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Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), dreamed since his childhood of becoming a poet. However, he produced several popular works that cemented his reputation as a great novelist of the Victorian period, and earned him the admiration of later writers like D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. Hardy's stories are noted for their nuances of Romantic and Enlightenment thinking, particularly elements of the supernatural. «A Pair of Blues Eyes», published first serially and then as a novel in 1873, was inspired by Hardy's courtship of his first wife. The story is about a young woman, Elfride Swancourt, who is conflicted between the expectations of her family and society, and her own desires in regards to her choice of husband. Her two suitors reflect the social divides of the time, one an ambitious young man from the country, the other an older, well established man of society. Inevitably, Elfride must choose between her parents' wishes and her own heart.

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The native of Thomas Hardy's 1878 novel «The Return of the Native» is Clym (Clement) Yeobright, a young man who gives a successful career as a diamond merchant in Paris to return to his native Egdon Heath to become a Schoolmaster and to help educate poor and ignorant children. Clym's character is contrasted by Eustacia Vye, a beautiful young woman who longs to escape Egdon Heath for a more glamorous life elsewhere. Hearing of Clym's return she pursues him with hopes of him taking her away to that more glamorous life which she seeks. A captivating novel of the Victorian era, Hardy's «The Return of the Native» dramatically underscores the idea that regardless of our desires, in the end we are truly helpless to escape our destiny.

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Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), dreamed since his childhood of becoming a poet. However, he produced several popular works that cemented his reputation as a great novelist of the Victorian period, and earned him the admiration of later writers like D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. Hardy's stories are noted for their nuances of Romantic and Enlightenment thinking, particularly elements of the supernatural. One of what Hardy called his Novels of Ingenuity, «The Hand of Ethelberta» explores the class distinctions of Victorian England through the trials of Ethelberta Petherwin. By the age of 18, the humble governess and daughter of a butler marries well, only to become a widow two weeks later. In order to support her mother and ten siblings, clever Ethelberta quickly learns to navigate the complex social world as a poetess and storyteller, attracting four persistent suitors along the way. She must decide which man to bestow her hand upon while never revealing her humble origins.

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Thomas Hardy’s fourth novel, “Far from the Madding Crowd,” is a classic portrayal of 19th-century rural English life. It is the story of Gabriel Oak, a would-be shepherd, who falls for Bathsheba Everdene, a vain young woman, who comes to live with her aunt and uncle in the country. A set of unfortunate circumstances brings Gabriel into the employment of Bathsheba, an awkward situation given that she has already refused his offer of marriage. Bathsheba has no shortage of suitors. Amongst them include William Boldwood, a wealthy middle-aged farmer, whose affection she toys with, and Sergeant Francis Troy, a dashing young soldier whom she eventually marries. She soon learns that Francis is a thoughtless gambler with little interest in farming and likely does not really love her. The struggles of the heart are brilliantly depicted in this masterpiece of romantic literature as Bathsheba wrestles with the quest for true love versus the choice of a compatible match. A tragic tale of love, “Far from the Madding Crowd” is one the greatest romantic novels ever written, rich with the emotion and pathos that is characteristic of Thomas Hardy’s work. This edition includes a biographical afterword and an introduction by William T. Brewster.

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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 of the red mineral called reddle which farmers use to mark their sheep, giving aid to Thomasin Yeobright, whom he is in love with but has unsuccessfully wooed over the preceding two years. Diggory is helping Thomasin, who is in distress having left town with Damon Wildeve under the false promise of matrimony, return home to her aunt, Mrs. Yeobright. Damon has rebuffed Thomasin in favor of the beautiful young Eustacia Vye. However when Mrs. Yeobright’s son Clym, a successful diamond merchant, returns from Paris, Eustacia loses interest in Damon, seeing a relationship with Clym as an opportunity to escape the Heath in favor of a more glamorous and exciting locale. A classically modern novel, “The Return of the Native” presents a world of people struggling between their unfulfilled desires and the expectations of society. This edition is includes an introduction by J. W. Cunliffe and a biographical afterword.

