Desperate Remedies. [and] The Mayor of Casterbridge.

HARDY, Thomas.

Item Number: 148158

Chicago and New York: Rand, McNally & Company, c. 1900.

Early editions of Thomas Hardy’s first and tenth published novels. Octavo, original pictorial cloth with gilt titles, top edges gilt, frontispieces, with black and white illustrations. In very good condition with rubbing and bumping, splitting to the hinges of Desperate Remedies, and a closed tear to the frontispiece of Desperate Remedies. Ownership signature and inscriptions to the front pastedown and front free endpaper of Mayor of Casterbridge.

Thomas Hardy’s Desperate Remedies (1871) and The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) illustrate his evolving narrative style and thematic preoccupations. Desperate Remedies, his first published novel, is a sensational fiction work that blends mystery, melodrama, and gothic elements, reflecting Hardy’s early experimentation with genre. In contrast, The Mayor of Casterbridge marks a mature phase in his career, offering a deeply psychological and tragic study of Michael Henchard, a man whose past misdeeds and fatal flaws lead to his downfall. While Desperate Remedies showcases Hardy’s initial foray into fiction, The Mayor of Casterbridge exemplifies his mastery of character-driven tragedy and his use of setting—particularly the fictional Wessex—to shape human fate.