Thomas Hardy

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...

Diamond merchant Clym Yeobright, tired of life in Paris, returns to quiet Egdon Heath to become a schoolmaster, and attracts the attention of the free-spirited Eustacia Vye who is very disappointed when she realizes Clym has come home to stay.

Jude Fawley, a poor stone carver with aspirations toward an academic career, is thwarted at every turn and is finally forced to give up his dreams of a university education. He is tricked into an unwise marriage, and when his wife deserts him, he begins a relationship with a free-spirited cousin. With this begins the descent into bleak tragedy as the couple alternately defy and succumb to the pressures of a deeply disapproving society.

The Selected Works of Thomas Hardy includes many of the esteemed author's best-known works: Far From the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure.

Influenced by the Romantics, Hardy's novels are deeply critical of the constraints of Victorian society, particularly those placed on women and the poor.

HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding

...

Jocelyn Pierston, a successful sculptor, is helpless in the face of 'the well-beloved': the manifestation of perfect womanhood that seems to move like a will-o'-the-wisp from one acquaintance to the next. It shapes his whole life. Where his artistry involves permanence — cold stone objects — his heart is caught by ephemeral beauty. After years spent in London, a return to his rocky birthplace, the Isle of Slingers, sparks Pierston's extraordinary...

This story began around Christmas, when a group of guys from the village of Melstock walked and sang carols. It was then that the cab driver Dick Dewey saw and fell in love at first sight with the new teacher Fancy Day who had just arrived. She is also looked after by a wealthy farmer Shiner, whom Father Day favors, and pastor Maybold, who considers himself the most suitable party for Fancy. But the story did not begin in vain on the fabulous days...

Based on the literary classic by Thomas Hardy about Bathsheba Everdene who is an independent woman who attracts three different suitors: a sheep farmer; a dashing soldier; and a prosperous, older bachelor. This timeless story of Bathsheba's passions explores the nature of relationships, love and resilience.

When the beautiful and innocent Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting the manipulative Alec proves to be her downfall.

Uncertain of her future but unwilling to sacrifice her freedom, Bathsheba rejects the proposal of Gabriel Oak only to become his employer. Still in love, Gabriel can only watch as Bathsheba flirts with her neighbor, Mr. Boldwood unleashing a passionate obsession within the reserved Boldwood. Both men forsake their hearts, however, upon the arrival of the dashing soldier Frank Troy. Despite being in love with another woman himself, Troy sees a challenge...