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Set in the fictional town of Casterbridge, “The Mayor of Casterbridge” is Thomas Hardy’s tragic story of Michael Henchard, who over indulges in alcohol at a country fair and decides to auction off his wife and daughter to a sailor. When he recovers his sobriety, Mr. Henchard realizes his mistake, but it is too late to get his family back. Devastated by his impetuous actions he decides not to touch alcohol again for the next twenty-one years. The novel advances eighteen years to find the tee-totaling Henchard as the Mayor of Casterbridge and a successful grain merchant. When his wife and daughter return to town a precipitous decline in Henchard’s fortune is set in motion. One of Hardy’s Wessex novels, “The Mayor of Casterbridge” is a classic story of the terrible consequences of rash decisions that can be made under the influence of too much alcohol. This edition includes an introduction by Joyce Kilmer and a biographical afterword.

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Thomas Hardy’s final novel “Jude the Obscure” began as a serial publication on December 1894 before being published in book form the following year. It is the story of its titular character Jude Fawley, a young lower-class man with dreams of being a scholar, and his relationships with his wife, Arabella, and his free-spirited cousin, Sue Bridehead. The novel follows the life of Jude from his youth living in a village in southern England where he works in a bakery and studies Classical Greek and Latin in his spare time with hopes of one day becoming a scholar at Christminster, a fictional city modeled after Oxford. His dreams are dashed however when he becomes ensnared by deceit into marriage with Arabella Donn, a coarse and superficial girl. What follows is a classic and tragic tale that plays upon many themes, principally of which is the idea that one’s ruinous downfall is the product of having lived a sinful life. Having been harshly criticized in its day for its scandalous portrayals, “Jude the Obscure” has since been recognized as one of Hardy’s finest and most intricate works. This edition includes an introduction by Morton Dauwen Zabel and a biographical afterword.

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First published serially in 1891 in “The Graphic”, an illustrated British newspaper, “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” is one of the last novels written by Thomas Hardy. It is the titular story of Teresa “Tess” Durbeyfield, the oldest child of John and Joan Durbeyfield. The Durbeyfields are a poor family living in rural England who are led to believe by a local parson that they may actually be related to the d’Urbervilles, a noble Norman family. Trying to capitalize on this knowledge the Durbeyfields send a reluctant Tess to work at the d’Urberville’s estate, a rural mansion in the nearby town of Trantridge. Tess is able to secure a position as a poultry keeper on the estate when she draws the interest of the family’s libertine son, Alec. Tess dislikes Alec but endures his unwanted advances in order to help her family, a compromise that will ultimately lead to her ruin. Because it challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England, “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” was harshly criticized following its initial publication, however since that time it has come be regarded by many as Thomas Hardy’s fictional masterpiece.

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"O delivery my heart from this fearful gloom and loneliness," prays the passionate Eustacia Vye, who detests her life amid the dreary environs of Egdon Heath. With the return of Clym Yeobright from Paris, her escape for the heath and its brooding isolation appears to be at hand. Clym finds in Eustacia the same dark mystery of his native heath, and his irresistible attraction to them both leads to a clash of idealism and realism.Thomas Hardy's timeless tale of a romantic misalliance embodies his view of character as fate and underscores the tragic nature of ordinary human lives. Despite his grim outlook Hardy charms readers with the warmth and vitality of his characters, his loving portraits of the English countryside, and his realistic re-creations of local dialect. Shakespearean in its intricate plotting and deft irony, The Return of the Native ranks among the author's greatest works.

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The ne'er-do-well sire of a starving brood suddenly discovers a family connection to the aristocracy, and his selfish scheme to capitalize on their wealth sets a fateful plot in motion. Jack Durbeyfield dispatches his gentle daughter Tess to the home of their noble kin, anticipating a lucrative match between the lovely girl and a titled cousin. Innocent Tess finds the path of the d'Urberville estate paved with ruin in this gripping tale of the inevitability of fate and the tragic nature of existence.Subtitled A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, Thomas Hardy's sympathetic portrait of a blameless young woman's destruction first appeared in 1891. Its powerful indictment of Victorian hypocrisy, along with its unconventional focus on the rural lower class and its direct treatment of sexuality and religion, raised a ferocious public outcry. Tess of the D'Ubervilles is Hardy's penultimate novel; the pressures of critical infamy shortly afterward drove the author to abandon the genre in favor of poetry. Like his fictional heroine, the artist fell victim to a rigidly oppressive moral code. Today, Tess is regarded as Hardy's masterpiece, embodying all of the most profoundly moving elements of its creator's dark vision. No perspective on 19th-century fiction is complete without a consideration of this compelling tale, now available in an inexpensive and high-quality edition.

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