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An Indiscretion in the Life of an Heiress
The authors lost novel.
A short novel with excruciating agony and a tragic ending.
A charming start for Hardy in his quest to tell sad stories of impossible love.
An Indiscretion in the Life of an Heiress (1878) is thought to be a revised version of Hardy's lost novel, The Poor Man and the Lady, an early work that the author destroyed. As Carl Weber wrote in his 1943 analysis, In An Indiscretion, just as in The Poor Man, the lovers meet in the Dorset church, and the meeting has the same result. The heiress commits her indiscretion, and the story comes to a characteristically Hardian conclusion.
A short novel with excruciating agony and a tragic ending.
A charming start for Hardy in his quest to tell sad stories of impossible love.
An Indiscretion in the Life of an Heiress (1878) is thought to be a revised version of Hardy's lost novel, The Poor Man and the Lady, an early work that the author destroyed. As Carl Weber wrote in his 1943 analysis, In An Indiscretion, just as in The Poor Man, the lovers meet in the Dorset church, and the meeting has the same result. The heiress commits her indiscretion, and the story comes to a characteristically Hardian conclusion.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 25, 2026
Despite what many of the other reviews on Goodreads of this book would have you believe, this was not Hardy’s first piece of writing, but instead a rewrite of a lost work, lost due to presumably being destroyed by Hardy, composed ten years later, at a point when he was already well into his career as a writer, four years after Far from the Madding Crowd and the same year as The Return of the Native.
And yeah, this definitely did not read like a book by an inexperienced writer to me. As far as I know, this was the only novella Hardy ever wrote, but wow, he honestly fit so much into it, and I never felt that it was rushed or overly compacted, except perhaps in the sense that he never really cut loose prose wise. The main character, Egbert, could very well be my favorite male character of Hardy’s, (which is a low bar, to be fair) and there were some genuinely emotionally affecting scenes here.
Now what follows is almost completely unfounded speculation on my part, but I find it interesting that Hardy initially destroyed the manuscript on which this was based, only to revisit it ten years later, and then never again after that. All of his other novels and short stories were reissued during his lifetime with introductions written by Hardy himself. Yet, it wasn’t until six years after his death that this was finally published outside of its initial magazine appearance, and even then only after his widow fought to suppress it.
Taken together, the story itself, Hardy’s unusual treatment of it, and his widow’s later attempts to suppress it make me suspect that this was a more personal work for him than he ever cared to publicly acknowledge. There are some unmissable parallels between Egbert and Hardy himself, namely Egbert’s literary breakthrough feels pretty reminiscent of Hardy’s with Far from the Madding Crowd, so it wouldn’t shock me if this were partly autobiographical, or if Hardy wrote it, at least in part, to exorcise some lingering personal pain. It reminded me of Jude the Obscure in that way, but instead of being bitter and sardonic throughout, it was much more melancholy and tender in its tone/emotional register.
Anyways this is a 4.5 star read for me, the only thing holding it back is that it's basically a two character story and the prose is not as luminous as Hardy's other novels, but again, it is a novella and I think the tenor of the prose may very well be by design. I definitely plan to revisit this one someday.
And yeah, this definitely did not read like a book by an inexperienced writer to me. As far as I know, this was the only novella Hardy ever wrote, but wow, he honestly fit so much into it, and I never felt that it was rushed or overly compacted, except perhaps in the sense that he never really cut loose prose wise. The main character, Egbert, could very well be my favorite male character of Hardy’s, (which is a low bar, to be fair) and there were some genuinely emotionally affecting scenes here.
Now what follows is almost completely unfounded speculation on my part, but I find it interesting that Hardy initially destroyed the manuscript on which this was based, only to revisit it ten years later, and then never again after that. All of his other novels and short stories were reissued during his lifetime with introductions written by Hardy himself. Yet, it wasn’t until six years after his death that this was finally published outside of its initial magazine appearance, and even then only after his widow fought to suppress it.
Taken together, the story itself, Hardy’s unusual treatment of it, and his widow’s later attempts to suppress it make me suspect that this was a more personal work for him than he ever cared to publicly acknowledge. There are some unmissable parallels between Egbert and Hardy himself, namely Egbert’s literary breakthrough feels pretty reminiscent of Hardy’s with Far from the Madding Crowd, so it wouldn’t shock me if this were partly autobiographical, or if Hardy wrote it, at least in part, to exorcise some lingering personal pain. It reminded me of Jude the Obscure in that way, but instead of being bitter and sardonic throughout, it was much more melancholy and tender in its tone/emotional register.
