"IN THEIR DEATH THEY WERE NOT DIVIDED": FIRST EDITION OF THE MILL ON THE FLOSS

ELIOT, George. The Mill on the Floss. Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1860. Three volumes. Octavo, original blind- and gilt-stamped russet cloth, uncut. $3200.

First edition of Eliot's most popular novel, a romantic tragedy, in scarce original cloth.

Eliot's largely autobiographical The Mill on the Floss was written immediately after Adam Bede and published in 1860. "The portrayal of childhood, of rural life, and the subsidiary characters… delighted most critics… It remains one of the most widely read of her works" (Drabble, 651). This copy in binding A, which is presumably the earlier of the two variant bindings and certainly the more difficult to find (Carter, 111). With 16-page catalogue of ads at the end of Volume III. CBEL III:465.

Volume I slightly shaken but quite sound, extremities of original cloth gently bumped, gilt very bright, front boards lightly toned at top. A near-fine copy of this important literary work.