Under the Greenwood Tree. A Rural Painting of the Dutch School.

First edition, one of 500 copies, elegantly bound by Rivière. Unlike his first published novel, Desperate Remedies (1871), Under the Greenwood Tree was not subsidized at Hardy's own expense, but he was still not named as author. It is distinguished among his fiction for its relatively cheerful tone and "deceptively simple elegance". Reviews of the novel were good, but the edition did not immediately sell and there were remainder bindings. However, it impressed Leslie Stephen sufficiently for him to ask Hardy for a similar story for the Cornhill Magazine, which turned out to be Far From the Madding Crowd, Hardy's first major literary success. Purdy, pp. 6-8, Webb, pp. 5-6. 2 vols, octavo (182 x 124 mm). Bound with half-titles. Contemporary blue crushed half morocco by Rivière, spines with raised bands lettered in gilt, compartments bordered with gilt fillets and rolls, blue cloth sides, French Curl pattern marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, fore and bottom edges uncut. Spines lightly sunned, occasional foxing. A very good copy.…