Anyways this is a 4.5 star read for me, the only thing holding it back is that it's basically a two character story and the prose is not as luminous as Hardy's other novels, but again, it is a novella and I think the tenor of the prose may very well be by design. I definitely plan to revisit this one someday.
November 16, 2013
A charming start for Hardy in his quest to tell sad stories of impossible love
November 4, 2017
A rather short piece of writing, I believe this was Thomas Hardy’s first try at telling a story.
All things considered I felt it was a solid 2 Stars. Not that I did not like the story, per say, I just feel there isn’t enough of one in here.
Characters: 2
Small range and almost no development. Things just sort of happen and while they do evoke some feeling out of me, I just wanted to finish the story and have it be over with regardless of what happened to the hero and heroine.
Plot: 3
There was actually a good premise of a plot here. My gripe is needing a lot more pages to really flesh it out, make me care make me want to know more. Really felt like a short story more then anything. Overall a very solid plot, but once again, not enough.
Setting: 2
Nothing special or unusual here. Very bland surroundings with names of towns thrown in but no real setting immersion. Somewhere close to London but far enough to feel suburban is all I got from it.
This being Hardy’s first work, I get it. My advice is to not begin with this if you’re not familiar with Hardy, like I was not. It does not produce a good first impression. Just a semi boring chore of a read. I hope he gets better, there has to be a reason he remains a published classic even today.
Roman “Ragnar”
All things considered I felt it was a solid 2 Stars. Not that I did not like the story, per say, I just feel there isn’t enough of one in here.
Characters: 2
Small range and almost no development. Things just sort of happen and while they do evoke some feeling out of me, I just wanted to finish the story and have it be over with regardless of what happened to the hero and heroine.
Plot: 3
There was actually a good premise of a plot here. My gripe is needing a lot more pages to really flesh it out, make me care make me want to know more. Really felt like a short story more then anything. Overall a very solid plot, but once again, not enough.
Setting: 2
Nothing special or unusual here. Very bland surroundings with names of towns thrown in but no real setting immersion. Somewhere close to London but far enough to feel suburban is all I got from it.
This being Hardy’s first work, I get it. My advice is to not begin with this if you’re not familiar with Hardy, like I was not. It does not produce a good first impression. Just a semi boring chore of a read. I hope he gets better, there has to be a reason he remains a published classic even today.
Roman “Ragnar”
May 27, 2022
well, that was depressing - but it *is* Hardy after all….
February 6, 2016
I consider Thomas Hardy as one of the all-time great writers, though this novella isn't among his finest compositions. It's still a good read, however, and is worth checking it out.
The main theme of a poor man falling in love with a rich lady is not uncommon in Hardy's fiction. He concocts some entertaining scenes here and there, though I was disappointed in the final chapter, as I felt the ending could've been stronger.
The main theme of a poor man falling in love with a rich lady is not uncommon in Hardy's fiction. He concocts some entertaining scenes here and there, though I was disappointed in the final chapter, as I felt the ending could've been stronger.
September 9, 2008
A short novel with excruciating agony and a tragic ending. Wait, isn't that what ALL of Hardy's books are about? Hardy's "Lost Novel" is clearly an unpolished work. I would recommend this only to students of his writings.
~Stephanie
~Stephanie
April 27, 2015
An interesting introduction to Thomas Hardy and his work. I have a Complete Works of him on kindle and will dip into it as I feel but will review each novel as I read them, this was my first ever read of anything by Hardy.
January 10, 2021
Not, as some people think, either lost or unpublished. Hardy’s first novel, extensively revised and abridged after early critique. It’s classic Hardy, with a theme of conflicted love set in the context of industrialisation, class conflict and individuals’ struggles with fate. It’s a charming story, not complex like his later, longer works, but it exemplifies Hardy’s literary style. The natural world is subtle evoked. Don’t be put off by negative reviews. If you like Hardy this is a great example of his developing views and style. Well worth your time.
January 8, 2023
i’m normally not one for realism but thomas hardy does scandal and tragic romance like no other
August 8, 2023
Everything and anything Hardy writes is top of the line. And that is because he puts you inside the shirts of the people we writes about. So glad I came across him.
April 18, 2021
The alpha and the omega.
Written c. 1878? First published 1939.
Written c. 1878? First published 1939.
October 6, 2016
well i'm glad i didn't stay up all night to finish this one.
April 28, 2016
Always ok to picked up a book that doesn't even have profile picture!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews