Wessex Tales by Thomas Hardy - 1920-1931

London: Macmillan and Co., 1920-1931. Cloth. Very Good. 9" by 6.5". Not Stated. Four novels and a collection of short stories, all uniformly bound, by the renowned Victorian author Thomas Hardy. Five works in the publisher's original cloth bindings, with pictorial gilt to the spines. Ink inscription to the front free end papers of Under the Greenwood Tree, The Return of the Native, and The Well-Beloved. With publisher's advertisements to the rear of all except for Under the Greenwood Tree.All volumes are illustrated with a frontispiece and a two-page map of Hardy's Wessex to the rear. Thomas Hardy was a Victorian realist, influenced greatly by Romanticism, whose Wessex novels have long endured in popularity and acclaim. This set of five uniformly-bound Wessex editions of his works comprises: The third impression of the Wessex edition of Under the Greenwood Tree (1931), Hardy's second published novel, and an important precursor to his later tragic works. The third impression of the Wessex edition of The Return of the Native (1928), one of Hardy's most popular and highly acclaimed novels. The second impression of the Wessex edition of Wessex Tales (1920), a collection of short stories which centre on the confining nature of social constraints in the 19th century. The second impression of the Wessex edition of The Well-Beloved (1922), one of Hardy's last novels. The second impression of the Wessex edition of part three of The Dynasts (1920), a closet drama in verse and prose of the Napoleonic Wars. In the publisher's original cloth bindings. Externally, generally smart. A little fading to all spines apart from The Dynasts. Spine cocked to Under the Greenwood Tree. Mark to the front board of The Dynasts. Front board warped to Wessex Tales. Offsetting to the half title and title pages to Wessex Tales. Offsetting and tidemarks to the paste downs and end papers of The Dynasts. Very Good