Thomas Hardy

The life of a simple country girl in nineteenth-century England is destroyed by her father's determination to use her in order to regain the family's former social standing.

One of Hardy’s most powerful novels, The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with a shocking and haunting scene: In a drunken rage, Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to a visiting sailor at a local fair. When they return to Casterbridge some nineteen years later, Henchard—having gained power and success as the mayor—finds he cannot erase the past or the guilt that consumes him. The Mayor of Casterbridge is a rich,...

Tess Durbeyfield attempts to restore her family's fortunes by claiming their connection with the the aristocratic d'Urbervilles. After Alec d'Urberville seduces her and makes her life miserable, she meets and falls in love with Angel Clare.

Under the Greenwood Tree is an affectionate and youthful portrait of a world Hardy knew well - village life in 'Wessex' - in which a romantic tale is set against changing circumstances. The traditional feature of local music-making performed by the village band and choir is challenged by the modern innovation of organ and organist providing music in the church. Fancy Day, the new, comely school mistress is also an accomplished organist, and these...

A poor workman named Michael Henchard, in a fit of drunken rage, sells his wife and baby daughter to a stranger at a country fair. Stricken with remorse, Henchard forswears alcohol and works hard to become a prosperous businessman and the respected mayor of Casterbridge. But he cannot erase his past.

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...

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...

Tess Durbeyfield is a luminous beauty who is violated by one man and forsaken by another, but she refuses to remain a victim. Her struggle to endure despite the abandonment of her true love, and despite her desperate attempt to attain happiness, propels Tess toward a tragic end.

The baby is mortally ill. Because Tess's father refuses to let him be baptized in a church, she is forced to perform the ceremony herself, calling him "Sorrow." The baby dies. Tess pleads with Parson Tringham to allow the baby to be buried in the churchyard, but the parson says he cannot permit this, so Tess digs a small grave for Sorrow in a field next to the church, on unconsecrated ground. Tess leaves home and finds work at a dairy farm, a happy...

John Durbeyfield, a "haggler" and a drunk, is weaving his way one afternoon towards the pub when he meets the village priest, Parson Tringham. The priest informs him that his family has distinguished ancestry. They are descended from the d'Urbervilles, a wealthy, though now extinct, clan. John Durbeyfield's daughter, the beautiful Tess is dancing along with the other village girls at the May Day parade. There she spies a handsome young stranger joining...