Five Novels: Far from the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure

by Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy wrote with compassion about simple people whose lives are altered dramatically by forces beyond their control. In the novels selected for this unique literary omnibus - Far From the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the d'Ubervilles, and Jude the Obscure - Hardy follows the tragedies and triumphs of natives of his Wessex countryside who are challenged by deteriorating traditions, repressive social institutions, and changes wrought by the modernization that typified the Victorian Era.

Hardy mapped a rugged and imaginative terrain within the human heart and wrote expressively of characters ennobled by their struggle to survive in a world of shifting values.

Thomas Hardy: Five Novels is part of Barnes & Noble's Library of Essential Writers. Each title in the series presents the finest works - complete and unabridged - from one of the greatest writers in literature in magnificent, elegantly designed hard-back editions. Every volume also includes an original introduction that provides the reader with enlightening information on the writer's life and works.

Genres: Fiction

1288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2014

About the author

Thomas Hardy, OM, was an English author of the naturalist movement, although in several poems he displays elements of the previous romantic and enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural. He regarded himself primarily as a poet and composed novels mainly for financial gain.

The bulk of his work, set mainly in the semi-fictional land of Wessex, delineates characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. Hardy's poetry, first published in his 50s, has come to be as well regarded as his novels, especially after The Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

The term cliffhanger is considered to have originated with Thomas Hardy's serial novel A Pair of Blue Eyes in 1873. In the novel, Hardy chose to leave one of his protagonists, Knight, literally hanging off a cliff staring into the stony eyes of a trilobite embedded in the rock that has been dead for millions of years. This became the archetypal — and literal — cliff-hanger of Victorian prose.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Hardy. He covers the middle class and gets in the dirt in at least two of the novels. He makes the English more likeable than the Brontes. I am still scratching my head over Jude the Obscure. I am confused, but there are few characters that were screwed as royally as Jude. Tess is a pathetic creature. Is his message "avoid marriage" or simply do not let others opinion rule you. I choose the later. Far from the Madding Crowd is also good. It had the only character that I actually liked. Oak is a very likable character. This book is your one stop shop for Hardy.

[William E. Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Hardy when in high school and then wanted to read him again. This read was everything I ever wanted from Thomas Hardy. I am so very glad to have had the experience . But now I can move on.