Book with Art Nouveau bookplate belonging to Florence Emily Dugdale, Later Florence Hardy, Second wife of Thomas Hardy. The Fairy Mythology. Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries.

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Book with bookplate belonging to Florence Emily Dugdale, second wife of Thomas Hardy, published in 1905, the year Florence Dugdale and Thomas Hardy first met. Florence Emily Dugdale was one of five daughters of the schoolmaster Edward Dugdale, who ran a small bookshop in Enfield for a time and encouraged his daughter's early love of literature. Florence had been an admirer of Thomas Hardy's novels for some time before their first meeting in August 1905 (initiated by her), and after the visit she received an encouraging letter from Hardy: ".I do not think you stayed at all too long, & hope you will come again some other time.". "From the very first Hardy felt attracted to Miss Dugdale by her quiet seriousness, her large solemn eyes, her literary ambitions, and, not least, her open admiration of him as a great author". I presume that the book, along with Florence's other possessions, would have gone to 'Max Gate' after the couple were married and become a part of the library there. The bookplate is pasted to reverse of the front free endpaper and is in the Art Nouveau in style and features a lady wearing a large bonnet carrying several books under her arm, and is possibly a portrait of Florence herself. I can find no other examples of the bookplate but it appears to fit one described in Michael Millgate's book "Thomas Hardy?s Library at Max Gate: Catalogue of an Attempted Reconstruction". Millgate states that Hardy himself did not have any bookplates printed or inserted but that "A large and somewhat romantically illustrated bookplate used by Florence Dugdale prior to her marriage is found in a very few volumes.". In 2001, Sotheby's of London sold "Florence Hardy's personal copy of THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE, a later edition with her bookplate and not inscribed by Thomas Hardy", for £8,500. Thomas Hardy's library at Max Gate contained a few fairy tale books. Fairy imagery became especially popular in the Victorian era and Hardy himself uses a fairy ring as a symbol of lost love in The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886); the character Michael Henchard passes a fairy ring and remembers that he last saw his wife Susan when he sold her to a sailor in a drunken rage. Florence Emily Dugdale (1879 ? 1937), a writer of children's stories and was born in Edmonton, London, the daughter of school headmaster Edward Dugdale. In 1897 she became a fully qualified teacher at St Andrew's and was also companion to Lady Stoker, wife of Sir Thornley Stoker, brother of Bram, author of Dracula. Florence first met Thomas Hardy in 1905 aged 26. She became his passionate friend and helper, and eventually stopped teaching in 1908 - both to assist Hardy and begin her writing career. In 1912 she published her first book - The Book of Baby Birds - with Hardy's contribution. In the same year, Hardy's wife Emma died, and she moved into Max Gate, Dorchester, Dorset, in 1913. In 1914 they married at St Andrew's Church, Enfield, despite the 39 year age difference. During the marriage Florence found herself increasingly in the shadow of Emma (whom, ironically, Thomas had neglected whilst she was alive). Thomas's frantic and subdued love poetry - obviously written with Emma in mind - was a cause of embarrassment and misery for Florence. Nevertheless, in 1928, when Hardy finally died aged 87, she was so stricken with grief that a doctor was required. The Hardys befriended T. E. Lawrence, and Florence attended his funeral. Florence Hardy died at Max Gate, the home she had shared with Thomas, of cancer, aged 58. She was cremated in Woking Crematorium, and her ashes were buried in Stinsford churchyard, where Hardy's heart and his first wife were interred. Book meaures 18.5 x 13 x 4.5 cm. Boards are a little marked and rubbed, else fine. Binding sound. Contents very clean & complete. Remnants of tissue guard to gutter of title page. Slight 'cracking' between pages 384/5. Lower right corner missing to pages 9 & 11 of publisher's 32 page catalogue to rear. N° de ref. del artículo 000885

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