The autograph MS of Jude the Obscure, one of the greatest and most controversial of Hardy's novels, was presented to the Fitzwilliam Museum by the author in 1911. Hardy was obliged to make numerous alterations, preserved in the MS, for the serial publication in Harper's New Monthly Magazine in 1894-95. The page proofs of the first book edition, published in 1896, show Hardy's restoration and elaboration of the original text in great detail.
Item Provenance
Sotheby's 13 December 2007, lot 71