{"title":"Books by Thomas Hardy","description":"\u003cp\u003eThomas Hardy stands as one of the defining voices of nineteenth‑century English literature, celebrated for his vivid portrayals of rural Wessex and his unflinching insight into human struggle. His novels, including enduring classics such as *Tess of the d'Urbervilles* and *Far from the Madding Crowd*, capture a world in transition, where tradition collides with the forces of modernity. Hardy's finely tuned prose and deep empathy for his characters reveal the complexities of fate, love, and social convention.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeyond his fiction, Hardy's poetry cemented his reputation as a writer of remarkable emotional range and technical precision. His verse, often meditative and elegiac, mirrors the same keen observation and moral questioning that shaped his prose. Together, his works form a rich and timeless portrait of human endurance, making Hardy an essential figure for readers drawn to the beauty and melancholy of the English countryside.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAre you this author? Drop us a line to update your details \u003cb\u003ehello@bookcurl.com\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"tess-of-the-durbervilles-1-faber-young-adult-classics-9780571337033","title":"Tess of the dUrbervilles 1 Faber Young Adult","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the starving Durbeyfields from the small village of Marlott discover a connection to the wealthy D''Urbervilles, they send their beautiful daughter Tess to the D''Urberville mansion to claim kinship and restore their fortunes with a lucrative match. But can she convince her handsome ''cousin'' Alec to help her? Or will their romance ultimately prove her downfall?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith a beautiful cover by David Dean.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833226346839,"sku":"9780571337033","price":7.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780571337033.jpg?v=1710343960"},{"product_id":"the-collected-poems-of-thomas-hardy-9781853264023","title":"The Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith an Introduction, Bibliography and Glossary by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature University of Kent at Canterbury.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThomas Hardy started composing poetry in the heyday of Tennyson and Browning. He was still writing with unimpaired power sixty years later, when Eliot and Yeats were the leading names in the field. His extraordinary stamina and a consistent individuality of style and vision made him a survivor, immune to literary fashion. At the start of the twenty-first century his reputation stands higher than it ever did, even in his own lifetime.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHe is now recognised not only as a great poet, but as one who is widely loved. He speaks with directness, humanity and humour to scholarly or ordinary readers alike.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850661445975,"sku":"9781853264023","price":5.96,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853264023.jpg?v=1710617706"},{"product_id":"a-pair-of-blue-eyes-9781853262777","title":"A Pair of Blue Eyes","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith a new Introduction by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Pair of Blue Eyes,\u003c\/em\u003e though early in the sequence of Hardy's novels, is lively and gripping. Its dramatic cliff-hanging episode, for example, is at once tense, ironic, feministic and erotic.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith settings in Wessex and London, the novel also has some strongly autobiographical features, as the blue-eyed heroine, Elfride Swancourt, is based largely on Emma Gifford, who became Thomas Hardy's first wife. Elfride's vivacious nature attracts several lovers, but she is beset by sexual prejudice, and the ensuing ironies reveal the constraints of her times.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Pair of Blue Eyes\u003c\/em\u003e provides an engaging and moving experience for today's readers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850662429015,"sku":"9781853262777","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853262777.jpg?v=1710617752"},{"product_id":"wessex-tales-9781853262692","title":"Wessex Tales","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduction and Notes by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature, University of Kent at Canterbury.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWessex Tales\u003c\/em\u003e was the first collection of Hardy's short stories, and they reflect the experience of a novelist at the height of his powers. These seven tales, in which characters and scenes are imbued with a haunting realism, show considerable diversity of content, form and style, and range from fantasy to realism and from tragedy to comedy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn insisting on the unusual nature of any story worth the telling, and with his gift for irony and compassion, Hardy achieves more in the genre of the short story than any English novelist before him.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850662560087,"sku":"9781853262692","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853262692.jpg?v=1710617765"},{"product_id":"jude-the-obscure-9781853262616","title":"Jude the Obscure","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduction and Notes by Norman Vance, Professor of English, University of Sussex.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJude Fawley is a rural stone mason with intellectual aspirations. Frustrated by poverty and the indifference of the academic institutions at the University of Christminster, his only chance of fulfilment seems to lie in his relationship with his unconventional cousin, Sue Bridehead. But life as social outcasts proves undermining, and when tragedy occurs, Sue has no resilience and Jude is left in despair.