Thomas Hardy

First published serially between January and December of 1878 in the sensationalistic monthly London magazine "Belgravia", Thomas Hardy's "The Return of the Native" is the author's sixth published novel. Set in Egdon Heath, an area of Thomas Hardy's fictionalized Wessex known for the thorny evergreen shrubs, called furze or gorse, which are cut there by its residents for fuel. When the story begins, on Guy Fawkes Night, we find Diggory Venn, a merchant...

Thomas Hardy's "The Woodlanders" was first published serially in 1887. The tale takes place in the woodland village of Little Hintock and is centers around the romantic dramas of its inhabitants. The story begins with Giles Winterborne, an honest woodsman, who wishes to marry his childhood sweetheart, Grace Melbury. While the two have been informally betrothed to each other since they were young, Grace gains an education through her father's persistent...

A young woman, Cytherea Graye, is forced by poverty to accept a post as lady's maid to the eccentric Miss Aldclyffe, the woman whom her father had loved but had been unable to marry. Cytherea loves a young architect, Edward Springrove, but Miss Adclyffe's machinations, the discovery that Edward is already engaged to a woman whom he does not love, and the urgent need to support a sick brother drive Cytherea to accept the hand of Aeneas Manston, Miss...

In "Two on a Tower," a love story set against the background of the stellar universe, Hardy defied social norms of the day and shocked his readers. In what is today seen as the author's most important portrayal of love across physical and societal divides, the novel tells the story of Lady Constantine, a married, older, aristocratic, religious woman who falls in love with Swithin St. Cleeve, a young astronomer, single, lower class, and agnostic. Hardy's...

Set in the Isle of Slingers modelled on the Isle of Portland the novel continues to explore Hardy's favourite themes of relationships, exploration of human nature and human nature. The story follows Jocelyn Pierston, a celebrated sculptor who tries to create an image of his ideal woman in stone and attempting to find her in the flesh.

The second collection of poetry from the author of such classics as Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd. Although well known for his novels, like Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy also wrote poetry throughout his life. Poems of the Past and the Present is Hardy's second volume of poetry, originally published in 1901. This wide-ranging collection is divided into five sections: War Poems, Poems of Pilgrimage, Miscellaneous Poems,...

Set against the backdrop of rural Victorian England, Tess of the d'Urbervilles explores the tragic journey of Tess Durbeyfield, a young woman burdened by her family's newfound, but hollow, connection to nobility. As Tess navigates the rigid social structures of her time, she faces exploitation, betrayal, and societal judgment, challenging the moral and sexual conventions of the 19th century. Hardy delves into themes of fate, innocence, and the...