4 volumes in 8 parts, 8vo. Printed advert slips in parts I-III, VI-VII; errata slips in parts III, VI. Original greenish-grey wrappers printed in black and red (spine ends chipped with losses, scattered soiling or darkening, small stain to upper cover of part VIII); slipcase. Provenance: J. Sotheran (booksellers' rubberstamp on upper covers); illegible ownership signature on upper cover of part I.

FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL PARTS. Daniel Deronda, Eliot’s final novel, follows an idealistic young aristocrat whose rescue of a young woman draws him into Jewish life in Victorian London. Remarkable for its unusually sympathetic treatment of Jewish identity and proto-Zionist thought, the novel proved among Eliot’s most controversial works. Yet despite some contemporary readers’ resistance to this aspect of the story, it was a commercial success, with approximately 8,000 copies of the parts issue sold. Baker & Ross A11.1.a.1; Parrish, pp.37-38; Sadleir 813.