The Trumpet Major - Thomas Hardy

The Withered Arm - Thomas Hardy

To be blunt, this story was very strange, yet highly original. The story is set in Hardy's Wessex and begins with a lone milk maid and her son. We are first introduced to Rhoda Brooks, a lonely milkmaid who works for a man called 'Farmer Lodge'. From, the first chapter we can gather that there used to be an affair that took place between Rhoda and Lodge which resulted and ended with a young boy. They live alone in a small, dilapitated hut and Farmer Lodge, we are told, has not acknowledged Rhoda or his child ever since. the affair ended. 'He ha'n't spoke to Rhoda Brook for years.' Farmer Lodge is introduced next, coming back to his house with his young new wife, pretty Gertrude. ...

The Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy

This is my favourite author and 'Return of the Native' is for me, the best book ever written so I can't recommend this enough. I had to read this for part of my English teaching degree and I wasn't really looking forward to it. It looked dense, depressing and dreary! The first chapter, full of the local dialect doesn't exactly draw you in but as soon as the real story starts I couldn't put this down. It is such a beautiful book, he describes the wilderness landscape in detail, allowing the reader to be drawn into the atmosphere and setting. The story has many twists and turns but is essentially about finding love. The characters are all well-developed, particularly ...

The Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy

Think of Thomas Hardy and you think of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Far From the Madding Crowd and The Mayor of Casterbridge. Personally, I adore all these books and have read them many times but for me they don't always do justice to Hardy's amazing talents. It is in books such as Return of the Native that his true skills - that of engrossing you completely in a evermore fantastic story - are demonstrated truly. The Return of The Native tells the story of two cousins from the Yeobright family and the relationships each has. Each cousin's choice of partner is disapproved of by their families - as ever with young love this makes them more determined to ...