The Return of the Native

First published in 1878, this novel is set on Egdon Heath in Wessex. Clym Yeobright returns from a Paris diamond house intending to teach among his own people. His cousin Thomasin is entangled with the innkeeper Damon Wildeve, while Eustacia Vye, restless on the heath, wants a larger life and draws both men. Mrs Yeobright opposes the matches. Furze-cutting, mumming, and night walks on the barrows fill the action. Misunderstandings and stubborn pride drive the households apart. The book is a regional tragedy of return and mismatched desire, not a folklore survey of heath customs.

Bound in green series binding, decorated in pale green. Brown endleaves. Brown slipcase. Later reprint in a green slipcase and spine-label blocked rather than of leather.