Does Dick fancy Fancy and does Fancy fancy Dick (Under the Greenwood Tree - Thomas Hardy)

Member Name: MisterReview

Product:	Under the Greenwood Tree - Thomas Hardy
Date:	11/07/09 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A 'nice' introduction to a great author.

Disadvantages: None

It was once my intention to get through everything that Thomas Hardy had written, and as part of this quest I figured it would be a good idea to start somewhere near the beginning.

The Poor Man and the Lady was really out of the question, so I plumped for this, Under the Greenwood Tree.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it is here I must stress something: I rarely approach a book as a piece of literature to be studied. I generally just want to be told a good story which I can enjoy. That is not to say I won't think about the issues and other concerns the writer had at some point in the future - that is why non-novelists might choose to write history books.

Essentially this is a love story, a romance. What it also is, is a wonderful painting of British rural life in the nineteenth century, particularly English rural life and specifically Dorset etc, i.e. the fictional Wessex.

The plot revolves around two characters Dick Dewy, a church musician and Fancy Day a new school-mistress in the village. As with any romantic story there is generally a third party involved, and some complications usually arise, but true to Hardy fashion, there are difficulties. These difficulties don't have the size and complications we see introduced into Hardy's later works, and in relative terms this book has a 'feel-good' factor to it.

Like I said I enjoy a good story first, but Hardy really does transport you back in time and place to that wonderful rural idyll we imagine, but be warned! If you have never read Hardy and you decide to work your way through his books, any idyllic vision of the rural past you may have had will eventually be replaced by the harsh reality of living in these times and places.

This is a nice gentle start to Hardy, but be prepared for harsh reality, the further into his works you get.

Summary: A book with feelgood factor