The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy is a 371-page paperback published by Bantam Books, first published in 1878, this copy published in March 1981. There is a small crease along the front cover corner edge.  Inside, the binding is tight but may be dry due to age and unopened and the pages are lightly tanned.

Book Summary

This fine novel sets into opposition two of Thomas Hardy's most unforgettable creations:  his heroine, the sensuous, free-spirited Eustacia Vye, and the solemn, majestic stretch of upland in Dorsetshire he called Egdon Heath.  The famous opening reveals the haunting power of that dark, forbidding moor where proud Eustacia fervently awaits a clandestine meeting with her lover Damon Wildeve.  But Eustacia's dreams of escape are not to be realized--neither Wildeve nor the returning native Clym Yeabright can bring her salvation.

Injured by forces beyond their control, Hardy's characters struggle vainly in the net of destiny.  In the end, only the face of the lonely heath remains untouched by fate in this masterpiece of tragic passion, a tale that perfectly epitomizes the author's own unique and melancholy genius.