Hardy distrusted the application of nineteenth-century empiricism to history because he felt it marginalized important human elements. In The Trumpet Major, the tale of a woman courted by three competing suitors during the Napoleonic wars, he explores the subversive effects of ordinary human desire and conflicting loyalties on systematized versions of history.

Nightmare Abbey is a Gothic topical satire in which the author pokes light-hearted fun at the romantic movement in contemporary English literature, in particular its obsession with morbid subjects, misanthropy and transcendental philosophical systems. Most of the characters in the novella are based on historical figures whom Peacock wishes to pillory.Insofar as Nightmare Abbey may be said to have a plot, it follows the fortunes of Christopher Glowry, Esquire, a mor...

This book brings together expert opinions from scientists to consider the evidence for climate change and its impacts on ticks and tick-borne infections. It considers what is meant by 'climate change', how effective climate models are in relation to ecosystems, and provides predictions for changes in climate at global, regional and local scales relevant for ticks and tick-borne infections. It examines changes to tick distribution and the evidence that climate change is responsible. The eff...

"Desperate Remedies" unfurls as a gripping narrative of mystery, romance, and suspense, marking Thomas Hardy's foray into the literary world. Centered on Cytherea Graye, a young woman ensnared in a web of deceit, love, and ambition, the novel traverses her tumultuous journey as she navigates the complexities of Victorian society. Engaging with themes of power, gender, and morality, Hardy intricately weaves a tale that explores the lengths to which individuals will go when faced with desper...

First published in the year 1873, 'A Pair of Blue Eyes' by Thomas Hardy describes the love triangle of a young woman, Elfride Swancourt, and her two suitors from very different backgrounds. Stephen Smith is a socially inferior but ambitious young man who adores her and with whom she shares a country background. Henry Knight is the respectable, established, older man who represents London society. Although the two are friends, Knight is not aware of Smith's previous liaison with Elfride.

In "The Woodlanders," Thomas Hardy intricately weaves a narrative that explores the complexities of love, social class, and the conflict between individual desires and societal expectations. Set in the idyllic yet harsh landscape of rural England, this novel shines through Hardy's characteristic prose: vivid imagery and psychological depth dominate the storytelling. The plot, centered around the lives of the woodland inhabitants, evokes the naturalistic literary movement of the late 19th c...

This is the annotated edition including a rare biographical essay on the life and works of the author. "Under the Greenwood Tree" is a year-long rural idyl. The nine chapters of the first part entitled "Winter," are taken up with a wonderfully humorous description of the old-fashioned wind-instrument choir of the parish of Mellstock trudging around on Christmas night to serenade every dweller in the parish, and with an equally humorous description of the party given by honest Reuben Dewey,...

Charles Dickens's Dombey and Son (1846–48) is a searching Victorian novel of commerce, family, and emotional blindness, centered on Paul Dombey, a proud merchant who values his son as an heir to the firm while neglecting the daughter whose love might redeem him. Written in Dickens's richly theatrical, satirical, and melodramatic mode, the novel blends domestic tragedy with social panorama, exposing the moral costs of industrial capitalism, patriarchal authority, and class aspiration in mid...

Hardy's masterpiece traces a poor stonemason's ill-fated romance with his free-spirited cousin. No Victorian institution is spared — marriage, religion, education — and the outrage following publication led the embittered author to renounce fiction. Modern critics hail this novel as a pioneering work of feminism and socialist thought.

HarperCollins is proud to present one of Hardy's most popular novels, and now a major film, from our range of timeless literary classics.‘I shall do one thing in this life – one thing certain – that is, love you, and long for you, and keep wanting you till I die’Independent and spirited, Bathsheba Everdene owns the hearts of three men. Striving to win her love in different ways, their relationships with Bathsheba complicate her life in bucolic Wessex – and cast shadows over...