NMLP P-031164 · True-first precedence · minted 2026-07-04

The Return of the Native

Thomas Hardy · Smith, Elder & Co. · 1878

The UK Smith, Elder 1878 three-decker is the true first; the US Harper edition is secondary. The Volume I title-page lacking the closing quotation mark after 'A Pair of Blue Eyes' is the recognized first-issue point.

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New Mexico Literacy Project — True-first precedence NMLP P-031164 for "The Return of the Native" by Thomas Hardy (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/id/point/p-031164, CC BY 4.0, dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21184548).