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHardy’s portrait of Jude, the idealist and dreamer who is a prisoner of his own physical nature, is one of the most haunting and desperate of his creations. \u003cem\u003eJude the Obscure\u003c\/em\u003e is a dark yet compassionate account of the insurmountable frustrations of human existence which reflect Hardy’s yearning for the spiritual values of the past and his despair at their decline.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850662691159,"sku":"9781853262616","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853262616.jpg?v=1710617782"},{"product_id":"the-trumpet-major-9781853262463","title":"The Trumpet-Major","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith an Introduction and Notes by Charles P.C. Pettit.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThomas Hardy's only historical novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Trumpet Major\u003c\/em\u003e is set in Wessex during the Napoleonic Wars. Hardy skilfully immerses us in the life of the day, making us feel the impact of historical events on the immemorial local way of life - the glamour of the coming of George III and his soldiery, fears of the press-gang and invasion, and the effect of distant but momentous events like the Battle of Trafalgar.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHe interweaves a compelling, bitter-sweet romantic love story of the rivalry of two brothers for the hand of the heroine Anne Garland, played out against the loves of a lively gallery of other characters. While there are elements of sadness and even tragedy, \u003cem\u003eThe Trumpet-Major\u003c\/em\u003e shows Hardy's skills of story-telling, characterisation and description in a novel of vitality, comedy and warmth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850663444823,"sku":"9781853262463","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853262463.jpg?v=1710617816"},{"product_id":"the-return-of-the-native-9781853262388","title":"The Return of the Native","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith an Introduction and Notes by Claire Seymour, University of Kent at Canterbury.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Return of the Native\u003c\/em\u003e is widely recognised as the most representative of Hardy's Wessex novels. He evokes the dismal presence and menacing beauty of Egdon Heath - reaching out to touch the lives and fate of all who dwell on it. The central figure is Clym Yeobright, the returning ‘native’ and the story tells of his love for the beautiful but capricious Eustacia Vye.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs the narrative unfolds and character after character is driven to self-destruction the presence of the Heath becomes all-embracing, while Clym becomes a travelling preacher in an attempt to assuage his guilt.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850663641431,"sku":"9781853262388","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853262388.jpg?v=1710617849"},{"product_id":"under-the-greenwood-tree-9781853262272","title":"Under the Greenwood Tree","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith an Introduction and Notes by Dr Claire Seymour, University of Kent at Canterbury.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnder the Greenwood Tree\u003c\/em\u003e is Hardy's most bright, confident and optimistic novel. This delightful portrayal of a picturesque rural society, tinged with gentle humour and quiet irony, established Hardy as a writer.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, the novel is not merely a charming rural idyll. The double-plot, in which the love story of Dick Dewey and Fancy Day is inter-related with a tragic chapter in the history of Mellstock Choir, hints at the poignant disappearance of a long-lived and highly-valued traditional way of life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850663739735,"sku":"9781853262272","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853262272.jpg?v=1710617867"},{"product_id":"lifes-little-ironies-9781853261787","title":"Life's Little Ironies","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction and Notes by Dr Claire Seymour, University of Kent at Canterbury.   The proverbial phrase 'life's little ironies' was coined by Hardy for his third volume of short stories. These tales and sketches possess all the power of his novels: the wealth of description, the realistic portrayal of the quaint lore of Wessex, the 'Chaucerian' humour and characterisation, the shrewd and critical psychology, the poignant estimate of human nature and the brooding sense of wonder at the essential mystery of life.   The tales which make up Life's Little Ironies tenderly re-create a rapidly vanishing rural world and scrutinise the repressions of fin-de-siecle bourgeois life. They share the many concerns of Hardy's last great novels, such as the failure of modern marriage and the insidious effects of social ambition on the family and community life. Ranging widely in length and complexity, they are unified by Hardy's quintessential irony, which embraces both the farcical and the tragic aspects of human existence.","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850666852695,"sku":"9781853261787","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853261787.jpg?v=1710617934"},{"product_id":"the-mayor-of-casterbridge-9781853260988","title":"The Mayor of Casterbridge","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith an Introduction and Notes by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature, University of Kent at Canterbury.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNone of the great Victorian novels is more vivid and readable than \u003cem\u003eThe Mayor of Casterbridge\u003c\/em\u003e. Set in the heart of Hardy's Wessex, the 'partly real, partly dream country' he founded on his native Dorset, it charts the rise and self-induced downfall of a single 'man of character'.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe fast-moving and ingeniously contrived narrative is Shakespearian in its tragic force, and features some of the author's most striking episodes and brilliant passages of description.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850672324951,"sku":"9781853260988","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853260988.jpg?v=1710618130"},{"product_id":"far-from-the-madding-crowd-9781853260674","title":"Far from the Madding Crowd","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduction and Notes by Norman Vance, Professor of English, University of Sussex.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFar from the Madding Crowd\u003c\/em\u003e is perhaps the most pastoral of Hardy's Wessex novels. It tells the story of the young farmer Gabriel Oak and his love for and pursuit of the elusive Bathsheba Everdene, whose wayward nature leads her to both tragedy and true love.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt tells of the dashing Sergeant Troy whose rakish philosophy of life was ‘…the past was yesterday; never, the day after’, and lastly, of the introverted and reclusive gentleman farmer, Mr Boldwood, whose love fills him with ‘…a fearful sense of exposure’, when he first sets eyes on Bathsheba.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe background of this tale is the Wessex countryside in all its moods, contriving to make it one of the most English of great English novels.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850673373527,"sku":"9781853260674","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781853260674.jpg?v=1710618216"},{"product_id":"tess-of-the-durbervilles-9781853260056","title":"Tess of the d'Urbervilles","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduction and Notes by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature, University of Kent at Canterbury.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSet in Hardy's Wessex, \u003cem\u003eTess\u003c\/em\u003e is a moving novel of hypocrisy and double standards. Its challenging sub-title, A Pure Woman, infuriated critics when the book was first published in 1891, and it was condemned as immoral and pessimistic.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt tells of Tess Durbeyfield, the daughter of a poor and dissipated villager, who learns that she may be descended from the ancient family of d'Urbeville. In her search for respectability her fortunes fluctuate wildly, and the story assumes the proportions of a Greek tragedy. It explores Tess's relationships with two very different men, her struggle against the social mores of the rural Victorian world which she inhabits and the hypocrisy of the age.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addressing the double standards of the time, Hardy’s masterly evocation of a world which we have lost, provides one of the most compelling stories in the canon of English literature, whose appeal today defies the judgement of Hardy’s contemporary critics.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850676912471,"sku":"9781853260056","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"the-woodlanders-9781853262937","title":"The Woodlanders","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith an Introduction and Notes by Phillip Mallett, Senior Lecturer in English, University of St Andrews.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducated beyond her station, Grace Melbury returns to the woodland village of little Hintock and cannot marry her intended, Giles Winterborne. Her alternative choice proves disastrous, and in a moving tale that has vibrant characters, many humorous moments and genuine pathos coupled with tragic irony, Hardy eschews a happy ending.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith characteristic derision, he exposes the cruel indifference of the archaic legal system off his day, and shows the tragic consequences of untimely adherence to futile social and religious proprieties\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wordsworth Editions Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48242748457303,"sku":"9781853262937","price":6.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"return-of-the-native-9780099518983","title":"Return of the Native","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e''Tremendous...utterly absorbing'' \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Proud, passionate Eustacia Vye marries Clym Yeobright in the hope that he will help her escape her cramped rural existence. But when their relationship falters and her old lover Damon Wildeve reappears with an unexpected inheritance, Eustacia is faced with a series of decisions upon which multiple lives depend. In a world where misunderstandings can be fatal, Hardy's atmospheric tragedy moves inevitably towards a disastrous climax on the brooding wilds of Egdon Heath. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ''Hardy''s novels hold a Shakespearean power of creating a unique world'' John Bayley\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e See also: \u003ci\u003eJude the Obscure\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrobs with a very Victorian sense of geologies, pre-histories and even astronomy; you can feel the planet moving under the feet * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eInimitably brooding style * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eBesides my complete identification with its heroine, I loved the sheer relentless power of the writing. -- Maeve Haran * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eSplendid * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Return of the Native\u003c\/i\u003e is . . . thoughtful, valedictory, poetic, tinged with the somberness of an uncertainty which seems to well up from the depths of the author's own subconscious . . . Hardy's sense of the tragic life of human beings, mere small fragments of consciousness in a vast uncaring universe, comes directly from his own youthful awareness of the place and circumstances described in the novel. -- John Bayley","brand":"Vintage Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732262990167,"sku":"9780099518983","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780099518983.jpg?v=1719996183"},{"product_id":"jude-the-obscure-9780099518990","title":"Jude the Obscure","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'One of the most compassionate of all writers...you feel a kind of agony of helpless tenderness in the writer for all troubled souls’ \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Jude Fawley is a young man who longs to better himself and go to Christminster University.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVisceral, passionate, sylvan...anti-hypocrisy, anti-repression..dealing with love, death, with young people with everything before them, dealt a cruelly stacked hand... Hardy reaches deeper, into our wildest recesses. In a safe world, he speaks to our animal side. * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eTo no tragic novelist do we surrender more completely at the last...one of the most compassionate of all writers...you feel a kind of agony of helpless tenderness in the writer for all troubled souls * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eHardy may have been born in 1840 shortly after Victoria came to the throne, but he speaks to the 20th century rather than the 19th. * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eA classic outsider novel. An anthem to misery. -- Katy Guest * The Independent *","brand":"Vintage Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732263055703,"sku":"9780099518990","price":7.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780099518990.jpg?v=1719996183"},{"product_id":"far-from-the-madding-crowd-9780099518976","title":"Far from the Madding Crowd","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThomas Hardy was born on 2 June 1840. His father was a stonemason. He was brought up near Dorchester and trained as an architect. In 1868 his work took him to St Juliot's church in Cornwall where he met his wife-to-be, Emma. His first novel, The Poor Man and the Lady, was rejected by publishers but Desperate Remedies was published in 1871 and this was rapidly followed by Under the Greenwood Tree (1872), A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) and Far from the Madding Crowd (1874). He also wrote many other novels, poems and short stories. Tess of the D'Urbervilles was published in 1891. His final novel was Jude the Obscure (1895). Hardy was awarded the Order of Merit in 1920 and the gold medal of the Royal Society of Literature in 1912. His wife died in 1912 and he later married his secretary. Thomas Hardy died 11 January 1928.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVital, passionate, spirited - from the moment Bathsheba appears she is beguiling. You can denounce her faults - she's selfish and capricious - but it's hard not to admire her determined independence -- Di Speirs (executive producer of readings at the BBC) * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eHardy's warmest and most enchanting novel * Daily Express *\u003cbr\u003eHardy's \u003ci\u003eFar from the Madding Crowd\u003c\/i\u003e is the most romantic book I have ever read. I love the line where he says: \"Whenever you look up, there I shall be - and whenever I look up there will be you.\" It is very simple and understated, but also incredibly romantic -- Liz Jensen * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eHardy expounds on his favourite themes: misunderstandings, missed opportunities, unrequited love and fatal omissions * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eThe age-old dilemma - mind-blowing passion versus a man who knows how to put up shelves * Independent *","brand":"Vintage Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732263088471,"sku":"9780099518976","price":7.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780099518976.jpg?v=1719996186"},{"product_id":"the-mayor-of-casterbridge-vintage-classics-9780099529576","title":"The Mayor of Casterbridge Vintage Classics","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A tale of true tragedy - a man of potential brought down by his own fatal flaw - wonderfully vivid and strong'' Joanna Trollope\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Mayor of Casterbridge is a man haunted by his past. In his youth he betrayed his wife and baby daughter in a shocking incident that led him to swear never to touch alcohol again for twenty-one years. He has since risen from his humble origins to become a respected pillar of the community in Casterbridge, but his secrets cannot stay hidden forever and he has many hard lessons left to learn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e                                                                                                                                                                              \u003cb\u003e WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY LUCY HUGHES-HALLETT\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI could have picked any Hardy but this is wonderful. He is so good at portraying the highs and lows of human emotions and endeavours and setting them against the vast background of time and space that puts the smallness of the human condition into perspective -- Jane Asher * Daily Express *\u003cbr\u003eWhat I love about Hardy is that anybody of any age can get into his books because he's such a good writer. All you've got to do is start reading. I could have picked any of his books but this is my favourite -- Matthew Wright (The Wright Stuff) * Daily Express *\u003cbr\u003eIt's the most tragic tale of a man who did a great wrong (he sells his wife and daughter) and pays for it later. The way Henchard arranges his life just so, only to see it wrecked and ruined by Fate - it makes me howl with pathos -- author John Wright * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eYou have to hand it to Thomas Hardy. He knew how to come up with the blackest, most fascinating of characters (principally, corn merchant and mayor Michael Henchard), then put them in a cracking predicament * Mirror *\u003cbr\u003eA truly wonderful book -- Actor Brian Cox * Independent on Sunday *","brand":"Vintage Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732270362967,"sku":"9780099529576","price":7.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780099529576.jpg?v=1719996217"},{"product_id":"selected-poems-9780140433418","title":"Selected Poems","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough best remembered today for his novels, Thomas Hardy thought of himself as a poet forced by circumstance to write fiction for a living. 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