# Is "Jude the Obscure" by Thomas Hardy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1896) is identified by: One volume, issued as Volume VIII of the Wessex Novels collected set and the first separate book edition. The Osgood, McIlvaine edition (title page dated 1896, published November 1895) is the first English book edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- One volume, issued as Volume VIII of the Wessex Novels collected set and the first separate book edition
- The title page is dated 1896 although the book was actually published in November 1895
- Points include the 1896-dated title page, the etched frontispiece of Christminster by H. Macbeth-Raeburn with its facing caption leaf, and Hardy's own map of 'The Wessex of the Novels' bound in the volume; issued in the green cloth of the Wessex series
- Publisher imprint reads Osgood, McIlvaine & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Hardy |
| Publisher | Osgood, McIlvaine & Co. |
| Year | 1896 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | One volume, issued as Volume VIII of the Wessex Novels collected set and the first separate book edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
One volume, issued as Volume VIII of the Wessex Novels collected set and the first separate book edition. The title page is dated 1896 although the book was actually published in November 1895. Points include the 1896-dated title page, the etched frontispiece of Christminster by H. Macbeth-Raeburn with its facing caption leaf, and Hardy's own map of 'The Wessex of the Novels' bound in the volume; issued in the green cloth of the Wessex series.

## Is this the true first?
The Osgood, McIlvaine edition (title page dated 1896, published November 1895) is the first English book edition. A Harper American edition appeared at nearly the same time following serialization in Harper's Magazine; precedence between the two is debated, so confidence on which strictly precedes should remain modest.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Macmillan collected-edition printings are not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Jude the Obscure* by Thomas Hardy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/jude-the-obscure
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.