This selection was the third that Hardy collected together himself for publication as a single volume. It reflects the experiences of a novelist who was at the height of his creative powers. The stories are thematically linked by a concern with the diverse problems of marriage.

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 ...

These collections appear here together with a selection of the stories which appeared in magazines but were never collected.Varying considerably in content, style and form,these tales belong to the great age of the short story and are winning greater recognition as an important element of Hardys literary testament

Selected Stories of Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy: Thomas Hardy, renowned for his novels, also showcased his literary prowess through short stories. This collection features some of his finest tales, exploring the complexities of human relationships, the struggles of rural life, and the consequences of fate and circumstance. Hardy's evocative storytelling and masterful use of language paint a vivid picture of 19th-century England and the human condition. Key Aspects of the Book "Selected Stories of Thomas Hardy": Rural England: Hardy's stories are often set in the English countryside, capturing the beauty and challenges of rural life during the 1800s. Themes of Fate: The author delves into the concept of fate and how it shapes the lives of his characters, leading them on unforeseen paths. Emotional Depth: Hardy's stories are known for their emotional resonance and the exploration of human passions and vulnerabilities. Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet, born in 1840. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest Victorian writers, known for his powerful narratives and poetic language. Hardy's novels often portrayed the struggles and aspirations of the rural working class and the impact of social and cultural changes on individuals. Throughout his career, he challenged the conventions of his time, and his works continue to be celebrated for their realism, symbolism, and exploration of the human psyche.

Thomas Hardy penned nearly fifty short stories, but in spite of this impressive number, his contributions to the genre have been relatively understudied. Bringing together an international group of scholars, this is the first edited collection devoted solely to Hardy's works of short fiction. The contributors take up topics related to their publication in periodicals, gender and community relationships, and narrative techniques. Taken together, the essays show that Hardy's short stories are important, not only for what they tell us about Hardy as a writer who straddles the divide between the traditionalist and the modernist, but also for how they reflect and inform the period in which he wrote.