Book 1: Enter the tumultuous world of ambition and societal expectations with “Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy.” Hardy's novel follows Jude Fawley's quest for intellectual fulfillment and love, tackling themes of societal constraints, morality, and the pursuit of personal aspirations in the face of societal norms. Book 2: Explore the pastoral landscapes of rural England and the complexities of love in “Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.” Hardy weaves a tale of passion and tragedy as Bathsheba Everdene navigates the affections of three very different suitors, offering a nuanced exploration of relationships and the consequences of choice. Book 3: Witness the tragic journey of Tess Durbeyfield in “Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy.” Hardy's novel delves into the societal expectations placed on women, exploring themes of fate, morality, and the harsh realities of Victorian society through Tess's compelling and heartbreaking story.

Part First AT MARYGREEN "Yea, many there be that have run out of their wits for women, and become servants for their sakes. Many also have perished, have erred, and sinned, for women… O ye men, how can it be but women should be strong, seeing they do thus?"—Esdras. I The schoolmaster was leaving the village, and everybody seemed sorry. The miller at Cresscombe lent him the small white tilted cart and horse to carry his goods to the city of his destination, about twenty miles off, such a vehicle proving of quite sufficient size for the departing teacher's effects. For the schoolhouse had been partly furnished by the managers, and the only cumbersome article possessed by the master, in addition to the packing-case of books, was a cottage piano that he had bought at an auction during the year in which he thought of learning instrumental music. But the enthusiasm having waned he had never acquired any skill in playing, and the purchased article had been a perpetual trouble to him ever since in moving house. The rector had gone away for the day, being a man who disliked the sight of changes. He did not mean to return till the evening, when the new school-teacher would have arrived and settled in, and everything would be smooth again. The blacksmith, the farm bailiff, and the schoolmaster himself were standing in perplexed attitudes in the parlour before the instrument. The master had remarked that even if he got it into the cart he should not know what to do with it on his arrival at Christminster, the city he was bound for, since he was only going into temporary lodgings just at first.

The Woodlanders is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was serialised from May 1886 to April 1887 in Macmillan's Magazine[1] and published in three volumes in 1887.[2] It is one of his series of Wessex novels.

"See if she is dark or fair, and if you can, notice if her hands be white; if not, see if they look as though she had ever done housework, or are milker's hands like mine." So Rhoda Brook, the abandoned mistress of Farmer Lodge, is jealous to discover details of his new bride in 'The Withered Arm', the title story in this selection of Hardy's finest short stories. Hardy's first story, 'Destiny and a Blue Cloak' was written fresh from the success of Far From the Madding Crowd. Beautiful in their own right, these stories are also testing-grounds for the novels in their controversial sexual politics, their refusal of romance structures, and their elegiac pursuit of past, lost loves. Several of the stories in The Withered Arm were collected to form the famous volume, Wessex Tales (1888), the first time Hardy denoted 'Wessex' to describe his fictional world. The Withered Arm is the first of a new two-volume selection of Hardy's short stories, edited with an introduction and notes by Kristin Brady.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy from Coterie Classics All Coterie Classics have been formatted for ereaders and devices and include a bonus link to the free audio book. “Did it never strike your mind that what every woman says, some women may feel?” ― Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a heartbreaking tale of a woman going to every length to try and do what is right, only to have fate tease her at each turn.

This audiobook features the works of Thomas Hardy. The three novels included are 'Far From The Madding Crowd', 'Tess of the D'Urbevilles', and 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.

This is the annotated edition including a rare biographical essay on the life and works of the author. This compilation of Thomas Hardy's short stories is one of the most complete on the book market. Every single story was tracked down and integrated into this book. Hours of enjoyable reading lies ahead of you because Hardy was a real genius among the English fiction writers. From the contents: A Changed Man The Waiting Supper Alicia's Diary The Grave By The Handpost Enter A Dragoon A Tryst At An Ancient Earth Work What The Shepherd Saw: A Tale Of Four Moonlight Nights A Committee-Man Of 'The Terror' Master John Horseleigh, Knight The Duke's Reappearance—A Family Tradition A Mere Interlude The First Countess Of Wessex Barbara Of The House Of Grebe The Marchioness Of Stonehenge Lady Mottisfont The Lady Icenway Squire Petrick's Lady Anna, Lady Baxby The Lady Penelope The Duchess Of Hamptonshire The Honourable Laura The Son's Veto For Conscience' Sake A Tragedy Of Two Ambitions On The Western Circuit To Please His Wife The Melancholy Hussar Of The German Legion The Fiddler Of The Reels A Tradition Of Eighteen Hundred And Four A Few Crusted Characters Tony Kytes, The Arch-Deceiver The History Of The Hardcomes The Superstitious Man's Story Andrey Satchel And The Parson And Clerk Old Andrey's Experience As A Musician Absent-Mindedness In A Parish Choir The Winters And The Palmleys Incident In The Life Of Mr. George Crookhill Netty Sargent's Copyhold An Imaginative Woman The Three Strangers ... and many more ...

Beautifully illustrated biography of Hardy's life.

The novel is set in impoverished rural England, Thomas Hardy's fictional Wessex, during the Long Depression of the 1870s. Tess is the oldest child of John and Joan Durbeyfield, uneducated peasants. ... He notices Tess too late to dance with her, as he is already late for his promised return to his brothers.