Most Popular Books by Thomas Hardy

To dwellers in a wood almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature. At the passing of the breeze the fir-trees sob and moan no less distinctly than they rock; the holly whistles as it battles with itself; the ash hisses amid its quiverings; the beech rustles while its flat boughs rise and fall. And winter, which modifies the note of such trees as shed their leaves, does not destroy its individuality.

The man was of fine figure, swarthy, and stern in aspect; and he showed in profile a facial angle so slightly inclined as to be almost perpendicular. He wore a short jacket of brown corduroy, newer than the remainder of his suit, which was a fustian waistcoat with white horn buttons, breeches of the same, tanned leggings, and a straw hat overlaid with black glazed canvas. At his back he carried by a looped strap a rush basket, from which protruded at one end the crutch of a hay-knife, a wimble for hay-bonds being also visible in the aperture. His measured, springless walk was the walk of the skilled countryman as distinct from the desultory shamble of the general labourer; while in the turn and plant of each foot there was, further, a dogged and cynical indifference personal to himself, showing its presence even in the regularly interchanging fustian folds, now in the left leg, now in the right, as he paced along.

The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character is an 1886 novel by the English author Thomas Hardy. One of Hardy''s Wessex novels, it is set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing in for Dorchester in Dorset where the author spent his youth. It was first published as a weekly serialisation from January 1886.The novel is considered to be one of Hardy''s masterpieces, although it has been criticised for incorporating too many incidents: a consequence of the author trying to include something in every weekly published instalment.

Hardy published two novels, Tess of the d''Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895), which were his last long fiction works. The last novels challenged the sensibilities of Victorian readers with situations that ruffled many a Victorian feather: immoral sex, murder, illegitimate children, and the unmarried living together. Heated debate and criticism over these two books helped Hardy decide that he would rather write poetry.

Hardy tells the story of Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful young woman living with her impoverished family in Wessex, the southwestern English county immortalized by Hardy. After the family learns of their connection to the wealthy d''Urbervilles, they send Tess to claim a portion of their fortune. She meets and is seduced by the dissolute Alec d''Urberville and secretly bears a child, Sorrow, who dies in infancy. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer Tess love and salvation, but he rejects her - on their wedding night - after learning of her past. Emotionally bereft, financially impoverished, and victimized by the self-righteous rigidity of English social morality, Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act. Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination. -Irving Howe What a commonplace genius he has; or a genius for the commonplace - I don''t know which. -D. H. Lawrence The greatest tragic writer among English novelists. -Virginia Woolf A singular beauty and charm. -Henry James

Tess returns home, gives birth to a son, Sorrow, the product of the rape, and works as a field worker on nearby farms. Sorrow becomes ill and dies in infancy, leaving Tess devastated at her loss. Tess makes another journey away from home to nearby Talbothays Dairy to become a milkmaid to a good-natured dairyman, Mr. Crick. There she meets and falls in love with a travelling farmer''s apprentice, Angel Clare. She tries to resist Angel''s pleas for her hand in marriage but eventually marries Angel.

Far from the Madding Crowd is Thomas Hardy''s fourth novel and his first major literary success. It originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine, where it gained a wide readership. The novel is the first to be set in Thomas Hardy''s Wessex in rural southwest England.

Classic edition of Thomas Hardy''s impassioned novel of courtship in rural life. In Thomas Hardy''s first major literary success, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy, and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. One of his first works set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, Hardy''s novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships. This edition, based on Hardy''s original 1874 manuscript, is the complete novel he never saw published, and restores its full candor and innovation. Rosemarie Morgan''s introduction discusses the history of its publication, as well as the biblical and classical allusions that permeate the novel. Far from the Madding Crowd, were listed in the top 50 on the BBC''s survey The Big Read.

Hardy tells the story of Tess Durbeyfield, a beautiful young woman living with her impoverished family in Wessex, the southwestern English county immortalized by Hardy. After the family learns of their connection to the wealthy d''Urbervilles, they send Tess to claim a portion of their fortune. She meets and is seduced by the dissolute Alec d''Urberville and secretly bears a child, Sorrow, who dies in infancy. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer Tess love and salvation, but he rejects her - on their wedding night - after learning of her past. Emotionally bereft, financially impoverished, and victimized by the self-righteous rigidity of English social morality, Tess escapes from her vise of passion through a horrible, desperate act. Like the greatest characters in literature, Tess lives beyond the final pages of the book as a permanent citizen of the imagination. -Irving Howe What a commonplace genius he has; or a genius for the commonplace - I don''t know which. -D. H. Lawrence The greatest tragic writer among English novelists. -Virginia Woolf A singular beauty and charm. -Henry James

Far from the Madding Crowd is a novel by 19th century English novelist Thomas Hardy, published in 1874. The title is apt, as the life of the book''s heroine, Bathsheba Everdene, living in the quiet rural village of Weatherbury is indeed disrupted by the "madding crowd". After shunning the first man to love her, the shepherd Gabriel Oak, she is courted by two others: the lonely and repressed farmer Boldwood, and the charming but faithless Sergeant Troy. The role of fate is clearly established, with each twist and turn in the book being more luck than the choice of one of the characters. The book is widely seen as Hardy''s first masterpiece

Classic edition of Thomas Hardy''s impassioned novel of courtship in rural life. In Thomas Hardy''s first major literary success, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy, and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. One of his first works set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, Hardy''s novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships. This edition, based on Hardy''s original 1874 manuscript, is the complete novel he never saw published, and restores its full candor and innovation. Rosemarie Morgan''s introduction discusses the history of its publication, as well as the biblical and classical allusions that permeate the novel. Far from the Madding Crowd, was listed in the top 50 on the BBC''s survey The Big Read.

Classic edition of Thomas Hardy''s impassioned novel of courtship in rural life. In Thomas Hardy''s first major literary success, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy, and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. One of his first works set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, Hardy''s novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships. This edition, based on Hardy''s original 1874 manuscript, is the complete novel he never saw published, and restores its full candor and innovation. Rosemarie Morgan''s introduction discusses the history of its publication, as well as the biblical and classical allusions that permeate the novel. Far from the Madding Crowd, was listed in the top 50 on the BBC''s survey The Big Read.

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Two on a Tower’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Thomas Hardy’. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Hardy includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily. eBook features: * The complete unabridged text of ‘Two on a Tower’ * Beautifully illustrated with images related to Hardy’s works * Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook * Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

Tess Durbeyfield is a 16-year-old simple country girl, the eldest daughter of John and Joan Durbeyfield. In a chance meeting with Parson Tringham along the road one night, John Durbeyfield discovers that he is the descendent of the d''Urbervilles, an ancient, monied family who had land holdings as far back as William the Conqueror in 1066. Upon this discovery, the financially strapped Durbeyfield family learns of a nearby "relative," and John and his wife Joan send Tess to "claim kin" in order to alleviate their impoverished condition. While visiting the d''Urbervilles at The Slopes, Tess meets Alec d''Urberville, who finds himself attracted to Tess. Alec arranges for Tess to become the caretaker for his blind mother''s poultry, and Tess moves to The Slopes to take up the position. While in residence at the d''Urbervilles, Alec seduces and rapes Tess.Tess returns home, gives birth to a son, Sorrow, the product of the rape, and works as a field worker on nearby farms. Sorrow becomes ill and dies in infancy, leaving Tess devastated at her loss. Tess makes another journey away from home to nearby Talbothays Dairy to become a milkmaid to a good-natured dairyman, Mr. Crick. There she meets and falls in love with a travelling farmer''s apprentice, Angel Clare. She tries to resist Angel''s pleas for her hand in marriage but eventually marries Angel. He does not know Tess'' past, although she has tried on several occasions to tell him. After the wedding, Tess and Angel confess their pasts to each other. Tess forgives Angel for his past indiscretions, but Angel cannot forgive Tess for having a child with another man.

The novel is the first to be set in Thomas Hardy''s Wessex in rural southwest England. It deals in themes of love, honour and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian England. It describes the life and relationships of Bathsheba Everdene with her lonely neighbour William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy. Thomas Hardy, OM, was an English author of the naturalist movement, although in several poems he displays elements of the previous romantic and enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural. He regarded himself primarily as a poet and composed novels mainly for financial gain. The bulk of his work, set mainly in the semi-fictional land of Wessex, delineates characters struggling against their passions and circumstancesTHE RETURN OF THE NATIVEby Thomas Hardy 130 -7 10Thomas Hardy, OM, was an English author of the naturalist movement, although in several poems he displays elements of the previous romantic and enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural. He regarded himself primarily as a poet and composed novels mainly for financial gain. The bulk of his work, set mainly in the semi-fictional land of Wessex, delineates characters struggling against their passions and circumstances

Classic edition of Thomas Hardy''s impassioned novel of courtship in rural life. In Thomas Hardy''s first major literary success, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy, and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. One of his first works set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, Hardy''s novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships. This edition, based on Hardy''s original 1874 manuscript, is the complete novel he never saw published, and restores its full candor and innovation. Rosemarie Morgan''s introduction discusses the history of its publication, as well as the biblical and classical allusions that permeate the novel. Far from the Madding Crowd, were listed in the top 50 on the BBC''s survey The Big Read.

The novels of Thomas Hardy have a permanent place on every booklover''s shelf, yet little is known about the interior life of the man who wrote them. A believer and an unbeliever, a socialist and a snob, an unhappy husband and a desolate widower, Hardy challenged the sexual and religious conventions of his time in his novels and then abandoned fiction to reestablish himself as a great twentieth-century lyric poet. In this acclaimed new biography, Claire Tomalin, one of today''s preeminent literary biographers, investigates this beloved writer and reveals a figure as rich and complex as his tremendous legacy.

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy The Return of the Native is Thomas Hardy''s sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878. Because of the novel''s controversial themes, Hardy had some difficulty finding a publisher; reviews, however, though somewhat mixed, were generally positive. In the twentieth century, The Return of the Native became one of Hardy''s most popular novels. The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath, and, with the exception of the epilogue, Aftercourses, covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy Fawkes Night as Diggory Venn is slowly crossing the heath with his van, which is being drawn by ponies. In his van is a passenger. When darkness falls, the country folk light bonfires on the surrounding hills, emphasising--not for the last time--the pagan spirit of the heath and its denizens.

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy Jude the Obscure, the last completed of Thomas Hardy''s novels, began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895. Its protagonist, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man, a stonemason, who dreams of becoming a scholar. The other main character is his cousin, Sue Bridehead, who is also his central love interest. The novel is concerned in particular with issues of class, education, religion and marriage.

Far From the Madding Crowd was first published in 1874. The fourth of Thomas Hardy''s novels, it marked a turning point in his career as his first major success; it was the second novel which he published under his own name (his first two publications were anonymous). In the early 1870s, Leslie Stephens (the father of author Virginia Woolf) was the editor of the Cornhill Magazine, which had a good reputation for publishing literary works. Stephens read Hardy''s second novel Under the Greenwood Tree and admired it, so he tracked down the author and asked Hardy if he would be interested in writing a novel to be published in the Cornhill.

The arrival of two newcomers in the quiet village of Mellstock arouses a bitter feud and leaves a convoluted love affair in its wake. While the Reverend Maybold creates a furore among the village''s musicians with his decision to abolish the church''s traditional ''string choir'' and replace it with a modern mechanical organ, the new schoolteacher, Fancy Day, causes an upheaval of a more romantic nature, winning the hearts of three very different men - a local farmer, a church musician and Maybold himself. Under the Greenwood Tree follows the ensuing maze of intrigue and passion with gentle humour and sympathy, deftly evoking the richness of village life, yet tinged with melancholy for a rural world that Hardy saw fast disappearing.

Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School is a novel by the English writer Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy''s second published novel, and the first of what was to become his series of Wessex novels.

Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School is a novel by the English writer Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy''s second published novel, and the first of what was to become his series of Wessex novels.

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy describes the love triangle of a young woman, Elfride Swancourt, and her two suitors from very different backgrounds. Stephen Smith is a socially inferior but ambitious young man who adores her and with whom she shares a country background. Henry Knight is the respectable, established, older man who represents London society. Although the two are friends, Knight is not aware of Smith''s previous liaison with Elfride. Elfride finds herself caught in a battle between her heart, her mind and the expectations of those around her - her parents and society. When Elfride''s father finds that his guest and candidate for his daughter''s hand, architect''s assistant Stephen Smith, is the son of a mason, he immediately orders him to leave. Knight, who is a relative of Elfride''s stepmother, is later on the point of seeking to marry Elfride, but ultimately rejects her when he learns she had been previously courted. Elfride, out of desperation, marries a third man, Lord Luxellian. The conclusion finds both suitors travelling together to Elfride, both intent on claiming her hand, and neither knowing either that she is already married or that they are accompanying her corpse and coffin as they travel. Thomas Hardy was an English novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement. The bulk of his work, set mainly in the semi-imaginary county of Wessex, delineates characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. Hardy''s poetry, first published in his fifties, has come to be as well regarded as his novels, especially after the 1960s Movement.

Young Tess Durbeyfield attempts to restore her family''s fortunes by claiming their connection with the aristocratic d''Urbervilles. But Alec d''Urberville is a rich wastrel who seduces her and makes her life miserable. When Tess meets Angel Clare, she is offered true love and happiness, but her past catches up with her and she faces an agonizing moral choice.Hardy''s indictment of society''s double standards, and his depiction of Tess as "a pure woman," caused controversy in his day and has held the imagination of readers ever since. Hardy thought it his finest novel, and Tess the most deeply felt character he ever created.

Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy