THE HAND OF ETHELBERTA a Comedy in Chapters

London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1876. 2 volumes. First edition. With eleven attractive wood-engraved plates after George Du Maurier. Tall 8vos, in the publisher's original and primary binding of brick-red cloth, the upper covers with lettering blocked in gilt within elaborate black Victorian borders, the spines decorated and lettered similarly in black and gilt, cafe-au-lait endpapers. Now housed in a fine cloth-covered clamshell box with attractive printed label. vi, [1], 322, [2 ad]; vi, [1], 318, [2 ad] pp. An uncommonly handsome set of one of Hardy's rarest works, all the more so in original cloth and desirable condition. The cloth is still quite fresh, with no fading and bright gilt, just a bit of expected mellowing and rubbing at the tips or extremities, the text brighter and cleaner then is typically seen, any foxing being only occasional and quite light, the plates especially clean. A VERY ATTRACTIVE SET OF ONE OF HARDY'S RAREST WORKS, LISTED AS NUMBER FOUR IN COMPARATIVE SCARCITY BY SADLEIR. It is even more rare in the original cloth and in this state of condition, most copies being either overly repaired or overtly shabby.
The events of the story concern Ethelberta's career as a famous poet and storyteller as she struggles to support her family and conceal her secret—that her father is a butler. Beautiful, clever, and rational, she easily attracts four very persistent suitors (Mr. Julian, Mr. Neigh, Mr. Ladywell, and Lord Mountclere), but is reluctant to give her much-coveted hand.