An association between Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure and the year 1925 is incorrect. The novel was originally published in 1895, though later editions or reprints were made in 1925.
Key facts about the novel:
Jude the Obscure (1895): It is Thomas Hardy's final and most controversial novel. The book was met with outrage from Victorian critics and the public for its candid treatment of sex, religion, education, and marriage.
The plot: The story follows the ambitious stonemason Jude Fawley, who longs to attend the university in the city of "Christminster" (modeled on Oxford) but is held back by his social class and unfortunate relationships. He has a disastrous marriage with a working-class woman named Arabella before falling in love with his intellectual and unconventional cousin, Sue Bridehead. Their struggles against societal conventions lead to tragedy.
The controversy: The novel's provocative themes led to intense backlash. Reviewers attacked the book as "obscene," and one bishop reportedly burned a copy. This criticism was so distressing to Hardy that he gave up writing novels entirely, focusing instead on poetry.
Inspiration from Hardy's life: The novel contains several parallels to Hardy's own experiences. Like Jude, Hardy was a working-class man who yearned for a university education but could not afford one. The tumultuous relationship between Jude and Sue and their differing views on religion also reflect the increasing estrangement in Hardy's first marriage.
1925 edition: While the novel was published in 1895, 1925 is a year of a later reprint. In his later life, Hardy continued to make minor revisions to the text for various new editions. By the 1920s, with a more modern readership, the novel was part of Hardy's established legacy.