unmarked. There is a new preface from Hardy dated June 1896. The stories are contained by a frame narrative in which ten members of a club each tell one story about a noble dame in the 17th or 18th century. Hardy included this work with his "Romances and fantasies". All ten stories were published in serial magazines before Hardy collected them into book form. "The Duchess of Hamptonshire" and "The Honourable Laura" were written relatively early in Hardy's career, in 1878 and 1881 respectively. "The First Countess of Wessex" and "The Lady Penelope" were written in 1888-89. Hardy revised all four of these stories significantly before adding them to the collection in 1891. The remaining six stories were written in early 1890 and published in bowdlerised form in a special Christmas number of The Graphic in December 1890. Ref V V V 2
Seller: Amazing Book Company, Liphook, United Kingdom
Price: US$143.67 + shipping
Description: 8vo., First Edition thus, on laid paper, with etched frontispiece and full-page map of Wessex in the text, some very light and scattered spotting on endpapers only, small neat contemporary signature on front free endpaper; original decorative green ribbed cloth gilt, 'TH' monogram blocked in gilt on upper cover, gilt back, gilt top, uncut, small crease and indentation in backstrip else a very good, bright, clean copy. Osgood's 'Wessex Novels' is the the first uniform and complete edition of Hardy's works. Each of the sixteen volumes has an etched frontispiece by Macbeth-Raeburn (depicting a scene from the novel drawn on the spot; in this case 'Kings-Hintock Court in The First Countess of Wessex') and a map of Wessex drawn by Hardy himself. In terms of book production, these are undoubtedly the finest trade editions of Hardy's works; in the case of 'The Group of Noble Dames' plates of the original edition were used. See Purdy, pp.279-282. ALL VOLUMES OF THIS SERIES ARE SCARCE, ESPECIALLY IN THIS CONDITION.
Seller: Island Books, Thakeham, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Thomas Hardy. A Group of Noble Dames. Osgood Mcilvaine, UK, 1896.
Price: US$288.62 + shipping
Description: 1st Edition Thus 1896. Stamped 'The Hive Sturminster Newton'. The village was a setting for many Hardy's novels. 1st printing in the new edition by Osgood of the Works of Thomas Hardy and complete in it's own right. Etching by H Macbeth-Raeburn, with tissue guard to title page and a map of Wessex. With a new preface written by the author for this edition. Book is very good++ and very bright. Contents good. A nice example. More images can be taken upon request. Ref 17352
Seller: Lasting Words Ltd, Northampton, UK, United Kingdom
HARDY, THOMAS.. A Group of Noble Dames. London: Osgood, McIlvaine, 1896, 1896.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Description: A re-issue as vol. XV of The Wessex Novels; with a new preface by the author. Very nearly fine; signed by Hardy on the half-title. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.
Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.